CSX Corporation profile

CSX_Blue_Island_Lassen

A CSX train passes through Blue Island, Ill., in September 2019. CSX led Class I railroads in operating ratio in 2019. TRAINS: David Lassen Read more CSX articles on Trains’ website. CSX summary CSX Corporation is a railroad holding company incorporated in Virginia. The company’s corporate headquarters are in Jacksonville, Florida. CSX Transportation Incorporated (CSXT), […]

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Norfolk Southern Corporation profile

A black and white painted Norfolk Southern locomotive leads a train along NS tracks through a slightly foggy winter afternoon.

A Norfolk Southern train storms eastward through Otis, Indiana. Trains staff Read more Norfolk Southern articles on Trains‘ website. Norfolk Southern summary Norfolk Southern Corporation is a railroad holding company incorporated in Virginia. The company’s corporate headquarters are in Norfolk, Virginia. Operations headquarters are located in Atlanta, Georgia. Norfolk Southern Railway Company (NS), a large […]

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Burlington Northern Santa Fe LLC profile (BNSF Railway)

An empty BNSF coal train passes through La Grange, Ill, on Oct. 27, 2019. TRAINS: David Lassen Read more BNSF Railway articles on Trains’ website. BNSF Railway summary Burlington Northern Santa Fe LLC is a railroad holding company formed in 1994 and incorporated in Delaware that owns BNSF Railway Company, a Fort Worth, Texas-based railroad […]

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Canadian National Railway profile

A southbound Canadian National container train passes through Sussex, Wis., in 2015. TRAINS: Brian Schmidt Read more Canadian National articles on Trains’ website. Canadian National summary Canadian National Railway Company (CN) is a Montreal, Quebec-based railroad operating over approximately 20,000 route miles connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and the Gulf of Mexico throughout Canada […]

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Canadian Pacific Railway profile

A Canadian Pacific heritage locomotive appears in Iowa in 2019. Steve Smedley Read more Canadian Pacific articles on Trains’ website. Canadian Pacific summary Canadian Pacific Railway Limited is a railroad holding company based in Calgary, Alberta. Its subsidiary Canadian Pacific Railway Company (CP) extends over about 12,700 route miles from British Columbia to New Brunswick, […]

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Union Pacific Corporation profile

An eastbound Union Pacific auto rack train passes through Lombard, Ill., on Nov. 16, 2019. TRAINS: David Lassen Read more Union Pacific articles on Trains’ website. Union Pacific summary Omaha, Nebraska-based Union Pacific Corporation is a railroad holding company for the Union Pacific Railroad Company (UP). It controls one of the largest railroads in the […]

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Parts of an Electro-Motive Division GP15-1 diesel locomotive

Photo of front of HO scale four-axle hood unit on white background

Parts of an Electro-Motive Division GP15-1 diesel locomotive Electro-Motive Division (EMD) produced the GP15-1 diesel locomotive from June 1976 through March 1982. During that time, 310 units were built. The four-axle road switcher was equipped with a 1,500hp 12-645E diesel engine, a D32 generator, and D77B traction motors. Original owners included Chicago & North Western […]

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Parts of an Electro-Motive Division F40PH diesel locomotive

Photo of front of HO scale cowl-bodied diesel on white background

Parts of an Electro-Motive Division F40PH diesel locomotive The Electro-Motive Division (EMD) F40PH diesel locomotive was the backbone of Amtrak’s fleet for many years. The four-axle unit earned its keep on several commuter lines, too. GO Transit (Toronto), Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (Boston), Metra (Chicago), and NJ Transit were just some of the places the […]

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Parts of the Electro-Motive Diesel SD70M-2

white, red, and blue diesel locomotive

Parts of the Electro-Motive Diesel SD70M-2. Today is a great time to be a model railroader. The market is filled with a variety of locomotives from different manufacturers in many popular modeling scales. These engines often feature railroad- (and sometimes road-number-) specific details; factory-installed and painted wire grab irons; and sounds recorded from the prototype. […]

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Diesels That Didn’t – Alco Black Marias

Streamlined diesel locomotive set in front of sanding tower

The Alco Black Marias, a trio of prototype cab units, were the builder’s initial attempt to enter the mainline diesel locomotive market after World War II. The U.S.’s World War II War Production Board closely monitored the railroad locomotive builders and what they could and could not produce. Loosely, EMD was manufacturing mostly road locomotives […]

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How the ‘Golden Spike Centennial Limited’ came to be

End of blue passenger train with sign highlighting railroad spikes

The Golden Spike Centennial Limited was born, in promoter Ross Rowland Jr.’s mind, as a reaction to the Association of American Railroads’ not planning anything special to mark the 100th anniversary of the nation-uniting event on the new transcontinental railroad at Promontory, Utah, in 1869. The apathy was perhaps typical of the Class I railroads […]

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General Electric passenger U-boats — Diesels that didn’t

Three red-and-silver diesel locomotives pull a passenger train through an urban canyon

The General Electric passenger U-boats filled a niche in the 1960’s locomotive market. Santa Fe, like many Class I railroads at the time, was still proud of its passenger service. But its roster of suitable diesel locomotives was getting old and any thought of Amtrak was still years away. Keeping its aging fleet of silver […]

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