Continental Divide

20200622

Five black-and-gold Northern Pacific F units lift a freight up the west slope of the Continental Divide at Elliston, Mont., in the 1950s. The NP relied on F units for both freight and passenger service. R. V. Nixon photo […]

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Burlington 40-foot stock cars

Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad Burlington Route

A Burlington Route local spots a pair of stock cars at a Wyoming stock pen in 1955. The 40-foot cars were typical of modern 1950s cars, with steel underframes, ends, and roofs. The single-deck cars were built in 1949 at the railroad’s Havelock shops. William A. Akin photo […]

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B&O midget electric

Baltimore & Ohio Railroad

Baltimore & Ohio box-cab electric No. 10 shifts cars on the constricted trackage near the Baltimore waterfront in September 1949. In 1954, after B&O shut down its trolley system, the little fellow retired to the B&O Railroad Museum. H. N. Proctor photo […]

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Narrow gauge in paradise

Oahu Railway & Land Co.

Consolidation No. 22 of the Oahu Railway & Land Co. has a freight train from Honolulu in tow as it skirts the Pacific Ocean en route to Kahuku on the island’s northern tip. The picturesque OR&L was largely abandoned shortly after World War II. Kent W. Cochrane photo […]

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Santa Fe’s new and old bridges

Santa Fe Railroad

During 1942–44, the Santa Fe replaced its 1890 through-truss bridge over the Colorado River with a higher-level deck-truss span. Sets of FT diesels pose with west- and eastbound freights during the short time that both bridges were in service. Santa Fe photo […]

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