Baltimore & Ohio class P-5 No. 5227, a USRA light Pacific, hurries through North Bend, Ohio, with overnight St. Louis–Cincinnati local train 30 in September 1954. Philip R. Hastings photo […]
B&O Pacific in a hurry
Section: Railroads
Working mountain Alco locomotives from the WNY&P
Working mountain Alco locomotives: Nestled in the wide rolling hills on the western edge of New York’s Southern Tier lies the formerly two-railroad town of Olean, N.Y. A quaint, unsuspecting town of 13,000 residents located along the placid Allegheny River was once a railfanning destination, that is — until the formation of Conrail. Dozens of […]
Gulf, Mobile and Ohio locomotives remembered
Please enjoy this photo gallery of Gulf, Mobile and Ohio locomotives selected from files in Kalmbach Media‘s David P. Morgan Library. The Gulf, Mobile and Ohio was one of the first major railroads to completely dieselize, with the last steam locomotive dropping its fire in October 1949. The GM&O was an early Alco customer, […]
Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad freight trains remembered
Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad freight trains remembered: All through July 2022, Classic Trains editors are celebrating the grit, panache, and charm that was the Gulf, Mobile and Ohio. As part of the celebration, please enjoy this freight train photo gallery as the perfect accompaniment. Each month since October 2019, Classic Trains editors have showcase one “Fallen Flag” […]
‘Pittsburgh: Streetcar City’ book review
The new book “Pittsburgh: Streetcar City” looks at the Steel City’s rail transit. Pittsburgh’s trolley system rose to fame as one of the last operations to use original PCC cars in the U.S. Beyond the equipment, however, Pittsburgh’s system offered a smorgasbord of variety: incline elevators, operation on public streets and private rights-of-way, tunnels, bridges, […]
Rock Island perishable traffic in the 1970s
Rock Island perishable traffic: One thing you learn quickly as a new railroad employee is that if you can hold a regular job, it’s because nobody else wants it. In 1973 Rock Island perishable traffic stopped icing at Silvis, Ill. This coincided with Pacific Fruit Express’s exit from the iced reefer business and represented the […]
Belt Railway of Chicago locomotives
Belt Railway of Chicago locomotives: I recently photographed an ex-Belt Railway of Chiacgo Alco in, of all places, Olean, N.Y., on the Western New York & Pennsylvania. That old Alco and I go back to the mid 1980ss when I first laid eyes on her and a stable of other exotic beasts at BRC’s Clearing […]
Cowl locomotives in North America
Cowl locomotives: Six-axle cowl locomotives purchased for freight service have been rostered continuously on Class I railroads since Santa Fe first purchased EMD’s F45 model in 1968. More than a half century later, the industry is down to a single Class I railroad operating this locomotive design, Canadian Pacific. Although cowls have been hauling freight […]
Gulf Mobile and Ohio passenger trains
Gulf Mobile and Ohio passenger trains: The Gulf Mobile and Ohio is Classic Trains’ railroad of the month for July 2022. All this month you’ll find interesting articles detailing the history of the GM&O in text and photographs. Please enjoy this Gulf Mobile and Ohio passenger trains photo gallery, originally published in June 2016 and […]
Repowering locomotives to meet a railroad’s needs
Repowering locomotives is essential for a railroad to meet its needs. This is installment, number three, on our quest to find mishmashed locomotives, which reinforces the notion that railroaders will do anything and everything necessary to keep the daily routine fluid. Sometimes they ask a builder to create what they need, other times they make […]
Electric Railways of North America in Color, Vol. 1 book review
Electric railroads served a variety of purposes in North America: carrying commuters, industrial switching, and mainline freight and passenger service. From coal-hauling, six-axle, red-white-and-blue motors in British Columbia to plain green electric m.u. cars in New Jersey, there can be broad interest in electric railroads. Noted railfan Matthew Herson has lended his photographic collection […]
Gulf Mobile and Ohio remembered
Gulf Mobile and Ohio remembered: The “modern merger movement” is often said to have begun in 1957 when Louisville & Nashville absorbed the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis, in which the L&N had a three-quarters ownership. Some would argue that three similar 1947 mergers — Denver & Salt Lake into Denver & Rio Grande Western; […]
