Track The radio comes alive: It’s a transmission about another engineer. We’ll call him Mike Smith. “Mike Smith, what track are you on at Harriman Junction?” I’m northbound on Norfolk Southern train No. 216, a hot-shot piggybacker on the Kentucky Division — the Cincinnati, New Orleans & Texas Pacific Railway, the Rat Hole — between […]
General Electric AC6000CW The modern horsepower race between builders culminated in the 1990s with both General Electric and EMD producing six-axle locomotives with 6,000-hp prime movers. Unfortunately, the concept never caught on, with only two domestic railroads, Union Pacific and CSX, purchasing General Electric’s design. In the race to get the locomotives on the road, […]
NC&StL locomotives were distinctive but disappeared all too soon. The Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway had its share of unique items and was a pioneer. Historian Dain L. Schult says the “NC,” as it was known, was the only southern road to try a Camelback and a duplex; neither type worked out. It […]
Here are five traits of the Detroit, Toledo & Ironton that made it special. The DT&I was formed in 1905 with the combination of the Detroit Southern and Ohio Southern railroads. In 1920, automobile tycoon Henry Ford acquired the road, popularly to ensure a new River Rouge bridge could be built to ensure water […]
General Electric locomotives One year after Genesee & Wyoming’s June 2023 announcement it was buying second-hand General Electric power from Wabtec to bolster its fleet, the rollout of these locomotives on many of its properties is well underway. The comfort cab-equipped locomotives are part of a vast rearrangement of power on many Genesee & Wyoming […]
Glendale railroad station The former Southern Pacific railroad station at Glendale, Calif., has always hidden in plain sight as the typical railroad station for countless movies, television shows, and commercials. Physically convenient to the majority of “Hollywood” studios and in a good area with nice surroundings, it gives the entertainment industry a great bang for […]
How fast ya’ going? The legendary John Luther “Casey” Jones forever linked the heroic railroad engineer with speed. He was the lone casualty when his train crashed in an attempt to get his “Cannonball” back on schedule. For the most part, steam engines lacked speedometers. Skill and a trusted pocket watch worked aptly for safe […]
Please enjoy this photo gallery of Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis passenger trains, originally published online in November 2017. […]
On Wednesday, July 3, 2024, Union Pacific No. 4014 departed Rock Springs, Wyo., bound for Evanston. This would be the third operating day of almost a month as part of what UP calls its “Westward Bound Tour.” The first two days, from Cheyenne to Rock Springs, found the Big Boy operating on the main line […]
Road foreman As a young engineer, age 38, I was appointed road foreman of engines on the Lehigh Valley Railroad working out of Sayre, Pa. My territory ran from Coxton, Pa., to Manchester, N.Y., which is half way to Buffalo, N.Y. It was in 1953 and the job lasted until 1955 when I was fired […]
Abandoned railroads I enjoy traveling to the Hawaiian Islands. For me, it is a peaceful respite. But there is a down side. It’s not a great place to watch trains. At one time, all the islands that made up the 50th state had some sort of rail transportation. There was steam, diesel, signaling, commuter service, […]
Steak and eggs I was working a westbound over the Scenic Subdivision as the conductor on a Wenatchee-to-Seattle drag freight. The East pool ran from our home terminal of Seattle (Balmer Yard) east of the Cascade Mountains to Wenatchee, our away-from-home terminal. This was in December of 1983. It was very cold that day. The […]
