Lane Cutoff

Streamlined passenger train split semaphore-type signals with overpass in distance

Lane Cutoff Brand-new in mid-1936, one of the two City of Denver trains poses on the Lane Cutoff west of Omaha, a favorite spot for Union Pacific publicity photos. The portholed cab and booster units rode on two trucks each, but were connected by a span bolster, not couplers. Union Pacific photo […]

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Branch line service

Diesel locomotive with side handrails and a black roof

Branch line service The Milwaukee Road ordered the lightweight EMD SDL39 for use on its light-rail branch lines. The railroad bought five of the locomotives in 1969 and followed with an order for another five in 1972. The 2,300-hp unit is equipped with a 12-cylinder 645E3 prime mover and 1,200-gallon fuel tank. EMD photo […]

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Blue Ridge conqueror

Large smoking steam locomotive climbs upgrade with train on curve

Blue Ridge conqueror Norfolk & Western 2-8-8-2 No. 2174 climbs Blue Ridge Mountain east of Roanoke, Va., on Sept. 11, 1958. The railroad had 227 locomotives of the wheel arrangement in 10 classes. Ken Murry photo […]

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‘San Francisco Overland’

Smoking steam locomotive leads a passenger train across open terrain by a water spout

‘San Francisco Overland’ Dressed in two-tone gray, FEF-1 816 and FEF-2 824 make 55 mph up Sherman Hill near Otto, Wyo., on October 21, 1949. Green flags and “1-27” in the 4-8-4s’ train indicator boxes tell that at least one other section of the San Francisco Overland is following. Ross B. Grenard Jr. photo […]

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Freight guidance

A man guides loading chute into covered hopper while short freight train passes

Freight guidance Early covered hopper loaders were modified from boxcar loaders, often requiring workers to climb car ladders for access. This elevator is at Glenwood, Minn., in 1984. Bob Wise photo […]

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GP39

Three quarter view of dark blue diesel locomotive with light yellow lettering

GP39 Chesapeake & Ohio No. 3909 is a GP39. It looks like a GP38 but it /has a single turbo stack in front of the dynamic brake fan. The GP39 was an “in-between” locomotive, using a smaller (12-cylinder) turbocharged 645 engine rated at 2,300 hp, putting it between the GP38 and GP40. It never became […]

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CP Pacific type

Trains line up side-by-side at urban passenger station

CP Pacific type One of Canadian Pacific’s 173 G3 Pacifics steams east out of Calgary station with a regional train in June 1949. One track over, a mountain observation car has just been added to the westbound Dominion’s tail. Walter H. Thrall Jr. photo […]

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Geared for success

Geared steam locomotive reverses with coal cars

Geared for success Brimstone’s 3-truck Shay No. 35 pulls coal in Tennessee. Lumber railroads were the primary users, but a few coal-haulers used Shays and/or the two other popular geared locomotives in North America, Heislers and Climaxes. Dwight Smith, Jim Wrinn collection […]

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SPUD switcher

Center cab diesel switcher with cars along passenger platforms

SPUD switcher St. Paul Union Depot 44-ton 441, built by GE in 1941, works its namesake Minnesota passenger terminal. The locomotive’s size and weight would allow one-man operation under the “90,000-pound” rule of the 1937 National Diesel Agreement labor rules. Classic Trains collection […]

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