What’s in a photograph?: Norfolk & Western at Blue Ridge, Va.

View from the cab of a Norfolk & Western 2-6-6-4 steam locomotive on an eastbound freight in 1953 at Blue Ridge, West Virginia. The photograph is black and white with 12 numbered callouts.

1 Split-point derail device. Considered more effective than a lifting-block derail when there is extra risk of cars rolling out onto the main line from a “house track” or “back track” (terms for station trackage other than a passing siding), or from an industry track, especially when there is a descending grade toward the switch, […]

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Cincinnati’s rediscovered terra cotta sculpture is among the last relics of PRR’s Broad Street Station NEWSWIRE

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A close-up image of the terra cotta sculpture that was once part of the Pennsylvania Railroad’s train shed at Broad Street Station in Philadelphia. This photo was taken with permission from the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority. David T. Rohdenburg An exterior view of what’s left of the former Pennsylvania Railroad station. The terra cotta […]

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Soo Line legacy

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A southbound CN freight passes the former Soo Line station in Waukesha, Wis., in 2012. Brian Schmidt Q How did Canadian National end up operating the former Soo Line route through Wisconsin. I thought the Soo was affiliated with Canadian Pacific. – Kirk Gobain, Dodge City, Kan. A The Soo Line acquired the Milwaukee Road […]

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When the train left, the fun paled

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Central of Georgia’s 500-series Consolidations possessed good lines accented by interesting detail: visored headlight, capped stack, serif numerals, striped sandbox, generous cab. Classic Trains collection An alligator crosshead moving back and forth on its greased guides to the dictates of a hot piston rod; the hurried, hollow sighs up the stack as a pair of […]

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Progress on Reading Co. 2100 boiler work NEWSWIRE

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With side sheets welded in place, Reading Co. 2100 is ready for staybolt work. American Steam Railroad CLEVELAND, Ohio — Boiler and firebox work are just about completed on Reading No. 2100, the famed 4-8-4 leased by American Steam Railroad. The new firebox side sheets, welded in place and drilled and reamed, await new staybolts, […]

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Historic Southern E8 returns to Southeastern Railway Museum NEWSWIRE

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Southern E8 No. 6901 as it appears in Duluth, Ga., after a mechanical restoration. Todd DeFeo DULUTH, Ga. — A vintage Southern Railway locomotive has returned to the Southeastern Railway Museum in Duluth, Ga., after nearly four years of restoration work. Southern Railway No. 6901, an E8a diesel passenger locomotive, routinely powered Crescent passenger train […]

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Crisis at the coal chute!

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The engineer of Canadian National 2-8-2 3503 enjoys the breeze as he hurries a freight east at Lorne Park, Ont., in August 1955, a year after the author’s experience on another CN Mikado some 700 miles to the northwest. W. H. N. Rossiter A steam locomotive fireman’s duties go far beyond the actual firing of the […]

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No support group

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While not technically perfect, this photo of L&N C628s under the sanding gantry at Corbin, Ky., remains a treasured link to an earlier time. Ron Flanary As a young railfan growing up in central Appalachia in the late 1950s and early ’60s, my only link to fellow enthusiasts was through the pulp pages of Railroad magazine, or the […]

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