Forgotten ‘Four Aces’ Northern Pacific 4-8-4 No. 2626, originally the Timken “Four Aces” roller-bearing demonstrator, leads a Seattle-Cle Elum, Wash., fan trip through Kanaskat, Wash., in August 1957. Despite efforts to preserve the locomotive, it was scrapped a year later. Photo by Albert Farrow […]
Chicago in the snow Chicago & Eastern Illinois E7 1102 and two Alcos, Monon C420 502 and RS1 263 of station owner Chicago & Western Indiana, rest at Dearborn Station following a significant snowfall in February 1967. Photo by J. David Ingles […]
Dubuque depot In 1916, the Illinois Central’s Dubuque, Iowa, freight house had three tracks, including one that passed through the building. Photo by Illinois Central […]
The Hole Yard Here’s how the Missouri Pacific’s Hole Yard lead at North Little Rock, Ark., looked in March 1921. The Fort Smith crossing is in the foreground, with the yard office at right and shops and roundhouses in the distance. Photo by Missouri Pacific […]
Produce to the people Chicago and other large cities had produce yards and team tracks where dozens or hundreds of cars would arrive each day for auction and sale to local buyers. Photo by Chicago & North Western […]
Interurban legacy Seaboard Coast Line GP30s hustle 16 cars through Greer, S.C., on July 10, 1974, on former Piedmont & Northern trackage. SCL merged the P&N, which dropped its last mainline wires in 1954, 15 years later in 1969. Photo by Curt Tillotson […]
Stainless savior Northern Pacific began replacing trains on its secondary routes with RDCs in 1955, and eventually had a fleet of six of the Budd-built cars. This Fargo-Winnipeg train takes on passengers at Hawley, Minn., in 1966. The NP’s last RDCs ran in 1969. Steve Glischinski collection […]
Super Power premier The era of modern steam power dates to Lima’s development of Super Power and the Boston & Albany Berkshire (2-8-4), which hauled freight through its namesake mountains. But the B&A locomotive’s small (63-inch-diameter) drivers failed to take advantage of its boiler to generate steam fast enough for high-speed service. Number 1421 is […]
Pride of the fleet The Super Chief, which originated the Warbonnet paint scheme, quickly became Santa Fe’s signature passenger offering after its introduction in 1936. Here, it meets the Pekin Express at Chicago’s 15th Street Tower in an undated photo. Photo by Wallace W. Abbey […]
Wabash’s Decatur, Ill.–Hannibal, Mo., “West Local” slows to do some work at Jacksonville, Ill., on July 9, 1962. In charge are Fairbanks-Morse H24-66 Train Master 554 and EMD GP7 475. David Ingles […]
axle passenger diesels built in 1935. EMC had no factory of its own yet, so this one was assembled at General Electric’s plant at Erie, Pa. The Winton-engined pioneer is preserved at the Museum of Transportation in St. Louis. General Electric […]
Rio Grande’s California Fast Freight departs Tennessee Pass station, crest of the Continental Divide, in April 1938. Big 2-8-8-2 3606 will keep the train in check on the 3 percent grade down to Minturn, Colo. H. Kindig […]
