Minidoka: place of enchantment

UPtrain339

UP train 339, the mixed from Twin Falls, Idaho, nears its destination of Wells, Nev., in fall 1943. Is Uncle Jim the conductor today? W. B. Wolverton There’s not much there anymore, and few people know that Minidoka, Idaho, was once a busy railroad point. It was also my youthful idea of heaven. That’s where […]

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Pennsy RS1

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The Pennsylvania owned 22 Alco RS1s, acquired 1950–51. In this late 1950s view, No. 5620 idles at South Amboy, N.J., in the company of P5a electric 4709. Don Wood photo […]

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Reefer block of California potatoes

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Santa Fe refrigerator cars loaded with potatoes from Kern County, Calif., head eastward at Topock, Ariz., in 1953. Even though it’s a solid train of one commodity, the cars have many different destinations. The train has just left California by crossing the Colorado River. Santa Fe photo […]

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Spiffy Mallet

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Rio Grande 2-8-8-2 3404, nicely turned out with white tires, running boards, and cylinder-head covers, assists a train up Tennessee Pass in July 1941. Up front is a 4-8-2; at the rear is another 2-8-8-2 helper. J. W. Maxwell photo […]

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Mainstreeter near Missoula

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Northern Pacific’s westbound Mainstreeter carries several head-end cars as it rolls near Missoula, Mont., in 1966, including four NP express baggage cars, a Union Pacific baggage car, and an RPO. Philip C. Johnson photo […]

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Ore train on a PRR branch

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In September 1955, Pennsylvania Railroad M1 4-8-2 6894 leads an ore train west at Alexandria, Pa., on the road’s Hollidaysburg & Petersburg Branch, part of a route that enabled mainline trains to bypass Altoona. Unseen at the rear, a 2-10-0 pushes behind the cabin car. Philip R. Hastings photo […]

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