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Nickel Plate Road 2-8-4 779 hurries west with a freight beside Lake Erie between Lorain and Vermilion, Ohio, in April 1957. The 8-year-old Berkshire was the last steam locomotive built by Lima Locomotive Works. John A. Rehor photo […]
Western Maryland 4-6-6-4s up front and at mid-train lift a freight upgrade around Helmstetter’s Curve in the late 1940s or early ’50s. Today, Western Maryland Scenic Railway tourist trains still traverse this landmark a few miles west of Cumberland, Md. George C. Corey photo […]
A single photo from the 1950s of C&O’s ‘Sportsman’ at a small-city station at Staunton, Va., reveals plenty of small, easily overlooked details. 1 – Freight house Staunton (“Stan-ton”) in 1950 had a population of 19,927. All towns of this significance once had a freight house where less-than-carload (LCL) freight was handled. Warehousemen used a […]
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, […]
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 […]
Gerald Murdock, SP’s last chief engineer ST. GEORGE, Utah — Gerald Lee Murdock, the last chief engineer of the Southern Pacific and the subject of a 1983 Trains story, died at age 90. Murdock hired out as a rodman in Ogden, Utah, on SP’s Salt Lake Division in 1947 and worked his way through the […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
BEFORE EVR Cargo No. 1566 at the Tapa shops in June 2011. It is a former Conrail C30-7A No. 6577. Keith Fender Locomotive No. 1564 rebuilt as Operail C30-M (Ex-Conrail No. 6565) seen at the Tapa shops in October 2018. Operail TALLIN, Estonia — Former Conrail GE C30-7A locomotives are being given a radical rebuild […]
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 […]
