Baltimore & Ohio 4-6-2 No. 5068 departs Grafton, W.Va., with a Korean War-era troop train that originated at Fort Meade, Md., in May 1953. Philip R. Hastings photo […]
Troop train at Grafton, W.Va.
Section: Photo of the Day
Photo of the Day
Train time at Chadron, Nebr. Way out on Chicago & North Western’s lonely “Cowboy Line,” 4-6-2 No. 1588 arrives Chadron, Nebr., with daily-except-Sunday train 13 from Omaha, 447 miles to the east. The train is bound for Rapid City, S.Dak., 104 miles west. Fred H. Ragsdale photo […]
Photo of the Day
4-8-2 on the Creole’s connection Illinois Central 4-8-2 No. 2438 pulls out of Carbondale, Ill., with train 208, the St. Louis connection for the Creole, in September 1954. Philip R. Hastings photo […]
Photo of the Day
Rock Island TA diesel Electro-Motive Corp.’s model TA passenger diesel of 1937 was a lighter, less powerful counterpart to the builder’s EA of the same year. Although they shared the same styling, the single-engine, 1,200 h.p., B-B TA was a derivative of EMC’s power cars for streamlined trains, while the twin-engine, 1,800 h.p., A1A-A1A EA […]
Produce packing
Several packing houses were located in close proximity to each other along the Santa Fe in Placentia, Calif. Styles varied from the frame building at left to the concrete structure at center. Note the semaphore signal installations at right. Photo by Tom Baxter […]
ACL Es
Two new Atlantic Coast Line EMD E7s pose with a train of lightweight stainless-steel passenger cars shortly after delivery in 1945. The ACL would eventually acquire 20 E7s. Photo by Atlantic Coast Line […]
Omaha switcher
Baldwin built this 0-8-0 for the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha, a Chicago & North Western affiliate better known as the Omaha Road, in 1928. The 51-inch drivers are typical for switchers. Photo by Baldwin, H. L. Broadbelt collection […]
Paper trail
Signode introduced its first single-use paper grain door in 1948. Prior to that innovation, wooden boards were used. The remnants of paper grain doors could often be seen as empty cars returned home, as on this Gulf, Mobile & Ohio car. The cars had to be cleaned out before reloading. Photo by Bill Raia collection […]
Pointless Arrow
On May 1, 1971, Amtrak Passenger Service Rep Patty Saunders, who once was a Seaboard Coast Line hostess, poses with the first system timetable. The passenger carrier’s “pointless arrow” logo is featured prominently. Photo by Amtrak […]
Pure Gold
Orange groves are visible across the road from the LaVerne Cooperative Citrus Association packing house, one of California’s largest in 1920. The large building features several rooms and multiple loading tracks. The rooftop refrigeration condenser unit (back center) marks it as having a cooling or cold storage room. Photo by University of Southern California Libraries/California […]
Texas terminal
Just after the turn of the 20th century, large terminal elevators began to appear. Grain gathered in these mammoth concrete structures (the one here holds 3.6 million bushels) at Amarillo, Texas, in 1943, is forwarded by rail to mills and to port elevators for export. Note the three boxcars for scale. Photo by Jack Delano, […]
‘Royal Gorge’
The Rio Grande passenger train named Royal Gorge paused for 10 minutes of sightseeing at the bottom of the chasm in the 1960s. Here we see the train running in its namesake Colorado gorge. Photo by Bob Borcherding […]
