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Heads and tails on Crawford Hill
Section: Railroads
Lucius Beebe remembered
Lucius Beebe was a major figure in railroad literature and photography for nearly three decades, but contemporary readers might be amazed at just how far his reputation spread beyond railroading. He could have starred in the old TV show, “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.” Beebe was born Dec. 9, 1902, in Wakefield, Mass. His […]
Second life for an old boxcar
This is what happens when a railroad has more resourcefulness than resources. Perpetually short of funds but needing a station in the southeastern Iowa community of Mediapolis, the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific RR, simply added a roof, two doors, and five tiny windows to an aging boxcar. It wasn’t just the Rock Island that […]
What switch crews know
What do switch crews know? If you want to know how trains operate smoothly, ask the experts — the railroaders themselves. Things happen for a reason in the real world. Take switch-stand locations. Railroads hate to have brakemen crossing and recrossing tracks. It’s dangerous. It’s far safer to put all the switch stands on one […]
Making sense of steam
More than most machines, a steam locomotive’s design reflects its intended use. There are reasons why high-speed passenger locomotives have tall driving wheels and two-axle leading trucks while hard-slogging freight hogs tend to have shorter drivers and a single-axle leading truck. The differences between locomotive types are as apparent as night and day. Which is […]
Train-watching basics
Train-watching basics: Among the ways in which people participate in the railroad hobby, the simple act of watching trains is the most popular. Some railfans thrill to the power of thousands of tons of steel rushing by. Others watch for new locomotive types, or old classics running out their last miles. Many focus on […]
Steam and superstition
When Trains Magazine author Lou Maxon was invited by the Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad and Museum in Mineral, Wash. to experience steam railroading from the cab, he knew he was in for a special treat, a peek into a world few non-railroaders will see. He watched as the crew went through their pre-departure routine for […]
Steam cab ride on the Mt. Rainier Scenic
It’s 7:30 a.m. and our Trains crew has arrived at the Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad and Museum in Mineral, Wash. for a steam engine cab ride. It’s about a two-hour plus drive from Carnation, Wash. where I run, own and operate my own short line electrified private railway. Today though, I’m a guest crew member […]
Fast run on the Kansas City-Florida Special
A particular run of the Kansas City-Florida Special may have changed the course of steam locomotive assignments on the Frisco. During the mid-1930s, the St. Louis-San Francisco Railroad started rebuilding low-drivered 2-10-2 freight locomotives into modern, high-horsepower, coal-burning 4-8-2s, also for freight service. The first series of these Mountain types was the big, […]
50 years ago in Trains: A 1975 visit to Grand Central Terminal
Fifty years ago, in the May 1975 Trains Magazine, prolific author William D. Middleton visited New York City’s Grand Central Terminal. His 14 page article opened on a down note, with Middleton writing: Grand Central’s great long-distance trains are gone now. deposed by the airplane and the automobile: and no longer do the rich, the […]
Riding the railroad
Interested in riding the railroad? One of the best windows on the railroad world are passenger trains, and you have plenty of options. Amtrak, a government corporation that took over nearly all U.S. intercity passenger trains from private railroads in 1971, today operates a 21,000-mile network that includes 500 stations in 46 states served by […]
Totally Tubular
A man reads a book on the main level of a Budd-built Tubular coach while people relax in the smoking lounge above and behind him. Note the dark-colored ramp up to the end door. The train entered regular service on the Pennsylvania Railroad in June 1956 on the New York–Washington Keystone. Pennsylvania Railroad photo […]
