A Rock Island DL-series type diesel electric locomotive pulls the Rocket from Des Moines, Iowa, in 1946. Tom Harley DL-series •YEARS BUILT: 1940-1945 •MANUFACTURER: Alco •OPERATED ON: Santa Fe; Milwaukee Road; Chicago & North Western; Rock Island; Gulf, Mobile & Ohio; New Haven; Southern; among other railroads •NAMES: DL103B, 105, 107, 109 •QUANTITY: 78 (includes […]
Locomotive profile: EMC FT diesel-electric locomotive
EMC FT diesel-electric locomotive No. 103 is on display at the Museum of Transport in St. Louis, Missouri. Jim Wrinn FT •YEARS BUILT: 1939-1945 •MANUFACTURER: Electro-Motive Corp. •OPERATED ON: Santa Fe, Atlantic Coast Line, Baltimore & Ohio, Boston & Maine, Chicago & North Western, Burlington Route, Rock Island, Rio Grande, Erie, Great Northern, Lehigh Valley, […]
Locomotive profile: EMD E8 type diesel electric locomotive
Southern Railway EMD E8 type diesel electric locomotive No. 6900 once pulled the Southern Crescent passenger train. Jim Wrinn E8 •YEARS BUILT: 1949-1953 •MANUFACTURER: EMD •OPERATED ON: Most major Class I railroads, notably Chesapeake & Ohio; Canadian Pacific; Chicago & North Western; Burlington Route; Delaware, Lackawanna & Western; Erie; Illinois Central; Missouri Pacific; New York […]
Locomotive profile: EMD GP30 diesel electric type locomotive
Southern Railway EMD GP30 type diesel electric locomotive No. 2601 pulls a passenger train at the North Carolina Transportation Museum. Jim Wrinn GP30 •YEARS BUILT: 1961-1963 •MANUFACTURERS: EMD, GMD •OPERATED ON: Most Class I railroads, notably, Chesapeake & Ohio, Burlington Route, Chicago & North Western, Denver & Rio Grande Western, Great Northern, Louisville & Nashville, […]
Locomotive profile: PA-1 type diesel electric locomotive
Nickel Plate Road PA-1 type diesel electric locomotive No. 190 called the Oregon Rail Heritage Center home. Jim Wrinn PA-1 •YEARS BUILT: 1946-1950 •MANUFACTURER: Alco •OPERATED ON: Santa Fe; Denver & Rio Grande Western; Erie; Gulf, Mobile & Ohio; Lehigh Valley; Missouri-Kansas-Texas; Missouri Pacific; New Haven; Nickel Plate; New York Central; Pennsylvania; Cotton Belt; Southern […]
Locomotive profile: SD40/-2 series type of diesel electric locomotive
Dakota, Minnesota, & Eastern, SD40-type diesel electric locomotives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. SD40/-2 series •YEARS BUILT: 1966-1988 •MANUFACTURER: EMD •OPERATED ON: Most Class I freight railroads in North America •NAMES: SD40, 40-2, Snoot (for extended nose versions), Tunnel Motor (for SD40T-2), High Hood (for SR and N&W), Wide Nose (for CN), Fast Forties (on UP) •QUANTITY: […]
Locomotive profile: Sharknose diesel electric locomotive
Sharknose •YEARS BUILT: 1948-1953 •MANUFACTURER: Baldwin •OPERATED ON: Baltimore & Ohio; New York Central; Pennsylvania Railroad; Elgin, Joliet & Eastern •NAMES: DR-6-4-20, RF-16, DR-4-15 •QUANTITY: 187 total A&B units combined •HORSEPOWER: 1,600 for RF-16 and 2,000 for DR-6-4-20 •KNOWN FOR: Distinctive nose/cab design by Raymond Loewy, based on the Pennsylvania Railroad’s streamlined T-1 steam locomotive […]
KCS de Mexico again disrupted by protesters NEWSWIRE
Just as rail blockades end in one country, they resume in another. On the same day Canadian protestors in Quebec ended an almost month-long blockade [see “Trains News Wire Digest for Friday, March 6“], Kansas City Southern has informed customers that protests are once again disrupting operations on Kansas City Southern de Mexico, as well […]
News Wire Digest second section for Friday, March 6 NEWSWIRE
More Friday morning rail news: — Legislation introduced Thursday in Congress would end Amtrak’s forced arbitration policy, which bars passengers and their families from suing the passenger carrier if they injured or killed in crashes. The Washington Post reports the legislation, introduced in both houses, would do away with the policy introduced last year which […]
News Wire Digest third section for Friday, March 6 NEWSWIRE
A Metra Milwaukee North train arrives in Deerfield, Ill., on Oct. 27, 2019. Deerfield is one of the partners with Metra in a reverse-commute pilot program on the Milwaukee North line. TRAINS: David Lassen Still more rail news for a busy Friday: — Metra’s reverse-commute pilot program on its Milwaukee District North line is exceeding […]
Trains News Wire Digest for Friday, March 6 NEWSWIRE
Friday morning rail news: — After almost four weeks, the blockade of Canadian Pacific tracks near Montreal has finally ended. This morning, Mohawks at Kahnawake, Quebec, lifted the blockade in what a spokesman called “a gesture of good faith.” The Montreal Gazette reports that one of the protesters said the blockade could resume at any […]
Locomotive profile: 2-6-0 Mogul type steam locomotive
Rio Grande Scenic Railroad 2-6-0 Mogul type steam locomotive No. 1744 steams upgrade through Laveta Pass, Colorado, in 2007. Jim Wrinn 2-6-0 •YEARS BUILT: 1852-1929 •MANUFACTURERS: Lima, Southern Pacific, Baldwin, Pennsylvania Railroad, others •OPERATED ON: Chicago & Western Indiana, Baltimore & Ohio, Green Bay & Western, Boston & Maine, Southern Pacific, Canadian National, short lines […]