A Great Northern publicity photo shows the interior of one of the 1947 Empire Builder’s observation-lounge cars. GN photo […]
Inside the 1947 Empire Builder’s obs car
Dousing the hogs
Keeping hogs wet in summer heat was vital in keeping them healthy during transit in stock cars. This manual twin-handle pump soaks both decks of hogs on Swift Live Stock Express cars in a New York Central train east of Rome, N.Y. S.K. Bolton Jr. photo […]
California Zephyr on the SP
It’s August 1951, and the westbound California Zephyr has left its normal Western Pacific route via the Feather River Canyon to detour over Southern Pacific’s Donner Pass line. Helping the CZ’s usual three WP F units up into the Sierra Nevada is an SP cab-forward. Gordon Odegard photo […]
Classic Trains, Winter 2022
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B&O F7 helpers
A four-unit set of EMD F7 diesels leans against a coal drag climbing Baltimore & Ohio’s Cranberry Grade west of Terra Alta, W.Va., in the early 1950s. H. W. Pontin photo […]
‘Scenic Limited’ in Royal Gorge double-header
Rio Grande engines 773, an elderly Alco 4-6-0, and 1710, a modern Baldwin 4-8-4, lead the westbound Scenic Limited along the Arkansas River in rugged Royal Gorge in June 1937. M. C. Poor photo […]
Canadian Pacific 4-4-0s
Two of Canadian Pacific’s final three 4-4-0s are seen at Chipman, N.B., in November 1953. Engine 136 is getting ready for the daily run to Norton while No. 144, main rods off and stack covered, watches; sister No. 29 occupied a stall in the enginehouse nearby. Philip R. Hastings photo […]
Virginian electrics on borrowed time
Two ex-Virginian Railway EL-C electrics roll a train of coal hoppers west of Roanoke, Va., in 1961. Norfolk & Western had absorbed the Virginian in 1959, and shut down the smaller road’s electric operations in 1962. John Dziobko photo […]
Hot Water Gingerbread Muffins
Hot Water Gingerbread Muffins Classic Trains Editor Brian Schmidt loaned me some old railroad cookbooks recently, and the recipe for “Hot Water Gingerbread” caught my eye. According to the book, this dessert was a favorite on the Sunset Limited in the 1950s and 60s. How would it taste today? With a few tweaks, I made […]
Central of Georgia passenger trains
Central of Georgia passenger trains All through November 2022, Classic Trains editors are celebrating the Central of Georgia Railroad. For this article, please enjoy Central of Georgia passenger trains in images selected from Kalmbach Media’s David P. Morgan Library. This article was first published in December 2017. […]
Most expensive 2-8-4s: L&N’s ‘Big Emma’ M-1s
The most expensive 2-8-4s were Louisville & Nashville’s “Big Emma” M-1s. Perhaps no latter-day steam locomotive wheel arrangement matched the 2-8-4 for dual service, a term for overall efficiency across multiple assignments. Introduced in 1924 by Lima Locomotive Works as the first exponent of what it called “Super Power” — a promotional phrase to highlight […]
Best-selling Baldwin diesel locomotives
The best-selling Baldwin diesel locomotives are low-horsepower end-cab switchers owing to wartime material restrictions. Baldwin Locomotive Works of Eddystone, Pa., was the country’s largest steam locomotive builder. But it was no stranger to electric and internal-combustion locomotives. It was, however, slow to offer a standard line of diesel road engines. Baldwin’s late entry to the […]
