Five black-and-gold Northern Pacific F units lift a freight up the west slope of the Continental Divide at Elliston, Mont., in the 1950s. The NP relied on F units for both freight and passenger service. R. V. Nixon photo […]
Continental Divide
General Electric passenger U-boats — Diesels that didn’t
The General Electric passenger U-boats filled a niche in the 1960’s locomotive market. Santa Fe, like many Class I railroads at the time, was still proud of its passenger service. But its roster of suitable diesel locomotives was getting old and any thought of Amtrak was still years away. Keeping its aging fleet of silver […]
Amtrak America’s Railroad book review
Amtrak America’s Railroad records the many trials of keeping America’s railroad passenger service on track, and there were and still remain many. The chapters offer coverage of “What We Had,” “Creating a New National Network,” “Where Do We Go From Here?” and “The Road to the Future.” The authors have dug deep to record input […]
Burlington 40-foot stock cars
A Burlington Route local spots a pair of stock cars at a Wyoming stock pen in 1955. The 40-foot cars were typical of modern 1950s cars, with steel underframes, ends, and roofs. The single-deck cars were built in 1949 at the railroad’s Havelock shops. William A. Akin photo […]
Southern Pacific history remembered
Southern Pacific history is made up of many little stories. Each for one of its many distinct mainline routes. Until the supermergers of recent decades, Southern Pacific was one of the largest railroads in the U. S., ranking third behind Pennsylvania and New York Central in operating revenue and second behind Santa Fe in route mileage. […]
Alco diesels in the Berkshires
Three New York Central Alco FAs lift a westbound freight up Washington Hill on NYC’s Boston & Albany line in western Massachusetts in September 1949. R. E. Toby photo […]
‘Electroliner’ at night
One of the North Shore Line’s two Electroliner trains pauses at the North Chicago station on a southbound run one snowy night in the 1950s. William D. Middleton photo […]
Classic Trains, Spring 2022
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City of San Francisco at Davis
A Southern Pacific PA-PB-PA set leads the westbound City of San Francisco at Davis, Calif., in June 1951. D. W. Johnson photo […]
B&O midget electric
Baltimore & Ohio box-cab electric No. 10 shifts cars on the constricted trackage near the Baltimore waterfront in September 1949. In 1954, after B&O shut down its trolley system, the little fellow retired to the B&O Railroad Museum. H. N. Proctor photo […]
Remembering Norfolk & Western Railway locomotives
Classic Trains editors are celebrating the history, heritage, and style of the Norfolk & Western Railway all through January 2022. So, please enjoy this photo gallery of Norfolk & Western locomotives selected from the archives of Kalmbach Media’s David P. Morgan Library. Norfolk & Western locomotives served in the coal fields and later on high-speed freight […]
Train time at Wilmington, N.C.
Several baggage carts stand ready to receive mail and express as an Atlantic Coast Line train backs into the Wilmington, N.C., station in 1957. William D. Middleton photo […]
