Wabash’s Decatur, Ill.–Hannibal, Mo., “West Local” slows to do some work at Jacksonville, Ill., on July 9, 1962. In charge are Fairbanks-Morse H24-66 Train Master 554 and EMD GP7 475. David Ingles […]
Trains Master on a Wabash freight
Section: Photos
Pioneer passenger diesel
axle passenger diesels built in 1935. EMC had no factory of its own yet, so this one was assembled at General Electric’s plant at Erie, Pa. The Winton-engined pioneer is preserved at the Museum of Transportation in St. Louis. General Electric […]
Perform rolling stock checkups
Good rolling stock plays a major role in the operating quality of any layout. On most model railroads, the car fleet represents more potential problems than any other single element, so here’s how I check every car before it goes on my Ohio Southern Railroad, using just a few handy tools, 1. Trucks and wheels […]
Cresting Tennessee Pass
Rio Grande’s California Fast Freight departs Tennessee Pass station, crest of the Continental Divide, in April 1938. Big 2-8-8-2 3606 will keep the train in check on the 3 percent grade down to Minturn, Colo. H. Kindig […]
Streamlined steam locomotives
A new aesthetic — “streamlining” — took hold in the 1930s. Objects from telephones to ocean liners were designed to be unified in appearance instead of collections of parts. Curves replaced square corners, and horizontal lines replaced verticals. Streamlining burst upon the railroad scene with the 1934 introduction of two sleek internal-combustion-powered passenger trains. Steam […]
4-8-2 in an N&W lubritorium
Norfolk & Western K2 4-8-2 117, just in from Lynchburg with the Tennessean, is prepared for its next assignment in the lubritorium service building at Shaffers Crossing terminal outside Roanoke, Va., in 1954. A. Akin Jr. […]
Al Perlman buys some RS11s
With the real thing in the background, New York Central President Alfred Perlman accepts a model of an RS11 from Alco Products Vice President W. A. Callison in June 1957. NYC bought nine of the 1,800 h.p. road-switchers. Alco […]
PA with the Royal Gorge
Rio Grande Alco PA 6013 revs up out of Littleton, Colo., with the Denver-bound Royal Gorge on May 18, 1967. David Ingles […]
Louisville & Nashville passenger diesels
Workers at the New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal enginehouse prepare Louisville & Nashville FP7 651 and a GP7 to go out on the Piedmont Limited/Gulf Wind in 1954. James G. La Vake […]
Less-than-carload boxcars in L.A.
Boxcars assigned to less-than-carload (LCL) service — including several Southern Pacific “Overnight” boxcars — are being loaded on parallel tracks at Pacific Electric’s 8th Street Freight Station in Los Angeles in the 1940s. PE was an SP subsidiary. Pacific Electric […]
Freight train on Tanglefoot Curve
A 70-car Denver & Rio Grande Western narrow-gauge freight train drops down famous Tanglefoot Curve, just east of Cumbres, Colo., in June 1960. Since 1960, Cumbres & Toltec tourist trains have plied this landmark. Robert F. Collins […]
Inside GN’s Red River
Great Northern launched its Red River pocket streamliner between Grand Forks, N.Dak., and St. Paul in June 1950, part of the road’s big postwar push for passengers. The coach seats featured a wheat motif on their upholstery. Great Northern […]
