Smoke show

Union Pacific steam train in Nevada

Union Pacific train 339, the mixed from Twin Falls, Idaho, nears its destination of Wells, Nev., in fall 1943. Locomotive 2127, a 2-8-2 of subsidiary Oregon-Washington Railroad & Navigation Co., is a class MK-1 one of 41 such engines built by Baldwin. Photo by W. B. Wolverton photo, W. H. Wolverton collection […]

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Ghost train

New York Central train 315 in Ohio

New York Central train 315 stands at Bellefontaine, Ohio, on July 16, 1960. The E7s still wear lightning stripes, but the train is already all mail and express cars with a single coach. On the eve of Amtrak in 1971, potentials passengers petitioned Penn Central to carry privately owned passenger cars on this run, which […]

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California Interurban

Passengers boarding at the Northwestern Pacific rail-ferry terminal

Passengers bound for points in Northern California’s Marin County board their train at the Northwestern Pacific rail-ferry terminal in Sausalito in the late 1930s. Service began here in 1875 under the auspices of the narrow-gauge North Pacific Coast Railroad. Opening of the Golden Gate Bridge in 1937 was the beginning of the end, and the […]

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Diesel diaspora

Two Reading Alco Century-series diesels in Cleveland

The first two ex-Reading Alco Century-series diesels to appear in Cleveland following the creation of Conrail do so here in April 1976. C424 5204 and C630 5307, not yet renumbered, are arriving with a train of empty cars at the C&P ore dock on Whiskey Island on the lakefront. The Alcos are ducking under the […]

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Rebuilt for grain

Union Pacific boxcar with built-in grain door

Union Pacific had the largest fleet of rebuilt boxcars with built-in grain doors, visible in the upper part of the right plug door. No. 520003 was rebuilt from an older 40-foot car in 1967. Photo by Union Pacific […]

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Doodlebug discontinued

Kansas, Oklahoma & Gulf gas-electric M-23

Kansas, Oklahoma & Gulf gas-electric M-23, assembled by GE in 1939 using parts from other cars, stands at Denison, Texas, on July 8, 1954. M-23 was scrapped a few months later, after its Denison–Muskogee, Okla., run, the last Muskogee Group varnish, was discontinued. Photo by Harold K. Vollrath […]

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Burlington high stepper

2-8-2 Mikado No. 4960

In April 1965, the Mississippi River rose enough at Savanna, Ill., to endanger diesel traction motors, but the tracks were still passable. So, the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy fired up fantrip 2-8-2 Mikado No. 4960, which ferried freight and passenger trains (like the North Coast Limited, pictured) through the high water. Photo by Chicago, Burlington & […]

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Diesels for victory

A-B-B-A set of Erie Railroad FTs

An A-B-B-A set of Erie Railroad FTs, acquired during World War II, is fueled at an unknown, albeit modern, location on the railroad. The Erie had six such sets, Nos. 700–705 with A-B-C-D suffixes, followed by F3 and F7 units after the war. […]

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Kansas City, again

Rock Island train 39 in Kansas City

Nameless Rock Island train 39, heavy with “head-end” mail-and-express business, is 2 miles out of Kansas City Union Station on February 9, 1963, as it arrives at the Kansas City, Kans., station, behind an E7A-B duo. The depot, which sat between the two main tracks used by RI and UP through trains, was beside the […]

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Wabash mogul

Wabash 2-6-0 Mogul 573 in Iowa

Just uncoupled from its train, Wabash 2-6-0 Mogul 573 looks spiffy at Keokuk, Iowa, on October 18, 1953. The locomotive resided on the railroad’s Keokuk Branch due to the Illinois River bridge at Meredosia, Ill., which was unable to support newer diesels. Photo by Don Hofsommer […]

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Produce packers

Workers packing ice in crates

Workers pack ice in wooden crates with carrots at Elsa, Texas, northwest of Brownsville, in February 1939. There is an unidentified wooden reefer behind them. Photo by Russell Lee, Library of Congress […]

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