A General Electric U25B leads EMD, Alco, and Fairbanks-Morse units on Norfolk & Western train KB6 near Hull, Ill., in October 1964, just weeks after N&W leased the Wabash. J. David Ingles photo […]
Four-builder lineup
Section: Photo of the Day
Helping the Chief
Santa Fe 2-10-2 No. 1680 assists the 15 passenger cars and three diesels on train No. 19, the Chief, at Wootton, Colo., on the climb up Raton Pass on June 17, 1950. R.H. Kindig photo […]
A run at the hill
At Bayview Junction, Ontario, trackmen watch Canadian National 4-8-4 No. 6234 pass with Toronto–Windsor train No. 83 on August 29, 1958. The Northern has just backed its train from Hamilton to the junction and is gathering speed for the climb up the Niagara Escarpment. Art Weber photo […]
Pocatello prominence
The Union Pacific hump yard at Pocatello, Idaho, receives cars from various branch lines, sorts them by destination, and forwards them east or west to other points on the rail network. The yard is located on the Oregon Short Line route between Ogden, Utah, and Portland, Ore., that UP leased in 1936. Union Pacific photo […]
Train Master
Fairbanks-Morse H-24-66, dubbed the Train Master, was known for its substantial carbody. At 2,400 hp, the Train Master was the highest-horsepower road switcher on the market when introduced in 1953. No. 6301 was one of five Train Masters rostered by the Southern Railway. Ken Douglas photo […]
Unmistakable profile
Norfolk & Western class J 4-8-4 No. 608 rolls through a tunnel at Shawsville, Va., in June 1956. The unmistakable profile of the classic streamlined steamer cuts through the tunnel portal. H. Reid photo […]
Wild Mary
The first two of seven Western Maryland 2-8-0s lift a 78-car eastbound train up the twisting grade through Black Fork Gorge toward Thomas, W.Va., on May 16, 1952. Edward Theisinger photo […]
Windy City respite
The Baltimore & Ohio dieselized its named passenger trains with six sets of Electro-Motive EA-EB passenger diesels in 1937–38. Here, two of the sets rest in Chicago between runs. Baltimore & Ohio photo […]
Paper power
Lettered East Branch & Lincoln, but belonging to Franconia Paper Co., 2-4-2T No. 5 works at Lincoln, N.H., with sister 0-4-0T No. 3. Philip R. Hastings photo […]
Parting shot
The crew of Southern Pacific Extra 6311 East ties up at the Sparks, Nev., yard office, 2 miles east of Reno. The men have moved their train of 5,002 tons 137 miles from Sacramento, including a vertical climb of 6,723 feet and a descent of 2,459 feet. Philip R. Hastings photo […]
Southwest scenery
A westbound Southern Pacific freight from El Paso, Texas, passes through the Rio Grande Valley in New Mexico in 1952. SP’s eastward construction reached El Paso in 1881; by 1883, the company had cobbled together a route that reached New Orleans. R.D. McIntyre photo […]
Streamliner royalty
The eastbound California Zephyr passes the monument to the dome car at the spot where the idea for such a passenger car was conceived near Colorado’s Glenwood Canyon. Such a magnificent train, indeed, such an incredible car, might not have been possible without the Centennial State. Everett L. DeGolyer Jr. photo […]
