Traqueros: Mexican railroad workers in the United States, 1870-1930 No. 6 in Al Filo: Mexican American Studies Series By Jeffrey Marcos Garcílazo, Ph.D. Forward by Vicki L. Ruiz, Ph.D. University of North Texas Press, 1155 Union Circle, Denton, Texas, 76203-5017; 256 pages, map, tables, illustration, footnotes, index, bibliography, paperbound, 6 x 9 inches; $24.95. untpress.unt.edu […]
Train Topic: History
Three-phase locomotives
Great Northern Railway used three-phase locomotives in the 1920s. This General Electric locomotive operated with three-phase power. General Electric Q In a September 1999 article in Trains, I read that the Great Northern Cascade Tunnel electrification project was the first and only three-phase A.C. system in America. Was three phase delivered to a moving locomotive? […]
I was a teenage hostler
Big EM-1 2-8-8-4s congregate at the Benwood, Ohio, engine terminal in August 1957, a decade after author Tanner was a hostler there. J. J. Young Jr., Bob Withers coll. Sixty-odd years ago, North American railroads were enjoying prosperous years. World War II was over, but the momentum created during that time continued for another decade. […]
B&O troop train confab
The commander of a May 1953 U.S. Army troop train out of Fort Meade, Md., confers with a Baltimore & Ohio passenger representative, the train conductor, and the Pullman conductor. Philip R. Hastings photo […]
Santa Fe’s Super Chief
Watch clips of the Santa Fe’s legendary Chicago–Los Angeles streamliner from Sunday River Productions’ program The Super Chief — The Whole Story. […]
Santa Fe’s Super Chief
Watch clips of the Santa Fe’s legendary Chicago–Los Angeles streamliner from Sunday River Productions’ program The Super Chief — The Whole Story. […]
The last dance
The boiler explosion at Serra, Calif., that destroyed Mikado 3199 and killed its watchman took the classic form of such incidents, with the boiler being catapulted hundreds of yards from the running gear. Jack O. Elwood coll. During the era of steam locomotives, many of us in engine service loved those gallant machines, but we […]
Railroad Reading: Blue-chip investment
The cover of Yanosey’s first Lehigh Valley book, one of Morning Sun’s early titles. Editor’s note: This story first appeared in the August 2006 issue of Trains Magazine in the “Railroad Reading” section. Recently one of my authors at Morning Sun, who is writing a Lehigh Valley book, came here and immediately stated, “I didn’t […]
The Erie’s super locomotive
Erie No. 2603, later No. 5014, was built in 1914 by Baldwin in Philadelphia. None of these 850,000-pound-plus locomotives were preserved. Herb Broadbelt Q With so much talk about Union Pacific’s Big Boy, I was wondering about other North American “big steamers.” Do you know the current location of any of the Erie Railroad’s three […]
Remembering Conrail, 40 years later NEWSWIRE
Gone, though much beloved. Peru’s Ferrocarril Central Andino recently painted former Conrail C39-8 No. 1031 in a “Tribute” paint scheme. In addition to wearing the South American railroad’s Conrail-inspired logo, the locomotive has been painted in Conrail colors and named the James A. Hagen, in honor of Conrail’s former chairman. Railroad Development Corp. owns share […]
Book Review: Guide to North American Steam Locomotives, Revised Edition
Guide to North American Steam Locomotives, Revised Edition By George H. Drury Kalmbach Books; 336 pages, 420 photos; softcover, 8.25 x 10.75 inches; $24.99 www.kalmbachhobbystore.com Six decades after the decline of steam in North America, Kalmbach has just issued a revised edition of the Guide to North American Steam Locomotives. A reference book on steam […]
Early SP intermodal train
An A-B-A set of F units departs San Francisco with Southern Pacific train 372, the piggyback-heavy Advance Overnight for Los Angeles, in August 1955. William Harry photo […]