Images through the lens of
Trains’ founder
New England traveler
The Boston & Maine’s White Mountain Express arrives at Woodsville, N.H., in September 1951. Note the New Haven car in the consist along with the double train-order signals mounted on the station.
St. Thomas smoke break
A silhouetted man smokes a pipe on the platform at St. Thomas, Ontario, while a Michigan Central train stops. A New York Central subsidiary, the MC operated its main line from Buffalo through southern Ontario to Detroit and Chicago, plus branches in Michigan.
Canada Customs
The Canadian flag flies over the customs house alongside the Canadian National station at Sarnia, Ont., where the Inter-City Limited has arrived from Chicago. Sarnia is the first station in Canada, where CN goes under the St. Clair River.
Excess baggage
Algoma Central crewmen and station staff load headend business at Hearst, Ont., where the railroad and Canadian National share a station. Canoes are regular baggage in this far north country.
Classic caboose
An eastbound Milwaukee Road freight at Grand Avenue Tower heads toward the railroad’s maze of yard in Milwaukee’s Menomonee River Valley. The route to the left serves the Milwaukee’s classic downtown station (shown on facing page).
Air Line action
A Milwaukee Road freight behind one of the road’s ubiquitous workhorse Mikados moves down the Air Line freight route through West Allis, Wis., in 1951. The line is now the Hank Aaron State Trail.
Fantastic fleet
Streamlined and conventional trains line up at the Milwaukee Road’s downtown Milwaukee station. The grand brick structure was replaced in 1965 by a new concrete edifice to the south to accommodate freeway construction.
With respect to the photo of Sarnia, Ontario, the flag shown is the Union Jack, a flag that was flown in all commonwealth countries. The flag of Canada at the time of this photo (in the 1950’s?) was the Red Ensign, defaced with a shield, that was replaced with the current flag in 1965.
Great photo, but the caption must belong to a different photo. The camera is pointing N-NE. The concrete arch is the Grand Ave ( now Wisconsin Ave) viaduct. The steel trestle in the background is the TMERL Wells St. streetcar line, north of Grand Ave. The house roofs visible between the end of the caboose and the concrete abutment are in the little neighborhood known as Pigsville. The train has already left the Valley yards and is headed north (TT west?) on the branch to North Milw , Green Bay and points north. The double tracks going to the left are the main line going thru Wauwatosa and on to Minneapolis and the west coast. Keep these great photos coming! Thanks!