In the Potomac River narrows west of Cumberland, Md., on Baltimore & Ohio’s main line to Pittsburgh, EM-1 2-8-8-4 7613 and 2-10-2 6222 doublehead on a westbound freight in May 1952. Edward Theisinger photo […]
B&O EM-1 and Big Six

In the Potomac River narrows west of Cumberland, Md., on Baltimore & Ohio’s main line to Pittsburgh, EM-1 2-8-8-4 7613 and 2-10-2 6222 doublehead on a westbound freight in May 1952. Edward Theisinger photo […]
Is there a more dignified railroad name than “Lackawanna?” Certainly, Lackawanna history evokes many images. In the days of steam, the name meant meticulous track supporting well-proportioned, dual-service “Pocono” 4-8-4s, hefty hogs in the form of three-cylinder 4-8-2s and ponderous 2-8-2s, speedy commuter 4-6-2s, and gorgeous 4-6-4s that even long-time Trains Editor David P. Morgan […]
Classic Trains editors are celebrating the history, heritage, and style of the Southern Pacific Lines all through February 2022. So, please enjoy this photo gallery of Southern Pacific locomotives selected from the archives of Kalmbach Media’s David P. Morgan Library. Southern Pacific locomotives were among the most distinctive in North America. The SP was one of the only […]
You’ll relive the glory years on the Baltimore & Ohio steam operations in Ohio, Indiana, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. A wide area of the B&O is covered during the steam era including Cincinnati to North Vernon, Ind.; Cincinnati to Pittsburgh via Columbus; and around Wheeling, W.Va. Also shown are scenes at Cincinnati Union Terminal, including […]
WM Consolidations 840 and 816 shake the earth and blacken the sky as they restart their train at Thomas, W.Va., in May 1952. Out of view, five more 2-8-0s assist at mid-train and on the rear. Edward Theisinger photo […]
Trackmen stand back to let a Texas & Pacific 2-10-4 pass with a freight climbing Baird Hill, about 15 miles east of Abilene, Tex. T&P photo […]
Chicago, Memphis & Gulf 4-6-0 No. 2, built by Rogers in 1884, was first owned by Chesapeake & Ohio, then Illinois Central, and then, after 1906, CM&G, a 52-mile short line between Dyersburg and Hickman, Ky. The Ten-Wheeler, missing a cylinder head, is pictured at Dyersburg in 1912. C. W. Whitbeck coll. […]
In a 1953 view from Canadian Pacific’s S.S. Princess Helene docked at Digby, Nova Scotia, after a trip over the Bay of Fundy from Saint John, New Brunswick, a CP 4-6-2 backs the head-end cars of train 98 out onto the pier to receive baggage and mail from the ship. Another engine will bring 98’s […]
Southern Railway 2-8-2 No. 4505 — sister to excursion star 4501 — tramps up Saluda Grade in the pouring rain on Aug. 3, 1950. You can bet there’s another engine shoving hard on the rear to get the train up the 4.7 percent grade. August A. Thieme Jr. photo […]
Southern Pacific Freight Trains: Classic Trains editors are celebrating the history, heritage, and style of the Southern Pacific all through February 2022. Please enjoy this photo gallery of Southern Pacific freight trains selected from the archives of Kalmbach Media’s David P. Morgan Library. Southern Pacific freight trains carried many commodities. Famously, the SP hauled sugar beets on […]
The Golden Spike Centennial Limited was born, in promoter Ross Rowland Jr.’s mind, as a reaction to the Association of American Railroads’ not planning anything special to mark the 100th anniversary of the nation-uniting event on the new transcontinental railroad at Promontory, Utah, in 1869. The apathy was perhaps typical of the Class I railroads […]
In a 1954 view from the running board of NKP Berkshire 703, standing in the siding at New Douglas, Ill., with freight 49, sister 710 roars by with eastbound 98. Philip R. Hastings photo […]