Denver & Rio Grande Western 3600, first of the road’s 20 superb L-131 and L-132 2-8-8-2s, crosses the Arkansas River west of Princeton, Colo., with a westbound freight. LeRoy Wilkie photo […]
Rio Grande 2-8-8-2 on Tennessee Pass
Magazine: Classic Trains
Nashville’s REA terminal
Baggage-express cars are spotted at Railway Express Agency’s Nashville terminal in 1962. Several of REA’s distinctive delivery trucks can be seen on the other side of the building. Railway Express Agency photo […]
Southern Pacific passenger trains remembered
All through February 2022, Classic Trains editors are celebrating the history and heritage of the Southern Pacific Lines. Please enjoy this photo gallery of Southern Pacific passenger trains selected from the image files in Kalmbach Media’s David P. Morgan Library. This gallery was first published in January 2019. […]
Narrow gauge electric line
The 3-foot-gauge Boston, Revere Beach & Lynn was built in 1875 and in 1928 electrified its double-track line along the shore north of Boston. Business was brisk at first, as attested by this scene at Crescent Beach, Mass. Nevertheless, the BRB&L was abandoned in 1940. General Electric photo […]
Maine narrow-gauge passenger cars
Passenger cars of the moribund Bridgton & Harrison languish in the 2-foot-gauge line’s yard at Bridgton, Maine, in 1940. B&H was abandoned the following year. Robert B. Adams photo […]
Louisville & Nashville’s ‘Dixie Flagler’ at speed
Louisville & Nashville 4-6-2 No. 277, streamlined in 1940 for the new Dixie Flagler, powers through Louisville’s Crescent Hill neighborhood with train 8 for Cincinnati in 1949. Charles B. Castner photo […]
Freight in Glenwood Canyon
Four F7s and a GP9 are reflected in the Colorado River as they roll a Denver & Rio Grande Western freight east through Glenwood Canyon in October 1960. George G. Speir photo […]
CV Mountain type
Boys young and old walk up to look at Central Vermont 4-8-2 601 at White River Junction, Vt., in the 1940s. Classic Trains coll. […]
Continental Divide
Five black-and-gold Northern Pacific F units lift a freight up the west slope of the Continental Divide at Elliston, Mont., in the 1950s. The NP relied on F units for both freight and passenger service. R. V. Nixon photo […]
General Electric passenger U-boats — Diesels that didn’t
The General Electric passenger U-boats filled a niche in the 1960’s locomotive market. Santa Fe, like many Class I railroads at the time, was still proud of its passenger service. But its roster of suitable diesel locomotives was getting old and any thought of Amtrak was still years away. Keeping its aging fleet of silver […]
Amtrak America’s Railroad book review
Amtrak America’s Railroad records the many trials of keeping America’s railroad passenger service on track, and there were and still remain many. The chapters offer coverage of “What We Had,” “Creating a New National Network,” “Where Do We Go From Here?” and “The Road to the Future.” The authors have dug deep to record input […]
Burlington 40-foot stock cars
A Burlington Route local spots a pair of stock cars at a Wyoming stock pen in 1955. The 40-foot cars were typical of modern 1950s cars, with steel underframes, ends, and roofs. The single-deck cars were built in 1949 at the railroad’s Havelock shops. William A. Akin photo […]
