Country landmark

Erie Lackawanna train “DAYTON 97” rolls west through Richwood, Ohio, bound for its namesake city on July 7, 1973. The train originated in Marion, Ohio, and backed east across the double track main lines of the Chesapeake & Ohio and Norfolk & Western before beginning its westward journey on the Dayton Branch. Photo by Russell […]

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My ‘bad-luck’ engine

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Santa Fe 4-8-4 No. 3760, author Elwood’s “bad luck” engine, leads the second section of the Grand Canyon west near Hesperia, Calif., in the 1950s. Don Sims My story takes place in 1943, when steam locomotives were supreme, and tells about my experiences with Santa Fe 3751-class 4-8-4 No. 3760. I was firing in passenger […]

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Dad, trains, and me

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In a photo by his dad, 11-year-old Michael Landry stands in Pontiac, Mich., with the Grand Trunk Western 4-8-4 they rode from Detroit on March 24, 1960. Hank Landry There I am, 11 years old, dwarfed by the Grand Trunk Western 4-8-4 on the next track during its stop at Pontiac, Mich., on March 24, […]

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Virginian in Victoria

Virginian Fairbanks-Morse units Nos. 20 and 39 leave Victoria, Va., on a westbound empty hopper train in March 1956. Norfolk Southern has revived this paint scheme on its 2012 heritage units. Photo by Herbert H. Harwood Jr. […]

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How I became ‘Old Smoky’

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In October 1953, about the time author Les Clark was a fireman here, a Union Pacific freight climbs the grade out of the Snake River Valley near Reverse, Idaho. Challenger 3838 is on the point; 2-8-8-0 pusher 3528 was added at Glenns Ferry. David W. Salter October was a favorite month for me in southern […]

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Central Railroad of New Jersey

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Read about the Central Railroad of New Jersey in a PDF of the article: “Jersey Central: Coal, Commuters, and a Comet” published in the Fallen Flags Remembered section of the Winter 2010 issue of Classic Trains magazine. Download the story by clicking on the PDF below. […]

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Running through!

An eastbound run through train between the Southern Pacific and Seaboard Coast Line between Houston, Texas, and Jacksonville, Fla., rumbles through Orange, Texas, behind a trio of SCL units, two U30Bs and a GP30. The date is May 1972. Photo by J. Parker Lamb Jr. […]

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The Russian rolls

Gainesville Midland Russian Decapod No. 206 rolls near Candler, Ga., on March 25, 1955, with a freight from the Seaboard Air Line connection at Athens. The engine was once Seaboard Air Line No. 544 and had originally been built for export to Russia but never went overseas. Photo by Hugh M. Comer […]

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Alco time in Florida

Seaboard Coast Line C420s Nos. 1214 and 1222 work Rochelle, Fla., on April 13, 1974. The rare units later were shipped to SCL affiliate Louisville & Nashville when that railroad became power short in the late 1970s. Photo by William J. Husa Jr. […]

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A rare look Southbound

Seaboard System Railroad officials inspect the jointly owned Winston-Salem Southbound Railroad (with Norfolk Southern) on Aug. 8, 1985. The train is crossing the Yadkin River near Badin, N.C., behind former Clinchfield Railroad F units Nos. 116 and 117. Photo by Doug Koontz […]

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