Before the whiteout Wearing the handsome yellow, black, and red Kansas City Southern passenger-diesel livery, E8 No. 28 is at Sallisaw, Okla., with the New Orleans-Kansas City Southern Belle in June 1962. KCS began using a version of this paint scheme, introduced with the Belle in 1940. The railroad later went to all-red and all-white […]
Interlocking towers Cody answers this question in this video of Ask Trains. Are you looking to learn more about your model railroad, or do you have questions about full-size trains? Send us an email at: AskTrains@trains.com ………………………………… Ask Trains is a regular video feature of Trains.com for magazine subscribers and Trains.com members, where editors answer the […]
Seatrain at anchor Wearing the shipping line’s distinctive stylized railroad track funnel markings, Seatrain Georgia and a sister are moored at Edgewater, N.J. The dock crane was fixed, so precise positioning was crucial. […]
Canadian contrasts Canadian National U-4-a 6404’s rounded contours contrast with the angular lines of a nearby SW1200RS diesel switcher, although the 4-8-4’s traditional-style signal/marker lamps, boxy numberboards, and spoked engine-truck wheels detract from its streamlined appearance. Jim Shaughnessy photo […]
Freight car evolution Auto parts trains were a mixed bag in the mid-1960s. This Wabash train in May 1964 shows an old 50-foot parts car with only the code and car numbers visible, new 60- and 85-foot cars, and an open auto rack. J. David Ingles collection […]
Distinctive duo Electro-Motive’s first two diesel switchers, Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Nos. 425 and 426, were built at General Electric’s Erie, Pa., plant prior to the opening of EMC’s own assembly plant at LaGrange, Ill. The pioneering locomotives, built in 1935, have distinctive cab, hood, and truck designs that wouldn’t be repeated on later EMC […]
Iron mule An unseen “iron mule” between the rails propels a coal car, with a brakeman aboard, toward a dumper at Newport News, Va. The C&O, along with rivals Norfolk & Western and Virginian, moved millions of tons of coal to be transloaded to ships in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia. Chesapeake & Ohio […]
Illinois steam survivor Wabash 2-6-0 576 creeps west across the Illinois River at Meredosia, Ill., in September 1954. The bridge famously limited the use of diesel locomotives on the railroad’s branch to Keokuk, making this operation a late era Midwest steam outpost. Philip R. Hastings photo […]
Intermodal engineering Wood planks were common for building piggyback ramps. Large planks formed rub rails (well-used judging by the scars) along the edges, with a notch for the flatcar coupler and a steel bridge plate on the right. Classic Trains magazine collection […]
Midwest memories The sun shines down on Northern Pacific-painted S2 705 at Jamestown, N.Dak., on NP S2 705 in early 1970, just eight weeks after the creation of Burlington Northern. J. David Ingles photo […]
Terminal Station Daniel Burnham designed the Southern Railway’s monumental Terminal Station in New Orleans in 1908, just after his Washington Union Station opened. Terminal faced Canal Street at Basin until it was razed in 1956. James G. La Vake photo […]
Route of the Rockets The 1,600-hp Alco RS3 was an all-time best-selling road switcher with more than 1,200 built from 1949 to 1956. Rock Island No. 492, built in 1951, operated in Chicago area commuter service. Rock Island photo […]
