Reading Company, as a railroad, disappeared into Conrail more than 40 years ago. But it is still possible to “take a ride on the Reading.” This can be done when playing the board game Monopoly, or (more literally) by boarding a Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority commuter train in the Philadelphia area. Today, the Reading (pronounced […]
Powerful PAs persevere Four Alco PAs roll Champlain Division local SC-20 along the shore of Lake Champlain just out of Port Henry, N.Y., en route south to Whitehall, N.Y., on May 7, 1977. Jim Shaughnessy photo […]
Great Yellow Fleet Many older Western Fruit Express wood cars were rebuilt in the late 1940s. No. 72316 received steel sides with straight sills, a diagonal-panel roof, and improved 3/3 Dreadnaught ends. Jeff Wilson collection […]
Erie Limited The westbound Limited crosses the New York-Pennsylvania state line as it bridges the Delaware River at Mill Rift, Pa. An ordinary Pullman, not a fancy observation car with a tail sign, brings up the rear of the Erie’s unpretentious but comfortable flagship. Wayne Brumbaugh photo […]
Hollywood Round windows marked the 1941 City of Los Angeles’s swank lounge car Hollywood. The train operated over Union Pacific and Chicago & North Western between its namesake city and Chicago. Classic Trains collection […]
Hell Gate Bridge Having just crossed the 1,017-foot Hell Gate Bridge, Penn Central GG1 4913 begins the long descent to ground level with a Boston-bound Amtrak train in February 1973. Diesels will take over at New Haven. Victor Hand photo […]
Automobile boxcar Northern Pacific no. 4914 is a 50-foot, single-sheathed, double-door car built in the late 1930s and shown here in 1940. Note the Dreadnaught end door. Jay Williams collection […]
Passenger pioneer Amtrak No. 583 is a 3,000-hp, six-axle EMD SDP40F. The model was the first new diesel locomotive purchased by Amtrak in the 1970s. It has a different side panel arrangement and lacks the front platform of the earlier FP45. Jim Hediger photo […]
America’s breadbasket Here’s what it looks like on the lower level of a large concrete terminal grain elevator. Each bin in a row can discharge its contents onto a long conveyor belt, which carries grain to the main building. From here, grain can go up to a rail loading chute. Library of Congress collection […]
Tickets, please Passengers riding New York Central’s deluxe 20th Century Limited sleeper-observation car required two tickets, one for rail travel and one for the sleeping accommodations. Don Wood photo […]
Lima-Hamilton locomotives history Lima-Hamilton locomotives were built out of Lima, the youngest and smallest of the Big Three steam builders. The Ohio manufacturer was synonymous with steam at its best, and it upheld the steam standard to the bitter end. Even as legions of diesels were rolling off the erecting floors of competitors, Lima Locomotive […]
‘Broadway’ streamlined On June 15, 1938 — the 36th anniversary of its launch — the Pennsylvania Railroad’s Broadway Limited was upgraded to a streamlined train, albeit with a rebuilt heavyweight RPO and diner. Given a shroud in 1936, K4s 3468 heads the new equipment’s inaugural eastbound run at Englewood. Rival New York Central completely streamlined […]
