Santa Fe requested the custom U30CG from General Electric, offering 3,000 hp and a steam generator in a distinctive cowl body considered more aesthetically suitable for passenger service than a road-switcher. The railroad carried six such units on its roster, Nos. 8000–8005, which went into freight service following the 1971 transfer of passenger service to […]
A blue lantern hanging by the pilot of E7 No. 539 at Florence, N.C., indicates that the train is not to be moved during its 5-minute station stop. William D. Middleton photo […]
A clear signal over track 2 beckons the Pennsylvania’s St. Louisan near Radebaugh, Pa. On track 1, a J1 2-10-4 pushes on an eastbound freight while a set of Baldwin Sharknose helpers approaches on track 3. Philip R. Hastings photo […]
New York Central’s Flexi-Van system, unveiled in spring 1956, employed truck trailers with detachable wheels that locked on special flat cars, saving time, weight, and height. Other railroads that bought into the concept included Illinois Central and Milwaukee Road. Jim Shaughnessy photo […]
Missouri-Kansas-Texas MP15AC No. 58 is a 1980 product of EMD. The locomotive’s model designates the use of an alternator and rectifiers instead of the traditional generator to produce D.C. power for the traction motors. Other major U.S. buyers included Long Island Rail Road, Louisville & Nashville, Milwaukee Road, Seaboard Coast Line, and Southern Pacific. Lee […]
All this month — March 2020 — Classic Trains editors are celebrating the heritage, history, and images of the Clinchfield Railroad. Please enjoy this photo gallery of images from the David P. Morgan Library archives at Kalmbach Media that include Clinchfield diesel- and steam-powered freight trains through time. You might also enjoy this Clinch history […]
In March 2020, Classic Trains is celebrating the history, heritage, and splendor of the Clinchfield Railroad. Enjoy this photo gallery, selected from the David P. Morgan Library collections, as the perfect salute to the Clinchfield. Return each week for another salute to the railroad of the month! See what we did last week for the […]
An Atlantic Coast Line laborer uses a long-handled brush to clean the windshield of E6 No. 520 at Florence, S.C. The locomotive is leading train 375, the Washington–Jacksonville Everglades. William D. Middleton photo […]
Santa Fe’s high-priority Super C freight between Chicago and Los Angeles debuted with much fanfare in 1968. High rates, charged to placate other Santa Fe customers, limited traffic, however. Santa Fe photo […]
Swift & Co. had a large soybean processing plant on the Nickel Plate Road at Frankfort, Ind. In this 1946 view, beans arrived by boxcar, with outbound soy meal loaded in sacks in boxcars (the boxcar in the background) and soybean oil loaded in tank cars. Nickel Plate Road photo […]
Eastern Gas & Fuel’s modern Wharton No. 2 mine southwest of Barrett, W.Va., will load 105 hoppers, including subject C&O 134594 and 47859, with coal on June 2, 1955. Trains’ Editor David P. Morgan tracked the cars from mine to ship in the April 1956 issue. W.A. Akin Jr. photo […]
Santa Fe FT No. 100 was not only the railroad’s first mainline freight diesel, but part of the first order for mainline freight diesel power by any U.S. railroad. Eventually, the railroad would use 320 of the Electro-Motive products to dieselize its transcontinental main line. Santa Fe photo […]
