Dakota, Minnesota, & Eastern, SD40-type diesel electric locomotives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. SD40/-2 series •YEARS BUILT: 1966-1988 •MANUFACTURER: EMD •OPERATED ON: Most Class I freight railroads in North America •NAMES: SD40, 40-2, Snoot (for extended nose versions), Tunnel Motor (for SD40T-2), High Hood (for SR and N&W), Wide Nose (for CN), Fast Forties (on UP) •QUANTITY: […]
Sharknose •YEARS BUILT: 1948-1953 •MANUFACTURER: Baldwin •OPERATED ON: Baltimore & Ohio; New York Central; Pennsylvania Railroad; Elgin, Joliet & Eastern •NAMES: DR-6-4-20, RF-16, DR-4-15 •QUANTITY: 187 total A&B units combined •HORSEPOWER: 1,600 for RF-16 and 2,000 for DR-6-4-20 •KNOWN FOR: Distinctive nose/cab design by Raymond Loewy, based on the Pennsylvania Railroad’s streamlined T-1 steam locomotive […]
The little door below the headlight on an Alco switcher like Grand Trunk Western S4 No. 8090 led to a veritable chamber of horrors for a young roundhouse worker. J. David Ingles I know there are many dangerous occupations. My wife’s ancestors were coal miners in Pennsylvania after coming to America, having mined coal in […]
Southbound manifest train 26, three F unit diesels, pauses by the Borden Textile Mill in Kingsport, Tennessee, in March 1967 to add a three-unit rear-end pusher for the 42-mile climb to Erwin. C. K. Marsh Jr. History and major events of the Clinchfield Railroad The Clinchfield was different. It was conceived by men who had […]
Chinese-built Iowa Interstate Railroad’s 2-10-2 Santa Fe type steam locomotive pulls a passenger train at Rock Island, Illinois. Jim Wrinn 2-10-2 •YEARS BUILT: 1903 to 1931 •MANUFACTURERS: Baldwin, Lima, Brooks, Canadian, Montreal, China •OPERATED ON: Burlington Route; Baltimore & Ohio; Wabash; Atlantic Coast Line; Boston & Albany; Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range; Southern Railway; among […]
Chesapeake & Ohio Allegheny-type 2-6-6-2 steam locomotive No. 1622 pulls freight in West Virginia in the 1940s. B.F. Cutler 2-6-6-6 •YEARS BUILT: 1941 to 1948 •MANUFACTURER: Lima •OPERATED ON: Chesapeake & Ohio, Virginian Railway •NAMES: Allegheny on C&O, Blue Ridge on Virginian •QUANTITY: 68 •BOILER PRESSURE: 260 psi •KNOWN FOR: Hauling freight on steep mountain […]
Pere Marquette 2-8-4 Berkshire type steam locomotive No. 1225 steams near Owosso, Michigan. Jim Wrinn 2-8-4 •YEARS BUILT: 1924 to 1949 •MANUFACTURERS: Lima, Alco, Baldwin •OPERATED ON: Multiple large railroads •NAMES: Berkshire, Kanawha (Chesapeake & Ohio) •QUANTITY: 611; C&O had the most with 130 on the roster in 1947 •BOILER PRESSURE: 240 psi •KNOWN FOR: […]
Norfolk & Western 2-8-8-2 Y class type steam locomotive hauls a coal train in Virginia in 1958. Jim Shaughnessy 2-8-8-2 •YEARS BUILT: 1909 to 1952 •MANUFACTURERS: Baldwin, Norfolk & Western •OPERATED ON: Numerous railroads that required power to pull heavy freight trains upgrade •NAMES: Chesapeake (Chesapeake & Ohio), Y (Norfolk & Western) •QUANTITY: 844; Norfolk […]
Strasburg Rail Road 4-8-0 Mastodon-type steam locomotive No. 475 pulls a tourist train in Pennsylvania. Jim Wrinn 4-8-0 •YEARS BUILT: 1890s to 1935 •MANUFACTURERS: Brooks, Rogers, Alco, Baldwin, Norfolk & Western •OPERATED ON: Jersey Central, Lackawanna, Union Pacific, Winston-Salem Southbound, Norfolk & Western, Delaware & Hudson, Great Northern, Northern Pacific, Illinois Central, Missouri Pacific, Southern […]
Frisco 4-8-2 Mountain type steam locomotive No. 1522 hauls a tourist train near Swedeborg, Missouri, in 1994. Jim Wrinn 4-8-2 •YEARS BUILT: 1911 to 1948 •MANUFACTURERS: Alco, Baltimore & Ohio, Lima, Canadian, Montreal •OPERATED ON: Numerous large railroads requiring power for fast freight and passenger trains •NAMES: Mountain, Mohawk (New York Central) •QUANTITY: 2,201; New […]
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 […]
