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Texas terminal
Just after the turn of the 20th century, large terminal elevators began to appear. Grain gathered in these mammoth concrete structures (the one here holds 3.6 million bushels) at Amarillo, Texas, in 1943, is forwarded by rail to mills and to port elevators for export. Note the three boxcars for scale. Photo by Jack Delano, […]
Roundhouse still life
Roundhouses were filled with life, from steam locomotives to the workers who maintained them. This is a 2-8-2 in the Galesburg, Ill., roundhouse of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy in the 1950s. Photo by Jim Shaughnessy […]
Refined steam
Pennsylvania K4s 4-6-2 No. 5399, built at the railroad’s Juniata shops in 1923, was rebuilt by Lima in 1939 with a front-end throttle and poppet valves to improve performance and efficiency. Photo by Lima Locomotive Works […]
Prototype diesel
An A-B set of drawbar-connected Boston & Maine EMD FTs (in Boston in March 1950) shows the distinctive four-porthole styling and close spacing between units. The boxy structure on the roof is the dynamic brake housing. The F unit’s “bulldog” carbody styling blended nicely with passenger cars but did not facilitate clear views to the […]
Profiles in progress
Chesapeake & Ohio H-8 2-6-6-6 No. 1647 departs Handley, W.Va., with tidewater coal — a dozen 67-inch driving wheels, 90 loads, lend engine slipping wildly. The railroad had 60 such locomotives, built by Lima in 1941-1948. Photo by Philip R. Hastings […]
Packing produce
Orange crates are stacked on end in two layers, with a third horizontal layer. The top of the load is kept below the openings in the bunker (note the full load of ice). Photo by Library of Congress […]
New Haven electric
The first of New Haven’s new 3,600-hp General Electric passenger-service electric locomotives, No. 0361, poses for its builder’s photo in 1938. Photo by General Electric […]
MoPac doubleheader
Two Missouri Pacific 4-8-4s, Baldwin products of 1943, lead a westbound freight with a long string of hopper cars through Sandy Hook, Mo., about 19 miles west of Jefferson City on the River Line. Photo by C. T. Wood […]
Midwest Mikado
Minneapolis & St. Louis Mikado No. 627, a 1921 Alco (Brooks) locomotive, charges toward Peoria with a hot freight in a publicity photo. Photo by Minneapolis & St. Louis […]
Man at work
Conductors had a tremendous amount of paperwork to complete, not to mention dealing with unhappy passengers, equipment problems, train schedules, and seating issues. Photo by Norfolk & Western […]
The story of Squaw Valley
Downhill skiing buffs immediately think of the winter vacation destination (and site of the 1960 winter Olympics) in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains when “Squaw Valley” is mentioned. More than 50 years ago, the name Squaw Valley came to the mountains of Western North Carolina under entirely different circumstances. To set the stage, I was a […]
