Lucky youngsters from the 1920s to the 1960s were privileged to visit Lionel’s showroom in New York City to admire its trains and accessories operating on the great layouts there. Decades later we can only envy them for being there to view the landmark displays. […]
FULL SCREEN Trains Magazine Collection Skiers disembark Boston & Maine’s Snow Train at North Conway, N.H. FULL SCREEN Trains Magazine collection Passengers enjoy their ride aboard the Boston & Maine Snow Train. FULL SCREEN John Gruber collection The front cover of Boston & Maine’s 36-page booklet advertising its 1940 season. FULL SCREEN John Gruber collection […]
FULL SCREEN John Gruber Graham Claytor Jr. (left) appears apprehensive as he talks with D. W. Brosnan and Walter Dove on the platform at Asheville, N.C. But the conversation was friendly and the 4501 soon was on its way. FULL SCREEN John Gruber Locomotive 4501 proudly poses at Terminal Station, about ready to leave on […]
Q I bought this key almost 20 years ago. I know it’s from the “Frisco,” but can anyone date it or explain the “S” stamp?— Rick Goodell, Etna, Maine A A plain “S,” like on the key shown, means it is a switch key. Early railroad switch padlocks and keys came in various styles, but […]
Q On which railroad was the 1975 movie “Breakheart Pass” filmed? — Klaus Schmidt, Sleepy Hollow, N.Y. A “Breakheart Pass” was filmed on the Camas Prairie Railroad, a short line in Northern Idaho. Originally a cooperative building effort by predecessors of the Union Pacific and the BNSF in the early 20th century, as of 2004, […]
Southern Railway SD45 No. 3121 leads long hood forward on a unit coal train at Oreton, Va., in 1984. Such design enhanced bidirectional capability. Ron Flanary Q When did railroads such as the Norfolk & Western stop running their road engines “long hood first?” How effective was this practice for crew safety? Did it have […]
Q Why are some Rio Grande steam locomotives referred to as “Mudhens?”— Larry Beck, Susanville, Calif. A The term “Mudhen” refers to 15 Denver & Rio Grande Western class K-27 2-8-2s, Nos. 450-464, built by Baldwin in 1903. Two K-27 Mudhens are left: No. 463, under restoration at the C&TS and No. 464, in operation […]
Chesapeake & Ohio 2-8-4 No. 2707 is moved to Brookside Park in Cleveland in the mid-1950s. C&O Q In the 1960s and ’70s, I saw a steam locomotive in Brookside Park near the Cleveland Zoo. A group removed it later. Was it restored or scrapped? — Larry Matus, North Ridgeville, Ohio A The locomotive in […]
Watch video clips of Chicago & North Western steam and diesel trains in action, from the Herron Rail Video collection. […]
For railroad builders in North America, a 2.2 percent climb was considered the standard maximum grade for a well-engineered mountain railroad. But why this number? And how did its adoption become so widespread? Using modern-day analysis of some famous mountain railroad grades, Trains Magazine’s September 2011 issue explores the origins and adoption of 2.2 percent […]
Watch video clips of Chicago & North Western steam and diesel trains in action, from the Herron Rail Video collection. […]
Firemen on oil-burners like SP 4-8-2 4360 at Pinole, Calif., had to be sure the fuel was not too hot, not too cold, and adequately pressurized. John C. Illman As a fireman of oil-burning steam locomotives on the Southern Pacific during the 1950s (on the Coast, Rio Grande, Western, and Sacramento divisions), I never envied […]
