One of Pittsburgh & West Virginia’s seven 2-6-6-4s leads a freight across the Monongahela River at Belle Vernon, Pa., near Pittsburgh. Ralph E. Hallock photo […]
Monongahela monsters

One of Pittsburgh & West Virginia’s seven 2-6-6-4s leads a freight across the Monongahela River at Belle Vernon, Pa., near Pittsburgh. Ralph E. Hallock photo […]
In 1972, four EMD six-axle locomotives lead a freight train over itself on the famed Tehachapi Loop in southern California. Jim Zwernemann photo […]
Following a freewheeling “flying switch” maneuver to change ends, No. 46 couples to its train at Dorval, Que., and departs with morning commuters bound for Montreal. Philip R. Hastings photo […]
The Escanaba & Lake Superior dieselized in the mid-1940s with Baldwin locomotives, including DS-4-4-660 No. 101, purchased new in November 1947. It was the second diesel on the property and one of two of the model. Classic Trains collection […]
Railway Express Agency bought 500 new steel plug door reefers from American Car & Foundry in 1947-48. They initially wore a green and aluminum scheme, but were repainted all green in the 1950s. American Car & Foundry photo […]
Minneapolis & St. Louis was known for its freights that ran south from the Twin Cities through Iowa to Peoria, Ill., to connect with several eastern railroads there. This green-and-yellow set of F units was constructed in 1947, which is reflected in its road number. Classic Trains collection […]
A crossing watchman is out with his STOP sign to warn motorists to stay clear of a fast-moving Pennsylvania Railroad GG1 racing north at Seabrook, Md., in April 1963. William D. Middleton photo […]
Gainesville Midland 2-10-0 No. 207 churns its 56-inch drivers across the Southern Railway’s Washington–Atlanta main line at Gainesville, Ga. The short line, which rostered five such locomotives, extended 40 miles from Gainesville southeast to Athens. Philip R. Hastings photo […]
Santa Fe 2-6-2 No. 1010 is seen at Pasadena, Calif., in 1963 as a prop in the movie “The Carpetbaggers.” It was also used on Death Valley Scotty’s famous special in 1905 and a television recreation in the 1950s. Santa Fe photo […]
New York Central boss Alfred E. Perlman, left, shakes hands with Chairman Robert R. Young, hanging out the window of the experimental Xplorer lightweight train in 1956. New York Central photo […]
As a streetcar rolls by, Missouri Pacific 0-8-0 9721 and caboose have tied on to stalled 2-10-2 helper 1716 and 4-8-4 road engine 2111. Soon the three engines begin to march up Missouri’s Kirkwood Hill in March 1946. Joe Collias photo […]
St. Louis-San Francisco semi-streamlined 4-8-2 No. 1503 works at Kirkwood, Mo., in 1942. The railroad, best known simply as the Frisco, had 30 such locomotives built by Baldwin from 1923 to 1926. William Barham photo, Don Wirth collection […]