Christmas Past: 33 years of railroad Christmas cards

Chicago Transit Authority

Christmas Past gallery For train-watchers, the holidays have an appeal all their own. Many enjoy sending and receiving Christmas cards with a railroad theme. Trains Magazine explored this tradition in its December 2009 issue and looked at one train-watcher and railroad employee who has gone to great lengths (coast to coast and across the Atlantic) […]

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Dual service

20191209

St. Louis-San Francisco 4-8-2 No. 1503 works train No. 3 at Southeastern Junction just west of Lindenwood Yard southwest of downtown St. Louis in December 1942. The railroad had 30 such locomotives built by Baldwin between 1923 and 1926 that served in both freight and passenger service. William Barham photo, Don Wirth collection […]

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Deshler doings

20191217

Baltimore & Ohio train No. 355, the Toledo–Cincinnati day local, passes under the home signals protecting the road’s Chicago Division diamonds as it pulls away from its Deshler station stop. Ahead, a 2-10-2 backs toward its train after taking water from the standpipe at the station. Wallace W. Abbey photo […]

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Beloit built

20191213

Fairbanks-Morse introduced its “Consolidation Line” of freight and passenger diesels in 1950. Available in cab and booster versions rated at 1,600, 2,000, and 2,400 hp, the line cataloged 14 models. These are CPA24-5 models with a two-axle truck up front and three-axle truck at rear. Robert M. Stacy photo […]

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A run at the hill

20191218

At Bayview Junction, Ontario, trackmen watch Canadian National 4-8-4 No. 6234 pass with Toronto–Windsor train No. 83 on August 29, 1958. The Northern has just backed its train from Hamilton to the junction and is gathering speed for the climb up the Niagara Escarpment. Art Weber photo […]

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Inside Trainfest 2024

Ho scale steam locomotive at a station

America’s largest operating model railroad show returned to Milwaukee over the weekend. After a 2023 hiatus, Trainfest 2024 was held Nov. 23-24 at the Baird Center, located in the downtown area. The center itself was recently renovated and featured 300,000-contiguous sq. ft. of exhibit space, with highlights from the show that included the following: Dozens […]

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Top of the PRR

20181128

The pushers of two eastbound freight trains pass AR Tower in Gallitzin, Pa., summit of the Pennsylvania Railroad’s Pittsburgh–Philadelphia main line in 1956. The track above the tower loops from the westbound main tracks. Philip R. Hastings photo […]

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Timeworn T1

20181120

Pennsylvania Railroad class T1 4-4-4-4 duplex 5536 shows the effects of hard service at Chicago in the late 1940s, but the engine is in fact less than five years old. Classic Trains coll. […]

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