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Not what it appears to be
Two Norfolk Southern six-axle GEs haul BNSF office cars south on the former Southern Railway main line at Spencer, N.C. in October 1999. The train was on an inspection tour for TTX, the freight car company. Jim Wrinn photo […]
Threading through Ragan Interlocking
Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority train No. 9243 threads through Ragan Interlocking in Newport, Del., on its way south to Newark passenger station. Norfolk Southern train H5G with 17 empty autoracks bound for Chrysler Yard waits in the siding on Sept. 14, 2009. Michael S. Murray photo […]
20th Century Fox shoots McCloud River No. 18 in action NEWSWIRE
FILLMORE, Calif. — McCloud River Railroad 2-8-2 No. 18 pulled a circus train yesterday for 20th Century Fox cameras filming the movie “Water For Elephants.” The shoot, conducted on tourist line Fillmore & Western, included a train consist of wood boxcars and flatcars carrying circus wagons. No. 18 arrived May 13 from its home on […]
Diesel locomotive delight
In Historic Trains Today, David Lustig tells of seven cool diesels you can visit in museums today. Here are four more examples of neat historic locomotives you can see, and in some cases, ride behind. Wisconsin Central GP30 No. 713 rests between assignments at Waukesha, Wis., on May 3, 1989. The ex-Soo Line unit rides […]
Empty Amtrak roomettes go begging
An Amtrak conductor in Denver Union Station checks in passengers heading east on the California Zephyr, Sept. 2, 2008. Bob Johnston Many Amtrak conductors and sleeping car attendants are eager to help Amtrak maximize revenue by letting coach passengers know when their train has unsold roomettes and bedrooms available. As Trains’ July 2010 Passenger column, […]
North Platte: The rise of a railroad town
Soldiers and citizens pose in front of the Union Pacific depot in North Platte, Neb., on April 27, 1898. Union Pacific Museum Before there was a burning man festival, North Platte threw the biggest party in the West, when Union Pacific tracklayers made a winter camp with miners, traders, Mormon emigrants, and stagecoach drivers in […]
Humping cars in Union Pacific’s Bailey Yard
Union Pacific’s Bailey Yard in North Platte, Neb., was named world’s largest rail yard by Guinness. The yard’s 2,850 acres includes two separate hump yards (eastbound and westbound) where freight cars are sorted and combined into new trains. From the top of the West Hump tower, watch cars move toward the crest of the hump, […]
Trains, May 2010
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Union Pacific’s Bailey Yard, North Platte, Nebraska
Dan Czech clearly remembers the first time he laid eyes on Union Pacific’s Bailey Yard. “I flew out here at night. I looked out the window and said, ‘That must be the city of North Platte.’ They said, ‘No, that’s the rail yard.’” The young terminal manager, who once taught Navy SEALs how to parachute, […]
Preserving Railroad History
Preservation of former railroad stations takes many forms, from visitor centers and museums to offices and restaurants. Ciddici’s Pizza of Albany, Oregon, retains most of the original exterior features of the Oregon Electric structure, especially the “OER” logo. Scott Lothes The locomotive John Bull, donated by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1884, was the Smithsonian Institution’s […]
BNSF diesels pass through Chillicothe, Iowa
Three BNSF Railway diesels pull train CATMCXEO-88 past Chillicothe, Iowa, on a snowless Dec. 4, 2006. The train is crossing BNSF’s busy ex-Chicago, Burlington & Quincy route across southern Iowa, a key coal route for BNSF. Photo by Craig Williams […]
