20th Century Limited

20190613

Streamlined Hudson-type No. 5448 leads New York Central’s 20th Century Limited at LaSalle Street Station in Chicago in the late 1930s. Nos. 5445-5454, known as the J-3a subclass, wore the Henry Dreyfuss-styled streamlining. Alexander Maxwell photo […]

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Bessemer bridge

20190618

A brand-new A-B-B-A set of orange-and-black Bessemer & Lake Erie EMD F7 diesels pose on the State Route 358 bridge near Greenville, Pa., shortly after delivery in 1951. Bessemer & Lake Erie photo […]

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Burlington beets

20190625

A Chicago, Burlington & Quincy train treads some of the most famous tracks outside of the mountains in Colorado: street running in Fort Collins. Behind the locomotive are 26 cars of sugar beets for Loveland, Colo. Jim Ehernberger photo […]

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Pigs over Cuesta

20190403

A Southern Pacific piggyback train of modified conventional flatcars with company trailers negotiates Cuesta Grade above San Luis Obispo, Calif., in June 1957. Robert Hale photo […]

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Timeworn combine, tiny Pacific

20190313

On Tennessee’s Smoky Mountain Railroad, a ramshackle old combine is pushed by 4-6-2 No. 110 on May 26, 1952. Outshopped by Baldwin in 1911 for another Tennessee short line, the Little River Railroad, No. 110 was the smallest standard gauge Pacific built for U.S. service. Edward Theisinger photo […]

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Wabash diesel, CN steam

20190322

At Fort Erie, Ont., Wabash F7 1160 and Canadian National 2-8-2 3431 share a November 1956 night. The diesel was built by EMD’s Canadian affiliate for Wabash’s Ontario line. Jim Shaughnessy photo […]

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Pennsy RS1

20190306

The Pennsylvania owned 22 Alco RS1s, acquired 1950–51. In this late 1950s view, No. 5620 idles at South Amboy, N.J., in the company of P5a electric 4709. Don Wood photo […]

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Reefer block of California potatoes

20190321

Santa Fe refrigerator cars loaded with potatoes from Kern County, Calif., head eastward at Topock, Ariz., in 1953. Even though it’s a solid train of one commodity, the cars have many different destinations. The train has just left California by crossing the Colorado River. Santa Fe photo […]

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Spiffy Mallet

20190307

Rio Grande 2-8-8-2 3404, nicely turned out with white tires, running boards, and cylinder-head covers, assists a train up Tennessee Pass in July 1941. Up front is a 4-8-2; at the rear is another 2-8-8-2 helper. J. W. Maxwell photo […]

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