Highest points and steepest grades on America’s classic railroads

1212A

Railroad names: Georgia Railroad, Great Northern, Gulf, Mobile & Ohio, Illinois Central, Kansas City Southern, Lehigh Valley, Louisville & Nashville, Maine Central, Milwaukee Road, Missouri Pacific, Missouri-Kansas-Texas, Monon, Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis, New Haven, New York Central, New York, Ontario & Western, Nickel Plate, Norfolk & Western, Northern Pacific, Pennsylvania, Reading, Rock Island, Rutland, […]

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Seeing time move

FULL SCREEN Ellen Skye The Union Pacific Railroad in southern Nevada circa the late 1990s/early 2000s. FULL SCREEN Ellen Skye The Union Pacific Railroad in southern Nevada circa the late 1990s/early 2000s. FULL SCREEN Ellen Skye The Union Pacific Railroad in southern Nevada circa the late 1990s/early 2000s. FULL SCREEN Ellen Skye The Union Pacific […]

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Gimme shelter

A New York City Transit subway train on the 7 line rolls into the 61st St./Woodside station in Queens during a torrential downpour on June 11, 2011, while riders wait nonchalantly on the platform for the train to stop and the doors to open. Photo by Matt Van Hattem […]

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General Electric Tier 3 locomotives suffer engine fires NEWSWIRE

CHICAGO – General Electric locomotives constructed in 2012 with the new Tier 3 locomotive emissions have been suffering major engine fires recently. The locomotives differ from Tier 2 engines in many ways including higher pressure fuel lines, which are reportedly operated at 20,000psi. These lines have been prone to break, spraying the prime mover with […]

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X Train plans January 2014 start-up NEWSWIRE

LAS VEGAS – During a conference call with investors and interested parties today, Michael Barron, president and CEO of X Train, announced company plans to begin passenger service between Fullerton, Calif., and Las Vegas on January 4, 2014. A special inaugural trip will run Dec. 31, 2013. The train will operate non-stop between the Amtrak/Metrolink […]

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Flying high

Empty CSX auto rack train Q217 rolls westbound on the Philadelphia Subdivision across the Susquehanna River as the tug boat “Captain Mac” awaits its next assignment at Perryville, Md., on June 18, 2012. Photo by Michael S. Murray […]

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Watch Talgo build high speed trains

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Talgo trains under construction in Milwaukee. Matt Van Hattem Go behind the scenes and watch America’s newest passenger trains come to life in the January 2013 issue of Trains magazine. We spent two years visiting Talgo’s plant in Milwaukee, documenting the assembly of the new Series 8 trainsets, which will enter revenue service on the […]

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Give my regards to the Broadway

A Conrail executive locomotive, E8 No. 4022, leads the eastbound Broadway Limited, train No. 40, into Chicago Union Station on April 11, 1977. Amtrak is in the midst of a motive power shortage, caused by problems with its EMD SDP40F fleet, and is leasing extra locomotives wherever it can. Photo by Gary Dolzall […]

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How I photographed a long-distance train ride

FULL SCREEN Roger Varland Threading the maze of girders and other tracks while coming off the MacArthur Bridge into St. Louis. FULL SCREEN Roger Varland The sun is about gone as the Texas Eagle readies for points south at St. Louis. FULL SCREEN Roger Varland Union Pacific signal upgrades watch over a waiting Texas Eagle […]

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