GP9 Alco was first on the market with the road-switcher concept, but it was EMD that capitalized with its “Geeps,” such as this Northern Pacific GP9. EMD sold more than 6,800 of its 1,500-hp GP7s and 1,750-hp GP9s. EMD photo […]
GP9
Type of Train: Diesel Locomotives
Will railroads emerge winners from efforts to fight climate change?
CHICAGO –—Climate change provides an opportunity for railroads, even as more frequent extreme weather events take a toll on railroad operations and infrastructure and require investments in new locomotive technology, executives told a shipper conference last week. The increased emphasis on sustainability is a tremendous opportunity for rail carriers, BNSF CEO Katie Farmer told the […]
Bristol brothers
Bristol brothers Southern and Norfolk & Western shared the N&W roundhouse, located on the Virginia side of Bristol. SOU F3 4151 and N&W J 602 wait to take trains west and east, respectively, on March 2, 1957. Steve Patterson photo […]
Chesapeake Western
Chesapeake Western Chesapeake Western DS-4-4-660 No. 662 switches at Harrisonburg, Va., on September 15, 1958. It was one of three such 1946 Baldwins on the 54-mile road. J.W. Swanberg photo […]
News photos: CSX tweaks logo on locomotives
CSX Transportation has readapted its traditional gold-and-blue ‘Dark Future’ paint scheme, doing away with the boxcar brackets that have been on all new deliveries and repaints since 2012. This time, the rendering features a small twist with the addition of the railroad’s website URL underneat the ‘X’ in the bottom righthand corner. Here, CSX AC4400CW […]
Giant turbine and diesel locomotives followed Union Pacific’s famous Big Boys
Union Pacific’s fascination with large, single-unit freight locomotives did not end when it received the last of its 25 Big Boys in 1944. The railroad fielded fleets of powerful gas-turbine-electric and double-engined diesel locomotives in the 1950s and 1960s. […]
Lane Cutoff
Lane Cutoff Brand-new in mid-1936, one of the two City of Denver trains poses on the Lane Cutoff west of Omaha, a favorite spot for Union Pacific publicity photos. The portholed cab and booster units rode on two trucks each, but were connected by a span bolster, not couplers. Union Pacific photo […]
Ken Cook’s O gauge layout
Visit Ken Cook’s layout, featured in the September 2021 issue of Classic Toy Trains. Ken mixes postwar Lionel trains with modern track, structures, details, and scenery to create a one-of-a-kind display that entertains your eyes, ears, and imagination. Click here to see the track plan. […]
Ken Cook’s O gauge layout
Visit Ken Cook’s layout, featured in the September 2021 issue of Classic Toy Trains. Ken mixes postwar Lionel trains with modern track, structures, details, and scenery to create a one-of-a-kind display that entertains your eyes, ears, and imagination. Click here to see the track plan. […]
Branch line service
Branch line service The Milwaukee Road ordered the lightweight EMD SDL39 for use on its light-rail branch lines. The railroad bought five of the locomotives in 1969 and followed with an order for another five in 1972. The 2,300-hp unit is equipped with a 12-cylinder 645E3 prime mover and 1,200-gallon fuel tank. EMD photo […]
News photo: Wabtec battery-electric locomotive on the move
ERIE, Pa. — Wabtec’s FLXdrive battery-electric locomotive is on the road again. The demonstrator unit returned to the company’s Erie factory after concluding BNSF Railway testing in California in April [see “Wabtec, BNSF conclude initial tests …,” Trains News Wire, April 30, 2021], left the factory on Friday in the company of ET44C6 demonstrator […]
Drawbar vs. horsepower on the railroad: Is there a difference?
A lot happens between the horsepower output of a diesel engine and the drawbar where freight cars are coupled. A diesel engine’s raw output is known as brake horsepower, which is calculated without any additional equipment connected. After deducting those losses, the rest of the engine’s output is sent to the traction motors to pull […]
