The 1951 Empire Builder’s “G-bar-N” lounge car featured bovine-themed seat upholstery. Great Northern photo […]
G-bar-N
Train Topic: Fallen Flags
Fairbanks-Morse Train Master diesel locomotive
The Train Master diesel locomotive holds a unique spot in history. At its introduction in 1953, it was simply a logical extension of Fairbanks-Morse’s locomotive line, yet the Beloit (Wis.) builder recognized that what Trains Editor David P Morgan termed the “fat, robust, gadget-packed 2,400 hp six-motor hood unit” could become something special. Which it […]
Empire Builder
The 1947 Empire Builder, its E7s already in their second livery, poses for a publicity photo in western Montana. In the distance, a freight waits to follow. Great Northern photo […]
Dixie Mikado
Louisville & Nashville J-4 class 2-8-2 No. 1882 rests at Carrolton, Ky., in 1956. Charles B. Castner photo […]
Dispatchers’ workday
At the Pennsylvania Railroad’s Pittsburgh Region desk F (foreground), the dispatcher for the Esplen (south end of the Ohio Connecting Bridge)–Brownsville, Pa., line works with a new style of trainsheet, while his colleague on desk I, Pittsburgh–Gould Tunnel, Ohio, uses the standard type in 1956. Philip R. Hastings photo […]
Departing SPUD
Three F units start Great Northern train No. 27, the Fast Mail for Seattle, out of St. Paul Union Depot in June 1953. Robert R. Malinoski photo […]
Delayed in transit
Delayed in transit Grain cars in transit were stalled by a brief strike in 1946. To keep grain from overheating and spoiling, cars were opened and a few (the Missouri Pacific car at left) had some grain removed. This was on the Missouri-Kansas-Texas in Oklahoma. Preston George photo […]
Ed King’s book canonizes N&W steam
Rumors of the death of railroad fiction are greatly exaggerated. The veteran railroad journalist Fred Frailey made that clear a year ago with his “Seldom Willing,” an absorbing tale of an ambitious 1980s Midwestern regional railroad that outmaneuvered a far larger rival. When Fred told me his novel was coming out soon, I wasn’t sure […]
Classic coal hauler
Most offset-side hoppers were built to AAR common designs. This two-bay Minneapolis & St. Louis 2,081-cubic-foot-capacity car, built in 1936, is typical of those in service through the 1960s. Classic Trains collection […]
City of Portland
The eastbound City of Portland passes the tower at Clinton, Iowa, behind two Chicago & North Western E units at 9:10 a.m. on June 4, 1953. Ahead lies the Mississippi River crossing and the Windy City. Robert R. Malinoski photo […]
Five prestigious Burlington Zephyrs
The Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, commonly known as the Burlington Route, had many Zephyrs. But out of all the streamlined trainsets and services famously named after the Greek God of the West Wind, which of the five where considered the most prestigious? Pioneer Zephyr Rolled out on April 7, 1934, by the […]
A little helper
Missouri Pacific 0-8-0 No. 9721 (with caboose) helps a freight No. 75 up Kirkwood (Mo.) Hill in March 1946. Regular power was 4-8-4 No. 2111 closest to the camera. Helper 2-10-2 No. 1716 is spliced between. Joe Collias photo […]
