Shades of the Q

Bloomer Line GP9 No. 7561 spots grain cars at Cullom, Ill., on Aug. 13, 2007. Though Bloomer operates ex-Illinois Central track, its locomotives are an unmistakable homage to Chicago, Burlington & Quincy. Matt Lastovich photo […]

Read More…

Don Williams’ O and S gauge layout

Tourists motor to Horseshoe Curve to watch the cavalcade of trains. When Don was young, the headliners were aluminum cars on the Pennsy’s Broadway Limited. Don and Karen Williams share their layout with visitors, including grandsons Jacob and Zachary. Iron horses in the Korber roundhouse watch a 3rd Rail Pennsy Atlantic 4-4-2 steam locomotive take […]

Read More…

Two WNY&P diesels storm eastbound

Smoking like Alcos do, a pair of Western New York & Pennsylvania diesels storm eastbound past Almond, N.Y., on Sept. 20, 2009. WNY&P is an Alco-only short line operating over a portion of the Erie empire. Photo by Richard S. Perry […]

Read More…

The great American roundhouse

Connellsville, Pa., roundhouse

American roundhouse Roundhouses were found all across the nation once. Now they’re rare gems. These structures began disappearing after the dieselization era. Only a few were left in use by some railroads. Many were eventually demolished or repurposed. Here’s a gallery of them under construction, in use, and after the wrecking ball. […]

Read More…

BNSF 4617 East at summit of East Ash Hill

Though half of its train continues to ascend a 1.0 percent grade, BNSF 4617 East has crested the summit at East Ash Hill, about seven miles east of Ludlow, Calif., on the morning of Oct. 8, 2009. Within a few thousand feet, all 50 autoracks of BNSF Train V-SDGCLO1-07 (Vehicles, San Diego, Calif. — Clovis, […]

Read More…

A line-up at the Connecticut Eastern Railroad Museum

The Connecticut Eastern Railroad Museum held its annual night photo shoot on June 13, 2009, at Willimantic, Conn. Framed by the museum’s six-stall roundhouse, the six pieces of equipment arranged for the photo are (from left) a GE 44-tonner (built in 1950 for the Long Island Rail Road), a Narragansett Railway speeder, a GE 45-tonner […]

Read More…

Louisville & Nashville in Alabama

Flying flags that mark it as an extra, Louisville & Nashville 806 South pulls a 106-car freight upgrade south of Montgomery, Ala., on May 26, 1955. The train consists mainly of empty cars bound for the docks at Mobile, Ala., and New Orleans. […]

Read More…

Norfolk Southern and Amtrak’s Vermonter

A Norfolk Southern freight prepares to diverge from Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor onto NS track at Newport, Del., while Amtrak’s Vermonter passes, on Aug. 26, 2008. The NS freight is bound for the “Shellpot Secondary” and Edgemoor Yard in Wilmington, and has been riding the Corridor from Perryville, Md. […]

Read More…