Broadside steam

  Former Nickel Plate Road 2-8-4 No. 765 on the Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad passes under the BNSF Railway “Race Track” at LaGrange, Ill., on June 10, 2016, en route to the 2016 Franklin Park Railroad Days. Photo by Benjamin J. Muciek […]

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Two ways: Chicago to Galesburg, Ill.

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Learn about BNSF Railway’s amazing main lines between Chicago and Galesburg, Ill., with our three-page foldout map! See today’s track arrangement, find what abandoned lines one ran in the area, and understand the rich history of railroading in Northern Illinois. […]

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NS ‘barcode’ unit

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SD70ACe No. 1111 Randy Olson Q I recently saw a Norfolk Southern locomotive passing through Vermillion, Ohio, with only four vertical stripes on the cab where a unit number should be. Can you explain what this designation is? — Joseph McCormick, Oberlin, Ohio A The stripes are really four “1s” for NS’s SD70ACe No. 1111. […]

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Swing span

  CSX Transportation train Q244-07 crosses the swing bridge at Spottsville, Ky., on the railroad’s LH&STL Subdivision on June 7, 2016. The line connects Louisville with Evansville, Ind. Photo by Jeff Wagoner […]

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Franklin Park visitor

Former Nickel Plate Road 2-8-4 No. 765 pulls west on Metra’s former Milwaukee Road main line at Franklin Park, Ill., on June 10, 2016, en route to the 2016 Franklin Park Railroad Days. Photo by Benjamin J. Muciek […]

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Heritage forward

Norfolk Southern’s Southern Railway-painted ES44AC, No. 8099, leads intermodal train No. 200 south across the CSX diamond at Milford Junction, Ind., on June 12, 2016. Photo by Randy Olson […]

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Original uses of GP60Ms

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On June 16, 1990, Santa Fe Railway GP60M No. 114 leads a westbound intermodal train near Ethel, Mo. These locomotives were originally purchased for intermodal service and have since been transitioned by the railroad to switching duties. Tom Danneman Q I’m a fan of BNSF Railway and have seen their ex-Santa Fe GP60Ms used in […]

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