Ready

Whitewater Valley Railroad’s No. 25 stands by, waiting further orders on Dec. 21, 2013. The decades-old Lima-Hamilton served Cincinnati Union Terminal and the Cadillac & Lake City Railroad before moving to Connersville, Ind. Photo by Steve Sweeney […]

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Gray day

  Northbound Florida East Coast train No. 224 peers through the fog at Stratten Road between St. Augustine and Jacksonville, Fla., on Jan. 12, 2015. Photo by Brian Schmidt […]

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Leverage

Pulling the correct lever is an important matter for operators of Metra’s Tower A2 in western Chicago in September 2013. This pneumatic lever machine uses brass rods to trigger air pulses to switch more than 100 points on Union Pacific headed due west out of downtown. Photo by Steve Sweeney […]

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Auxiliary tenders

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Southern Railway 2-8-0 No. 630 on a Norfolk Southern excursion carries 10,000 gallons of water in its tender and an additional 12,500 gallons in its auxiliary tender to negate the need for additional water between stops. Allyson Praytor Q I saw a television show where steam locomotives were operating with two tenders instead of just […]

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Black NYC E7 diesels

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New York Central 4003 and a sister E7A wear the road’s short-lived black road-diesel livery as they stand at La Salle Street Station, Chicago, ready to depart with the 20th Century Limited, August 1946. John E. Wenzel photo […]

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The last dance

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The boiler explosion at Serra, Calif., that destroyed Mikado 3199 and killed its watchman took the classic form of such incidents, with the boiler being catapulted hundreds of yards from the running gear. Jack O. Elwood coll. During the era of steam locomotives, many of us in engine service loved those gallant machines, but we […]

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Railroad Reading: Blue-chip investment

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The cover of Yanosey’s first Lehigh Valley book, one of Morning Sun’s early titles. Editor’s note: This story first appeared in the August 2006 issue of Trains Magazine in the “Railroad Reading” section. Recently one of my authors at Morning Sun, who is writing a Lehigh Valley book, came here and immediately stated, “I didn’t […]

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Meet on the C&IM

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Chicago & Illinois Midland 2-8-2 550 waits in the siding at Atterbury, Ill., with northbound way freight as the caboose of an empty coal train passes on the main in September 1954. Philip R. Hastings photo […]

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Standard and narrow gauge in Maine

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The two-foot-gauge Bridgton & Harrison (former Bridgton & Saco River) interchanged passengers and freight with the Maine Central in Bridgton Junction, Maine. Compared with a high-mounted MEC 2-8-0, diminutive B&H No. 5 could be confused with an amusement park engine. Dwight A. Smith Jr. photo […]

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