Read more about the Rock Island’s 1960s diesel menagerie in a PDF of the article “Christine and the Mongeese” by J. David Ingles, published in the December 1965 issue of TRAINS magazine. Rock Island Diesel Menagerie DOWNLOAD […]
Classic Trains, Fall 2011
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Postwar commuter surprises
“Deluxe” cars like these on New Haven train 365 at Darien, Conn., in July 1947 were not what author Paradis experienced on his commuter-train rides. NH The distant rumble warned that the mighty New York Central steam locomotive with its 12 steel coaches would soon round the curve on the Harlem Division and bear down […]
A unique threesome
Amtrak GG1 meets an E60 in 1980, two years after the author’s ride behind one of each, plus a Conrail E44. Robert S. McGonigal As the murky fall afternoon began to lengthen, the Silver Meteor I was riding across northern New Jersey began to slow down. Then just east of Rahway, nowhere near a scheduled […]
Rondout Memories
Seen from the North Shore Line bridge, a Milwaukee Road F7 4-6-4 rips through Rondout, Ill., with train 15, the Olympian, in March 1941. Frank Sellers At Christmastime 1940, when I was 15 years old, my widowed mother spent $4 of her hard-earned money to buy me a Kodak Brownie Special camera. I was thrilled. […]
Stranger on the West Shore
NYC’s eastbound 20th Century Limited slows for a station stop at South Bend, Ind., in October 1962. Louis A. Marre On Saturday, February 17, 1962, a train wreck at Fonda, N.Y., on New York Central’s Water Level Route main line, blocked all traffic east and west. Because of this, westbound trains were to be diverted […]
C&NW steam and diesel action
Watch video clips of Chicago & North Western steam and diesel trains in action, from the Herron Rail Video collection. […]
Classic Trains, Summer 2011
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The challenges of firing an oil-burner
Firemen on oil-burners like SP 4-8-2 4360 at Pinole, Calif., had to be sure the fuel was not too hot, not too cold, and adequately pressurized. John C. Illman As a fireman of oil-burning steam locomotives on the Southern Pacific during the 1950s (on the Coast, Rio Grande, Western, and Sacramento divisions), I never envied […]
Blue Train of the Prairies
Still dressed in royal blue, a mail-express car and “comboose” 307 bring up the rear of NAR mixed train 75 at Egremont, Alta., in August 1972. J. David Ingles collection Several great trains have carried the name “Blue Train.” The most famous ones were in Europe and South Africa. Then there were the trains of […]
This is Richmond?
At Ellerson, Va., Richmond-bound passengers watch Amtrak train 450, the James Whitcomb Riley—a C&O GP7 and a dome coach—depart for Newport News before boarding a bus to their destination. Jack N. Bruce Jr. “Are you certain this is the Richmond stop?” asked J. C. Jones of Huntington, W.Va. He was getting off Amtrak train 450, […]
The ultimate degree of nomenclature
A Rutland RS3 switches at the road’s hub of Rutland, Vt., in 1957; 31.5 miles to the southeast on the Bellows Falls line is a road crossing with a memorable and long-lasting nickname. Jim Shaughnessy Many places are named for things associated with or located near them. Well-known examples include Niagara Falls, N.Y.; Warm Springs, […]
