My ‘bad-luck’ engine

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Santa Fe 4-8-4 No. 3760, author Elwood’s “bad luck” engine, leads the second section of the Grand Canyon west near Hesperia, Calif., in the 1950s. Don Sims My story takes place in 1943, when steam locomotives were supreme, and tells about my experiences with Santa Fe 3751-class 4-8-4 No. 3760. I was firing in passenger […]

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Santa Fe’s Surf Line

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Read more about Santa Fe’s Surf Line in the following two PDFs: “Santa Fe Surf Line, 1940” by Keith Jordan, published in the August 2004 issue of Trains magazine “The Secret Borax Train” by Don Richardson, published in the Summer 2005 issue of Classic Trains magazine. Download each story by clicking on the underlined PDF […]

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UP and SP at LAUPT

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Union Pacific 4-8-4 803 and a Southern Pacific E7 wait outside Los Angeles Union Passenger terminal in the late 1940s, ready to back down to their respective trains. The E7 is for the Golden State, while the 4-8-4 is likely for the Los Angeles Limited. Herbert Johnson photo […]

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Dad, trains, and me

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In a photo by his dad, 11-year-old Michael Landry stands in Pontiac, Mich., with the Grand Trunk Western 4-8-4 they rode from Detroit on March 24, 1960. Hank Landry There I am, 11 years old, dwarfed by the Grand Trunk Western 4-8-4 on the next track during its stop at Pontiac, Mich., on March 24, […]

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What do Photographer Andrew J. Russell, the Civil War, and Union Pacific Railroad have in common?

FULL SCREEN Andrew J. Russell, Library of Congress, LC-DIG-ppmsca-11750 General Hermann Haupt (rear, center) supervises a construction site in 1863 at Devereaux Station of the Orange & Alexandria Railroad in Clifton, Virginia. The locomotive bears his name. At right is J. H. Devereaux, superintendent. FULL SCREEN Andrew J. Russell, Library of Congress, LC-B8184-10161 Ornately decorated […]

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How I became ‘Old Smoky’

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In October 1953, about the time author Les Clark was a fireman here, a Union Pacific freight climbs the grade out of the Snake River Valley near Reverse, Idaho. Challenger 3838 is on the point; 2-8-8-0 pusher 3528 was added at Glenns Ferry. David W. Salter October was a favorite month for me in southern […]

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Central Railroad of New Jersey

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Read about the Central Railroad of New Jersey in a PDF of the article: “Jersey Central: Coal, Commuters, and a Comet” published in the Fallen Flags Remembered section of the Winter 2010 issue of Classic Trains magazine. Download the story by clicking on the PDF below. […]

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