Previewing a future that never was

CO500

Townspeople of South Charleston, W.Va., inspect C&O 500, first of the road’s trio of colossal steam-electric-turbine locomotives intended for its new Chessie train, on Dec. 4, 1947. Ogden Willis, William J. Sparkmon coll. When Robert R. Young took over control of the Chesapeake & Ohio, he started looking for ways to improve the railroad. After […]

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Thank you, Q

CBQ4000

CB&Q Hudson 4000, a sister to the 3012 that surprised Bob Jack on a freight, works tonnage at Galesburg, Ill., in 1954. Robert Milner Steam died in various ways, depending on the railroad. I nominate the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, “The Q,” for having done it in the most agreeable fashion. On some roads, steam’s […]

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‘Deepest twilight’ on the Rutland

Rutland93

While waiting for their train at Bellows Falls in 1952, author Beardsley and his dad saw Rutland 4-8-2 No. 93. Kenneth D. Beardsley Catching up on my reading a while back, I had my memory jogged by David Lustig’s “One Day in March” and Curt Tillotson Jr.’s “Magic Carpet to Durham” in Spring 2003 Classic […]

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Mix-up on the Ripley Mixed

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B&O men pose with Baldwin switcher 428, the first diesel on the mixed train to Ripley, W.Va., in late 1953. Six years later, a sister Baldwin took a hard hit on the same job. F. Altizer It was dark and cold on the night of January 4, 1960, when Baltimore & Ohio train 961 arrived […]

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A friend in time: My railroad watch

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Bought from a pawnshop when the author was a boy, this Hamilton Railway Special 992 watch passed many an official time check during his 44 years on the railroad. Jack O. Elwood I knew I wanted to be a railroad man, specifically a locomotive engineer, when I was about six or seven years old. This […]

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Snow Train Parade

FULL SCREEN Trains Magazine Collection Skiers disembark Boston & Maine’s Snow Train at North Conway, N.H. FULL SCREEN Trains Magazine collection Passengers enjoy their ride aboard the Boston & Maine Snow Train. FULL SCREEN John Gruber collection The front cover of Boston & Maine’s 36-page booklet advertising its 1940 season. FULL SCREEN John Gruber collection […]

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To Chicago with Dad

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Grand Trunk Western 4-8-2 No. 6040 on the Maple Leaf stands beside Santa Fe E1 diesel No. 2 on the Kansas Cityan at Chicago’s Dearborn Station. Frank M. Rogers I think I was a railfan by the time I was 5 years old. My father had been a fireman on the Milwaukee Road since he […]

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Southern 4501’s first excursion

FULL SCREEN John Gruber Graham Claytor Jr. (left) appears apprehensive as he talks with D. W. Brosnan and Walter Dove on the platform at Asheville, N.C. But the conversation was friendly and the 4501 soon was on its way. FULL SCREEN John Gruber Locomotive 4501 proudly poses at Terminal Station, about ready to leave on […]

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