A Milwaukee Road switcher moves a cut of refrigerator cars at the Hormel plant in Austin, Minn., in 1942. Most of the reefers are wood-sheathed cars leased from North American. Classic Trains collection […]
Meat reefers at Hormel
Zone & Region: Midwest
A 4-4-0 in 1952
Chicago & Illinois Midland 4-4-0 No. 500, built by Baldwin at the late date of 1927, pulls away from Hill Top, Ill., with the daily-except-Sunday train from Pekin to Springfield, Ill. The date is May 20, 1952 — late in the game indeed for American types on Class I railroads. Ed Theisinger photo […]
GM&O’s “Plug”
Gulf, Mobile & Ohio F3 883-A leads the road’s weekday commuter train to Joliet away from Chicago Union Station not long before GM&O merged with Illinois Central to form Illinois Central Gulf. The little train was widely known as “The Plug.” John R. Taibi photo […]
Stalled on Kirkwood Hill
Greasy rails on Missouri Pacific’s Kirkwood Hill west of St. Louis have brought 2-10-2 helper No. 1716 and 4-8-4 road engine No. 2111 to a halt in March 1946. The train got moving again with an assist from an 0-8-0. Joe Collias photo […]
Metra unveils F40PH heritage unit
CHICAGO — One of Metra’s oldest passenger locomotives is sporting a color scheme to match the one it came with in 1977. About 100 Metra officials, passengers, and railfans gathered at Chicago’s LaSalle Street Station on Thursday to celebrate 40 years of continuous service for the EMD F40PH unit by wrapping it in the sea […]
B&O Alco S-2 switching the Cody Packing Co.
This video features a B&O Alco switching the Cody Packing Co., with live stock cars, removing empty’s from the holding track, back to the East yard. Video by Edward Lorence. […]
B&O Alco S-2 switching the Cody Packing Co.
This video features a B&O Alco switching the Cody Packing Co., with live stock cars, removing empty’s from the holding track, back to the East yard. Video by Edward Lorence. […]
Super-Power citadel
The Lima Locomotive Works plant in Lima, Ohio, birthplace of hundreds of advanced “Super-Power” steam locomotives, occupied a triangular site on the city’s south side between B&O and Nickel Plate lines. Classic Trains coll. […]
UPDATE: Chicago bypass proposal halted by STB NEWSWIRE
A screenshot of a map of the proposed Great Lakes Basin Railroad that was intended to bypass Chicago congestion. The Surface Transportation Board rejected the parent company’s application on Aug. 31 as incomplete. Great Lakes Basin Transportation Co. WASHINGTON — In a unanimous decision today, the Surface Transportation Board rejected an application by the Great […]
Union Pacific Challenger on the move
Union Pacific’s roving goodwill ambassador, 4-6-6-4 No. 3985, rolls through Cole Junction, Mo., while pulling the Missouri River Eagle special west of Jefferson City, Mo., on Oct 4, 2010. Peter N. Davis photo […]
Great Lakes Basin Railroad officials fire back NEWSWIRE
CHICAGO — The private corporation seeking to build a new 261-mile railroad to bypass Chicago freight congestion is challenging objections from opponents of the $2.8 billion project in a new filing with the federal regulatory agency that will ultimately decide the proposal’s fate. Great Lakes Basin Transportation Inc. told the U.S. Surface Transportation Board last […]
A Model Railroad Museum Spotlight – Big River Train Town
This video is a spotlight on Big River Train Town in Hannibal, Mo., a museum that features O scale 3-rail and other toy trains. Owner Judy Kleinman has a great story and an enjoyable museum and shop. Video by Ron Marsh. […]
