A Maine Central E7 leads a northbound train out of the Boston & Maine tunnel under Bellows Falls, Vt., in the 1950s. David K. Johnson photo […]
Tunnel under a town
Magazine: Classic Trains
Tweetsie Ten-Wheeler
East Tennessee & Western North Carolina 4-6-0 No. 10 heads a mixed train at Hampton, Tenn., in August 1939. The narrow-gauge “Tweetsie” quit 11 years later. L. B. Herrin photo […]
A Milwaukee Road 4-6-4 welcomed you to Kalmbach
If you’re reading this, you’re undoubtedly aware of what’s been going on with Kalmbach Media, and how it has sold most of its magazine titles, including Trains and Classic Trains, to Chattanooga-based Firecrown Media. Concurrently, Kalmbach has decided to liquidate over the next couple of months, bringing an end to approximately 90 years of continuous […]
Wyoming along the Lehigh
One of the Lehigh Valley’s 37 4-8-4s — which the road called the Wyoming type — swings around Hetcheltooth Curve with a westbound freight train beside the Lehigh River at Glen Onoko, Pa., in the late 1930s or early ’40s. Wayne Brumbaugh photo […]
Thomas E. Dewey whistle stop
Republican presidential candidate Thomas E. Dewey waves to the camera during a campaign stop at Providence, R.I., in October 1948. Bob Withers collection […]
Santa Fe freight house in Atchison, Kans.
The Santa Fe’s freight depot at Atchison, Kans., is typical of those found in small cities. Inbound boxcars were unloaded along the single track at the dock, with trucks loading on the other side of the structure. Note the old-style grade crossing warning device in the foreground. Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe photo […]
GE 70-ton diesel locomotive
The GE 70-ton diesel locomotive was a consistent seller for the international conglomerate. In North American railroad circles, General Electric was originally known primarily as a builder of large road locomotives. In the diesel market, starting with the groundbreaking 2,500 hp U25B road-switcher in the 1960s, railroads gobbled up its four- and six-axle […]
Robert F. Kennedy’s funeral train
On June 8, 1968, at Baltimore, Penn Central GG1s 4901 and 4903 lead a 21-car special train carrying 1,146 people and the body of New York Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, assassinated June 5 in Los Angeles while campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination. Crowds thronged the right of way between New York and Washington, and […]
Pittsburg, Shawmut & Northern freight
Incorporated in 1899, when the name of western Pennsylvania’s biggest city was spelled without an “h,” the Pittsburg, Shawmut & Northern ran from Brockway, Pa., to Wayland and Hornell, N.Y. Heavy construction debt forced it into receivership in 1905, and it was abandoned in 1947. Just before the end, 2-8-0 No. 71 leads a freight south […]
Pere Marquette steam star
The Pere Marquette Railway’s 40 Berkshires, built by Lima during 1937–44, were the road’s last and best steam power. In this 1940s view, No. 1229 darkens the sky as it heads out of Plymouth, Mich., with a freight bound for Grand Rapids. Robert A. Hadley photo […]
Pennsy’s Parkton local
PRR doodlebug 4666 stands at the depot in Parkton, Md., just before departing on its morning run down the formerly double-track Northern Central line to Baltimore on June 4, 1959. The Parkton local trains ended a little over three weeks later, on June 27. PRR 4666 survives and is currently in service on the Allentown […]
Original Hiawatha departing Chicago
Steam from Milwaukee Road class A 4-4-2 No. 2’s cylinder cocks envelops a bystander just outside Chicago Union Station as the Hiawatha begins its dash to Minneapolis in 1935. Alexander Maxwell photo […]
