Ogden is still a busy railroad town with main lines approaching from four different directions. From the east, Union Pacific reaches Ogden through 40-mile Weber Canyon (pronounced “WEE-ber.”) It’s one of two Utah hot spots profiled in Kalmbach Publishing’s Guide to North American Railroad Hot Spots by TRAINS Senior Editor J. David Ingles. Read below: […]
Section: Railroads
Steam locomotive profile: 0-6-0
Rock Island switcher No. 283 was one of ten USRA 0-6-0s delivered to the railroad in 1919. W. Krambeck The 0-6-0 began life as a road engine in the late 1830s but was built only in limited numbers. Like the 0-4-0, the 0-6-0 could not easily traverse the poor track of the day, and within […]
Metra
Slant-nosed Metra F40PH-2Ms are seen powering Rock Island district trains, approaching Chicago’s LaSalle St. Station on December 15, 1997. Howard Ande Commuter trains have long been a part of Chicago’s railroad scene, appropriately enough for the railroad capital of the world. Illinois Central, the first railroad west of New York and Philadelphia to offer commuter […]
South Shore Line
A pair of NICTD South Shore MU cars, led by #15, traverse the streets of Michigan City, Ind., with train 508 on June 13, 1998, at 1:28 p.m. Street running is one of the highlights of this interurban’s operations. George Fletcher Passenger service on the South Shore dates back to 1903, with the opening of […]
Tri-Rail
Tri-Rail F40PH-2C 807 eases to a stop in West Palm Beach, Fla., with a Miami-bound train at 5:40 p.m., on August 15, 1997. Matt Van Hattem Tri-Rail began commuter service in South Florida on January 9, 1989, the first of the major commuter start-ups of the 1990s. Formed in 1987 by the Florida Department of […]
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA)
MBTA GP40LH-2 1128 pulls into the Newburyport, Mass., layover yard with train 183 on July 30, 2002. James B. Winters The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority serves the city of Boston and outlying areas with 11 different commuter lines and 119 stations covering 402 route miles. MBTA trains operate two Boston stations: North Station and South […]
Mixed train from Santa Fe
On the return trip from Lamy, GP16 No. 93 pulls the flatcar and an ex-Great Northern heavyweight coach across New Mexico’s High Desert. David Lustig The mixed train – that combination of freight and passenger cars in one consist – used to be a common sight on American railroads. Every road from giant Class Is […]
Shore Line East
A Shore Line East commuter train led by GP40-2H 253 rolls through Madison, Ct., in August 1993. This portion of the Northeast Corridor has since been electrified to accommodate Amtrak’s high-speed Acela Express. John Locke, III Shore Line East commuter operations began in May of 1990, serving 7 stations on a 33-mile segment of Amtrak’s […]
New Mexico Rail Runner Express
A stylized roadrunner, New Mexico’s state bird, decorates the locomotives and coaches on the New Mexico Rail Runner Express. New Mexico Rail Runner On July 14, 2006, commuter rail service in Albuquerque began with the launch of the New Mexico Rail Runner Express. Initial operations were phased in throughout 2006 on a 46-mile segment of […]
Virginia Railway Express
Virginia Railway Express serves commuters in northern Virginia and Washington, D.C., with an 83-mile system comprised of two lines and 18 stations. Service to Manassas began on June 22, 1992; service to Fredericksburg followed on July 20, 1992. Trains on both lines call at stations in Alexandria, Arlington (Crystal City), and Washington, D.C. (L’Enfant Plaza […]
Steam locomotive profile: 0-8-0
Norfolk & Western 0-8-0 switcher No. 244 holds the distinction of being the last U.S. reciprocating steam locomotive built for an American Class 1 railroad. It was the final steam engine to emerge from N&W’s Roanoke Shops, delivered to the railroad in December 1953. Norfolk & Western The first 0-8-0 was built in 1844 by […]
Steam locomotive profile: 0-10-0
One of Duluth, Missabe & Northern’s mammoth 352,000-pound 0-10-0 switchers works the yard at Proctor, Minn., on September 15, 1951. J. C. Seacrest collection The first 0-10-0 was built in 1905 at Alco’s Brooks Locomotive Works as a hump engine for the New York Central. Over the next five years, New York Central took delivery […]
