Challengers on Helmstetter’s Curve

20190304

Western Maryland 4-6-6-4s up front and at mid-train lift a freight upgrade around Helmstetter’s Curve in the late 1940s or early ’50s. Today, Western Maryland Scenic Railway tourist trains still traverse this landmark a few miles west of Cumberland, Md. George C. Corey photo […]

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What’s in a photograph?: Norfolk & Western at Blue Ridge, Va.

View from the cab of a Norfolk & Western 2-6-6-4 steam locomotive on an eastbound freight in 1953 at Blue Ridge, West Virginia. The photograph is black and white with 12 numbered callouts.

1 Split-point derail device. Considered more effective than a lifting-block derail when there is extra risk of cars rolling out onto the main line from a “house track” or “back track” (terms for station trackage other than a passing siding), or from an industry track, especially when there is a descending grade toward the switch, […]

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West Virginia’s New River Train won’t run in 2019 NEWSWIRE

NRTChase

The westbound New River Train with there Amtrak P42DCs and a 30-car passenger car consist rolls along its namesake river on its journey to Huntington, W.Va., from Hinton, W.Va., on Oct. 29 2017. Chase Gunnoe HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — After 52 years of operating mainline passenger excursions between the West Virginia cities of Huntington and Hinton, […]

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No support group

LNC628CorbinKYRonFlanary

While not technically perfect, this photo of L&N C628s under the sanding gantry at Corbin, Ky., remains a treasured link to an earlier time. Ron Flanary As a young railfan growing up in central Appalachia in the late 1950s and early ’60s, my only link to fellow enthusiasts was through the pulp pages of Railroad magazine, or the […]

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Pittsburg & Shawmut coal train

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Three yellow-and-red SW9s move a cut of hopper cars out of the coal-cleaning plant at Ringgold, Pa. in the mid-1950s. P&S, a 100-mile line between Freeport and Brockway, Pa., dieselized in 1953 with nine SW9s. Richard J. Cook photo […]

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Lima’s last Shay

Oversize geared steam locomotives under coal loading tipple

Western Maryland three-truck Shay No. 6 works a coal plant on the Chaffee (W.Va.) Branch not long after delivery in 1945. The 324,000-pound giant was the last of nearly 2,800 Shays built by Lima Locomotive Works. Today she works on the Cass Scenic Railroad. Western Maryland photo […]

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VIDEO HO scale St George

John Ottman's HO scale St. George model railroad

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page John Ottman’s HO scale St. George model railroad packs a lot of detail into 12 x 16 feet. Watch trains run through the scenes of small-town Appalachia in this video. […]

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VIDEO HO scale St George

John Ottman's HO scale St. George model railroad

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page John Ottman’s HO scale St. George model railroad packs a lot of detail into 12 x 16 feet. Watch trains run through the scenes of small-town Appalachia in this video. […]

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Video: HO scale Piedmont & Western

two model steam engines

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page Jack Parker’s HO scale Piedmont & Western RR features stunning Appalachian Mountain scenery. See trains run along the layout that’s also featured in the May 2018 Model Railroader. […]

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Video: HO scale Piedmont & Western

two model steam engines

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page Jack Parker’s HO scale Piedmont & Western RR features stunning Appalachian Mountain scenery. See trains run along the layout that’s also featured in the May 2018 Model Railroader. […]

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