Great Northern’s 1947 streamlined Empire Builder featured 44-seat leg-rest coaches for long-distance passengers. GN photo […]
1947 Empire Builder long-haul coach
Train Topic: Fallen Flags
Soo Line diesel locomotives remembered
Soo Line diesel locomotives came from four builders and sported two distinctive paint schemes. The Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie had long been known by its nickname, the Soo Line. The railroad adopted that name officially in 1961 when it merged the Wisconsin Central and Duluth, South Shore & Atlantic, both […]
Soo Line history remembered
Soo Line history involves numerous subsidiary railroads. Seemingly hidden away in the north-central U.S., the Soo Line and its affiliated Wisconsin Central Railway did not receive the attention lavished on bigger neighbors Chicago & North Western and Milwaukee Road. Soo did not host a streamliner, went freight-only in 1968, and was bought by Canadian Pacific, […]
Railroad memories on vinyl records
Today, it’s easier than ever to railfan without leaving the comfort of your home. Kalmbach Media is one of several companies that offers DVDs on various prototype subjects. If you prefer seeing trains in real time, you can watch any number of railfan webcams, such as the one Trains magazine has at Rochelle, Ill. This […]
Soo Line passenger trains remembered
Soo Line passenger trains were simple affairs serving wide swaths of the rural Upper Midwest. While passenger service was not a big part of Soo’s business, the road strived to maintain quality service, and with partner CP, offered Canadian connections. In 1889 MStP&SSM inaugurated the Minneapolis-Sault Ste. Marie Atlantic Limited, among the first […]
Former Cotton Belt Consolidation
Southern Pacific 2864 was one of eight 2-8-0s transferred to California from SP affiliate Cotton Belt in 1956. Built during 1920–23, SSW’s 36 700-series engines were the road’s top freight power until 4-8-4s came in 1930. SP 2864 stands at San Francisco in April ’56. D. S. Richter photo […]
Champion at Richmond
Having arrived from Washington behind Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac E8s, the Miami-bound East Coast Champion stands at Richmond’s Broad Street Station with a fresh set of Atlantic Coast Line E units. William D. Middleton photo […]
‘Twilight Limited’ at Ann Arbor
New York Central J-3a Hudson 5435 with a centipede tender departs Ann Arbor, Mich., with the Chicago–Detroit Twilight Limited in mid-1948. Stanley E. Yoder photo […]
SP steam survivor
Southern Pacific 2-8-0 3406 works mixed train No. 1 on the Nacozari Railroad between Douglas, Ariz., and Nacozari, Mexico, in spring 1958. Steam lasted on the SP subsidiary until January 1959, two years after diesels took over the rest of the SP system. Donald Duke photo […]
NYC’s Rensselaer engine terminal
A small track gang replaces ties on one of the tracks served by the coal wharf at New York Central’s engine terminal at Rensselaer, N.Y., across the Hudson River from Albany, sometime in the 1930s. NYC photo […]
News photos: A PA arrives in Pa. (updated)
SCRANTON, Pa. — Alco PA Nickel Plate 190 has arrived at its new home. Completing its cross-country journey from Portland, Ore., the locomotive is now in Scranton, handed over to new owner Genesee Valley Transportation by Norfolk Southern this evening. GVT and the Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad will restore the locomotive, which has an operable prime mover […]
Genesee Valley Transportation provides viewing area for PA’s arrival
SCRANTON, Pa. — Genesee Valley Transportation and the Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad plan to provide a public viewing area for the arrival of Alco PA Nickel Plate 190, scheduled for today (Friday, May 19). GTV posted Thursday on its Facebook Page that the locomotive is expected to arrive about 5:30 p.m. and the viewing area will be […]
