Early ACF Center Flow cars were nearly cylindrical. This 100-ton Union Pacific car, built in 1964, has three trough hatches and a 3,700-cubic foot capacity. Introduced in 1961, the Center Flow design had no center sill and instead relied on the curved sides for strength. Union Pacific photo […]
A particular run of the Kansas City-Florida Special may have changed the course of steam locomotive assignments on the Frisco. During the mid-1930s, the St. Louis-San Francisco Railroad started rebuilding low-drivered 2-10-2 freight locomotives into modern, high-horsepower, coal-burning 4-8-2s, also for freight service. The first series of these Mountain types was the big, […]
A man reads a book on the main level of a Budd-built Tubular coach while people relax in the smoking lounge above and behind him. Note the dark-colored ramp up to the end door. The train entered regular service on the Pennsylvania Railroad in June 1956 on the New York–Washington Keystone. Pennsylvania Railroad photo […]
Six-axle units from three Conrail predecessors mingle at Mingo Junction, Ohio, in April 1976, the month of Big Blue’s creation. Visible left to right are former Erie Lackawanna GE U33C No. 3302, Lehigh Valley Alco C628 No. 628, and Penn Central C630 No. 3626. Jay Potter photo […]
Texas & Pacific ended regular steam operations in 1952. When Red River flooding near Boyce, La., became too deep for diesels to wade through in 1957, T&P borrowed a 2-8-2 from the Fort Worth & Denver to haul trains in the high water. In January 1958, T&P bought a different FW&D Mike, No, 410, and […]
One of the two Electro-Motive E6A diesels that together were known on the Milwaukee Road as “Famous 15” rests between runs at an unidentified location. The E6s’ superb performance and availability in Hiawatha service earned them the nickname. Tevis Freeman photo […]
Montana, Wyoming & Southern 2-8-0 No. 12 poses for a photo as it switches a caboose. The tall-stacked, well-kept Consolidation joined the railroad’s roster in 1924. W. H. Bunney photo […]
Steamtown National Historic Site, once known as Steamtown USA, has a captivating history. Its journey from one man’s vision in New England to a National Park Service railroad museum in Pennsylvania is marked by highs and lows, attracting both advocates and critics. The Vision of F. Nelson Blount Francis Nelson Blount Jr. was […]
In 1951 Great Northern received from ACF six remarkable observation-lounge cars to re-equip the Empire Builder. Named for mountains along the train’s route, the cars featured extra-deep windows for better scenery-viewing. GN photo […]
Louisville & Nashville RS3 150 passes “Big Emma” 2-8-4 1980 at Baileys, Ky., in July 1954. The Berkshire will couple to the rear of the RS3’s freight for the climb over Emanuel Hill. W. A. Akin Jr. photo […]
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A massive Norfolk & Western class A 2-6-6-4 dwarfs workers in the road’s yard at Roanoke, Va., in 1954. W. A. Akin Jr. photo […]
