Trailers were loaded and unloaded at mid-century “circus style” by means of a ramp at the end of a track and retractable bridge plates between cars. Here, a Southern Pacific trailer moves along a string of flatcars. Robert Hale photo […]
ELKHART, Ind. — Initial fundraising for the campaign to restore New York Central 4-8-2 No. 3001 has passed the halfway mark, with a new challenge grant launched to help bring in more funds. The American Locomotive Project seeks to restore the 1940 Alco, ownership of which was transferred from the City of Elkhart to the […]
Fresh from the American Car & Foundry plant in 1950, this RPO is ready for service on Great Northern’s newly re-equipped Empire Builder. The 85-foot car has a 60-foot RPO apartment. ACF photo […]
Baltimore & Ohio S-1 2-10-2 6149 descends the west side of the Allegheny Mountains at Keystone, Pa., after crossing the summit at Sand Patch on April 5, 1947. William P. Price photo […]
When the long-anticipated “Hill Lines” merger finally created the Burlington Northern on March 2, 1970, it was time not to mourn the loss of a favorite, the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, but to embrace and record the details of the changeover. I had been through this six years before, when the Norfolk & Western […]
Having six intercity passenger terminals at one time, and that doesn’t include the electric interurbans, is a muscle flex to Chicago’s claim as the nation’s railroad capital. That is also why former Trains and Classic Trains Senior Editor J. David Ingles made regular visits to document whatever was left, prior to Amtrak’s formation in May […]
Classic Trains Film Archive | C&O, Clinchfield, NYC, and other eastern railroads, J. David Ingles Reel 0045 – Follow along with former Classic Trains Senior Editor J. David Ingles’ trackside treks in the 1960s. Here, you’ll see Eastern Tennessee & Western North Carolina standard gauge steam, the famed Clinchfield Railroad, Chesapeake & Ohio in Kentucky […]
A worker unloads produce from refrigerator cars on a Pennsylvania Railroad car float in New York harbor in 1939. This car float has two tracks flanking a central covered platform that enabled cars to be unloaded while still on the float. Arthur Rothstein, Library of Congress photo […]
Rolling through Marengo, Iowa, in May 1979 was this Rock Island freight with GP38-2 No. 4305 leading. This Davenport–Des Moines section of the Omaha main was one of the road’s busiest, but this portion was still train order territory. The railroad’s precarious financial condition is reflected in the depot’s upkeep. R.B. Olson photo […]
There are standard-gauge tracks close by, but they can’t be seen here, since they’re underground in this neighborhood. We’re at Columbus Circle in New York’s borough of Manhattan, on Thanksgiving Day in 1951, Nov. 22. How can that be deduced? Well, that’s the famous Macy’s parade that’s passing down the street, complete with a […]
Talk of Burlington Northern passenger trains inevitably conjures visions of green E units toting bilevel stainless steel coaches at rush hour. But BN has history, albeit brief, with conventional intercity passenger service. This spanned from its March 1970 inception to the May 1, 1971, startup of Amtrak – just days less than 14 months. […]
At 9:52 on the morning of June 2, 1953, Grand Trunk Western U-4 No. 6410 accelerates the Toronto-bound Maple Leaf away from Dearborn Station, Chicago. R. R. Malinoski photo […]
