The eastbound City of Portland passes the tower at Clinton, Iowa, behind two Chicago & North Western E units at 9:10 a.m. on June 4, 1953. Ahead lies the Mississippi River crossing and the Windy City. Robert R. Malinoski photo […]
City of Portland
Magazine: Classic Trains
Five prestigious Burlington Zephyrs
The Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, commonly known as the Burlington Route, had many Zephyrs. But out of all the streamlined trainsets and services famously named after the Greek God of the West Wind, which of the five where considered the most prestigious? Pioneer Zephyr Rolled out on April 7, 1934, by the […]
A little helper
Missouri Pacific 0-8-0 No. 9721 (with caboose) helps a freight No. 75 up Kirkwood (Mo.) Hill in March 1946. Regular power was 4-8-4 No. 2111 closest to the camera. Helper 2-10-2 No. 1716 is spliced between. Joe Collias photo […]
C&O GP7s at Plymouth, MI
New Chesapeake & Ohio GP7s hustle a southbound freight out of Plymouth, Mich., in the early 1950s. Robert A. Hadley photo […]
PRR Lollipop and Sharknose
At the Pennsylvania Railroad’s Renovo, Pa., terminal in September 1955, a class L1s “Lollipop” 2-8-2 is prepared for a run as a Baldwin “Sharknose” diesel looks on. Philip R. Hastings photo […]
NYC Hudson on the run
New York Central J-1 4-6-3 5403 accelerates toward 85 mph with a mail-and-express train heading west out of Mattoon, Ill., in September 1954. Philip R. Hastings photo […]
D&RGW freight at Orestod
Having taken on coal and water, Rio Grande 4-8-2 No. 1505 is eastbound at Orestod, Colo., with a freight from Grand Junction in the 1940s. G. L. Campbell photo […]
California Zephyr dome-observation car
Silver Planet was one of six sleeper-dome-observation cars built by the Budd Co. in 1948 for the California Zephyr, operated between Chicago and Oakland by the Burlington Route, Rio Grande, and Western Pacific. Silver Horizon, Silver Penthouse, and Silver Solarium belonged to the Burlington; Silver Sky to the Rio Grande; and Silver Crescent and Silver […]
A great diesel: EMD SD40
For railroading, the EMD SD40, was a stellar standout. Between January 1966 and August 1972, more than 1,250 units were built, with orders coming from most major railroads. Through upgrades and rebuildings, many are still working today, some still on mainline trains, others rebuilt and earning their keep on short lines. So well […]
All wired up: The history behind the electrification of railroads
Electrification of railroads North American freight trains are powered by diesel locomotives. Before the diesels, steam engines did the work. Electric trains have a niche hauling passengers in the Northeast. Everyone knows this short history of motive power development, but it’s not quite the whole story. Early electrification of railroads “Diesels,” of course, are properly […]
Streamlined Hudson on NYC’s Twilight Limited
New York Central J-1 4-6-4 5344 starts the Detroit-bound Twilight Limited out of Englewood Union Station on Chicago’s South Side in November 1939. Paul Eilenberger photo […]
Contemplating the King: Bessemer & Lake Erie No. 643
If there’s one thing you could never accuse the late Jerry Joe Jacobson of, it was thinking small. At every turn in his remarkable career as a railroader and preservationist, he went big. Really big. When he got started in the shortline business 40 years ago, he began with a modest 35-mile former New York […]
