Chesapeake & Ohio hopper No. 47859 gives up its coal load in the rotary dumper at Newport News, Va., in June 1955. The car traveled 512 miles from a West Virginia mine to the Tidewater. W.A. Akin Jr. photo […]
Inversion
Section: Photos
Final Spike Steam Tour features ‘The Empress’ No. 2816
Final Spike Steam Tour On Thursday, May 9, 2024, Canadian Pacific Kansas City Railroad’s Class H-1b Hudson No. 2816 continued its Final Spike Steam Tour operating over former Milwaukee Road trackage into Iowa following a display day in Franklin Park, Ill. The 4-6-4 and the CPKC executive train rolled west across the old Milwaukee Road […]
Illinois Alco
An eastbound Toledo, Peoria & Western local behind olive-green-and-gold Alco RS2 No. 204 rolls across a steel bridge near Forrest, Ill., on Feb. 27, 1960. At the time, the road operated between Effner, on the Indiana-Illinois border, and Keokuk, Iowa, on the Mississippi River. J. Parker Lamb Jr. photo […]
Harvey’s house
Harvey House restaurants were a staple of Santa Fe stations in the west, celebrated for quality food no matter the location, as well as for their “Harvey Girls.” Mabel Wells collection […]
Rock Island passenger trains remembered
Rock Island passenger trains: All through May 2024, Classic Trains editors are celebrating the history and heritage of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific. Please enjoy this photo gallery of Rock Island passenger trains, originally published online in July 2017. […]
Golden Spike centennial
Railroad fans of all stripes congregate at Promontory, Utah, on May 10, 1969, for the Golden Spike centennial celebration, including a trainload that came from New York City behind High Iron 2-8-4 No. 759 and a Union Pacific streamliner west of Kansas City. Arthur W. Zimmerla, collection of Arthur A. Zimmerla […]
Crumple zone
Rio Grande F7 No. 5661 struck a standing train at Thistle, Utah, on Dec. 19, 1963. Much of the impact energy was released just behind the cab, which remains intact. James H. Karle photo […]
Chicago’s Outer Belt
An eastbound Elgin, Joliet & Eastern freight is headed by 2-8-2 No. 747 about 2 miles east of Joliet, Ill. For years the road promoted itself as a Chicago bypass. R.H. Braun photo […]
Central of Georgia
Dual-service GP7 No. 129 rolls through the Columbus, Ga., station in April 1960 wearing paint reminiscent of the Baltimore & Ohio. The road would become a Southern Railway subsidiary in 1963, bringing the parent company’s paint scheme to the 1,800-mile road. Norm Herbert photo […]
1954
The year and locomotive number are the same – 1954 – as one of Louisville & Nashville’s big M-1-class “Big Emma” 2-8-4s leads an Atlanta-bound freight out of Decoursey Yard in Kentucky, a few miles south of Cincinnati. Louisville & Nashville photo […]
Scenic Limited in the Royal Gorge
A 4-6-0 and 4-8-4 lead Denver & Rio Grande Western’s westbound Scenic Limited into the Royal Gorge west of Canon City in 1942. William Moedinger photo […]
MoPac Colorado Eagle E6
A metal emblem and lettering on the nose of Missouri Pacific E6 No. 7002 touts the diesel’s initial assignment to the joint MoPac-Rio Grande Colorado Eagle. When this photo was made in April 1948, the unit was preparing to depart St. Louis with the westbound Royal Gorge, another MoPac-D&RGW operation. Rick Church photo […]
