Two biplanes trailing smoke accent a 1939 publicity photo of Florida East Coast’s Jacksonville–Miami Henry M. Flagler, named for the road’s founder. E3 No. 1001, emblazoned with the train’s name, was FEC’s first diesel. FEC photo […]
Jim McClellan Trains file photo VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Jim McClellan, a primary architect of North America’s modern railroad landscape, has died. McClellan was a life-long rail enthusiast who leveraged his passions for the benefit of the industry in the bankruptcy-riddled 1970s. Executives and planners relied on his knowledge of railroading and interpretations of maps […]
What’s in a picture? In this one, a brown-painted automatic equipment identification, or AEI, reader barely pokes out of a slope along a Conrail right-of-way in New Jersey. A company that installed this reader received a $195,000 fine from the Federal Communications Commissions for having incorrect licensing for tracking freight trains near rights-of-way. WASHINGTON D.C. […]
From the beginning of U.S. railroading, each railroad chose its own whistles that varied from high to low in pitch. Alex Mayes Q Have American steam engines always used a low-pitched or bass whistle, instead of a high-pitched whistle? – James Kelty, San Anselmo, Calif. A Steam whistles chosen by American railroads were almost always […]
Eastbound Providence & Worcester train NH-1 with B39-8 No. 3909 and B30-7A No. 3007 waits in the siding at Triebel interlocking at Guilford, Conn., for an eastbound Amtrak train to get by on June 15, 2009. Photo by Thomas Mik […]
WASHINGTON — Operation Lifesaver, Inc. is reaching out to top leadership at Subaru and its advertising agency on a new commercial that shows a woman and a man illegally riding in a boxcar. The national non-profit rail safety education group recently sent a letter to Subaru’s vice president of marketing asking the car manufacturer to […]
Not even another rainy day in Seattle could keep Charlie from further exploring BNSF’s Balmer Yard switching action. In this video postcard, you’ll get up-close views of flat switching, remote-control locomotives kicking cars, and rolling stock gliding down the hump! […]
Not even another rainy day in Seattle could keep Charlie from further exploring BNSF’s Balmer Yard switching action. In this video postcard, you’ll get up-close views of flat switching, remote-control locomotives kicking cars, and rolling stock gliding down the hump! […]
The Seattle-centric postcards continue with Charlie and MRVP’s Kent Johnson visiting the locomotive ready tracks at BNSF’s Balmer Yard. From a prime street-side vantage point, the two investigate an eclectic range of vintage Santa Fe and BN equipment, plus modern BNSF diesel power idling and working the site. […]
The Seattle-centric postcards continue with Charlie and MRVP’s Kent Johnson visiting the locomotive ready tracks at BNSF’s Balmer Yard. From a prime street-side vantage point, the two investigate an eclectic range of vintage Santa Fe and BN equipment, plus modern BNSF diesel power idling and working the site. […]
A Fort Worth & Western mixed freight ascends a grade near Cresson, Texas, in May 2013. Steve Sweeney Q Do railroads have formulas managing the length or tonnage of a train based on how many engines are pulling it? What factors would be in such a formula? — Doug Gard, McCordsville, Ind. A Each railroad […]
Pulling the correct lever is an important matter for operators of Metra’s Tower A2 in western Chicago in September 2013. This pneumatic lever machine uses brass rods to trigger air pulses to switch more than 100 points on Union Pacific headed due west out of downtown. Photo by Steve Sweeney […]
