E7s, E8s, and a pair of Baldwin switchers on trains from Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington wait for horse-racing fans to finish their business at Bowie Race Track in December 1953. H. N. Proctor photo […]
Pennsy race track specials in Maryland
Train Topic: History
New and old on the Atlantic & East Carolina
The newness of green-and-yellow F2 No. 401 contrasts with the antiquity of the wooden cars as the Atlantic & Eastern Carolina’s daily passenger train crosses the Trent River at New Bern, N.C., in 1946. The 96-mile A&EC had two F units, both F2s. A&EC photo […]
Mail exchange on the fly
A clerk tosses two mail delivery pouches out the door of his speeding Railway Post Office car while simultaneously keeping the catcher arm raised in preparation for snagging outbound mail. This is on the Boston & Maine in the late 1940s. Edward J. Howard Jr. photo […]
Railroads that live ‘forever’ … on paper
Like trilobites and brachiopods, the paper carcasses of 19th-century railroads seem forever locked away in the sediments of corporate archives and government files. They fill the pages of old Official Guides and Poor’s Manual of the Railroads by the hundreds. Nearly all of them are dormant — but some are not. Consider the case […]
Tours of Norfolk & Western 611 offered
STRASBURG, Pa. — The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, in partnership with the Virginia Museum of Transportation, is offering specially designed tours of Norfolk & Western Class J 4-8-4 No. 611. The engine is currently stored at the Museum until it returns to its home base in Roanoke next month. Now through May 14, the Railroad […]
Illinois Railway Museum to preserve historic White Castle facade
UNION, Ill. – White Castle restaurants and railroading would not appear to be linked, but volunteers at the Illinois Railway Museum are working to incorporate the famous White Castle facade into a 1950s street scene the museum is recreating. When volunteers realized that the oldest active Chicago-area White Castle restaurant in Whiting, Ind., was closing […]
Overhaul begins to restore Kentucky Railway Museum 4-6-2 to operation
NEW HAVEN, Ky. — Louisville & Nashville No. 152, the Kentucky Railway Museum 4-6-2 named the official steam locomotive of the Commonwealth of Kentucky by an act of the Kentucky Legislature, is beginning an overhaul to be returned to operation. The museum has awarded a contract to Next Generation Rail Solutions of Irvine, Ky., to […]
British effort seeks to build new 0-4-4 tank engine
SHILDON, England — British rail enthusiasts have formed several groups to build new steam locomotives as part of the United Kingdom’s thriving heritage rail industry. The trend began with the building of the A1 Tornado, which in 2008 became the first main line steam locomotive built since the end of the steam era. Such a […]
West Virginia bridge to honor Korean War casualty, former C&O worker
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A resolution passed by the West Virginia Legislature will rename a highway bridge over the CSX Transportation main line in Prince, W.Va., for Harold Plumley, a Chesapeake & Ohio track worker and U.S. Army veteran killed during the Korean War. The Stanaford Road bridge on State Route 41 in Prince, known locally […]
Colebrookdale Trust will acquire locomotive from Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – The Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum will transfer ownership of former Canadian National 4-6-2 No. 5288 to the Colebrookdale Railroad Preservation Trust in Boyertown, Pa., the two organizations announced Friday, with Colebrookdale planning to eventually restore the locomotive to operation. The engine will move to Pennsylvania as soon as possible. Built by Montreal […]
Seaboard stewardess-nurse
Patricia Howell, a 14-year veteran of Seaboard Air Line’s stewardess-nurse program, poses with the observation car of the Silver Star in 1955. Fraser Hale photo […]
Santa Fe courier-nurses
Two of Santa Fe’s courier-nurses show off newly redesigned uniforms as they pose with one of the road’s Hi-Level coaches in 1969. ATSF photo […]
