Control cars Always looking for more effective ways to be a railroad, Union Pacific in the early 2000s experimented with what was perceived as a better method of performing switching using remote-control locomotives. Traditionally, a regular locomotive is outfitted with remote-control equipment and assigned to those duties. That’s all well and good until the equipped […]
Rail photography with Google Earth 3D: Anyone who has been exposed to the internet has undoubtedly found themselves snooping around neighborhoods on Google satellite maps or through the search engine’s Google Earth platform. Certain rail photographers have likely logged more hours than they care to admit on the platform. In earlier trip planning days, I […]
Portland day-trip rail experience: In the coastal Pacific Northwest, a Portland day-trip rail experience is easy enough that you can leave your vehicle at your local train station, and not think about automobiles for the rest of the day. With all Amtrak corridor and long-distance trains calling on Portland, Oregon one can usually find a […]
Five extreme snow railroading facts Five extreme snow railroading facts belie the fact that snow can be pretty. It’s the perfect medium for sledding, skiing, or making snowmen. But, when an infinite number of the little flakes gather in the wrong place or take a ride on a stiff wind, they go from pretty to […]
Western Pacific Italian Red Bean salad is a quick and easy side dish to share at any event. It’s best made the night before, so the beans can marinate for the most flavor. This recipe is easily adaptable based on your preferences and what may be on hand in your fridge. The published recipe didn’t […]
What was your first byline in Trains? David Lustig: It was a photograph in the September 1964 issue of a new Southern Pacific EMD DD35 diesel in Los Angeles. I was 16 and armed with an Argus C3 camera. I took the picture, drove home, and developed and printed it. I was so excited when […]
Five common shortline diesel locomotives in North America: When it comes to short lines and regional railroads, differences abound. Their location, size and overall operation makes each stand out from one another. It’s usually true with motive power too, but railroads can and do populate their rosters with common locomotives that have proved their worth […]
Metra’s new Clarendon Hills station New Metra stations are rare enough. One on the Chicago-area commuter operator’s most-used line is a particularly big deal, given how many people will likely use it — and how long it is likely to be used. So it seemed worthwhile to devote one chapter of our occasional series on […]
A Clinchfield primer EMD hood units await calls to work at Dante, Va., on Oct. 13, 1980. Originally known as Turkey Foot, the town was renamed Dante in 1906. Shortly after, it became a busy center for coalfield railroading. Ron Flanary The earliest noises of building a railroad to connect Ohio with the Atlantic Ocean […]
Enjoy this North Shore passenger service photo gallery selected from among the Chicago, North Shore & Milwaukee Railroad files in Kalmbach Media‘s David P. Moran Library. This gallery celebrates the history, heritage, and Electro-glamour that was the high-speed North Shore interurban railroad. This North Shore passenger service photo gallery was first published in August 2015. […]
Chicago North Shore & Milwaukee history is tied to the transit needs of Chicago and Milwaukee. In 1891 the Waukegan & North Shore Rapid Transit Co. was incorporated — a trolley line for the city of Waukegan, Ill., on the shore of Lake Michigan, 36 miles north of Chicago. In 1897, by which time it […]
The Morrison-Knudsen MK5000C was but a footnote to 1990s locomotive history. It kind of resembled an EMD six-axle road switcher. Or maybe a GE/Wabtec unit. But the cab didn’t quite seem to fit either one. It looked brutish, well-defined, powerful, and ready to pull as many cars as you could couple to it. […]
