Passengers wait in the shade at Des Moines, Iowa, as Rock Island train 10, the Corn Belt Rocket from Omaha, pulls in on April 15, 1960. Ed Wojtas photo […]
Corn Belt Rocket at Des Moines
Magazine: Classic Trains
Clearing a Rio Grande rotary
During an epic battle to reopen Cumbres Pass after a late December 1951 storm, a worker uses a shovel to clear the discharge chute of Denver & Rio Grande Western narrow gauge rotary OM of heavy, wet snow. John Norwood photo […]
Santa Fe El Capitan of 1956
The 1956 Santa Fe El Capitan was a special train that deserves attention of its own merit. Just say “Santa Fe” to anyone in the realm of railroading and they’ll likely think “Super Chief”! Truly, that Chicago-Los Angeles first-class-only streamliner was about as top notch as they got here in North America — […]
BL2 at Muskegon
EMD’s BL2 of 1948–49 was conceived to be as versatile as a road-switcher yet attractive enough to give passenger trains a respectable appearance. Chesapeake & Ohio 1841 illustrates the BL2’s bi-directionality as it idles at the head of a passenger train at Muskegon, Mich., in the 1950s. David W. Richter photo […]
B&O tower at Deshler, Ohio
Baltimore & Ohio’s DR Tower, pictured before daybreak in 1952, guards the crossing of the road’s Chicago and Toledo divisions at the small town of Deshler in northwest Ohio. Wallace W. Abbey photo […]
Classic Trains, Summer 2023
[…]
Amtrak’s year-old ‘Broadway Limited’
With just two cars still in Union Pacific yellow, Amtrak’s Broadway Limited departs Chicago for New York on May 21, 1972. J. David Ingles photo […]
Winter 2022
Welcome The next generation? Head End IRM hosts EMD centennial celebration Fast Mail Letters from readers on our Fall 2022 issue Mileposts Commentary by Kevin P. Keefe True Color Railroad divided The Way It Was Tales from railfans and railroaders Car Stop Variety in Toronto Bumping Post Toronto Union Station […]
Fall 2022
Welcome Three cheers for underdogs Head End A potpourri railroad history, then and now Fast Mail Letters from readers on our Summer 2022 issue True Color Over-under at ‘OKC’ Mileposts Commentary by Kevin P. Keefe The Way It Was Tales from railfans and railroaders Car Stop Chicago Surface Lines Bumping Post Seaboard at St. Petersburg […]
Amtrak Miami services through time
Amtrak Miami services have been dominated by trains from New York City. This included, at various times, the Silver Meteor, Silver Palm, and Silver Star. Additionally, at times, the Magic City has been served by its own section of the Floridian from Chicago and an extension of the Sunset Limited. Amtrak’s current Miami […]
Penn Central passenger trains remembered
All through May 2023, Classic Trains editors are celebrating the legacy of everyone’s favorite bankrupt railroad: Penn Central. Please enjoy this photo gallery of Penn Central passenger trains selected from the files in Kalmbach Media‘s David P. Morgan Library. Only from Trains.com! […]
General Electric BQ23-7: An Odd Diesel That Didn’t
The General Electric BQ23-7 turned out to be an odd diesel that didn’t. At the dawn of railroads eschewing cabooses as unnecessary expenses, locomotive builders were putting forth ideas to accommodate train crews. One option was the BQ23-7, the Q indicating crew Quarters. General Electric’s design team took its standard 2,250 hp […]
