A work train slowly moves across 1,130-foot-long Baird Creek Trestle during the bridge’s construction in 1940 at Weyerhauser Co.’s St. Helens Tree Farm near Longview, Wash. The 235-foot-high structure was dismantled in 1961 when the railroad closed. Weyerhauser photo […]
As an entity with 50-plus years under its belt, Amtrak now has plenty of its own history, in addition to that of the trains it took over as of May 1, 1971. Thus, it probably should not have been a total surprise when Amtrak launched a through train service in November 2024 between Chicago […]
Among the best-known dedicated livestock trains was the Union Pacific’s Daylight Livestock, train 299. It’s heading west on Cajon Pass behind a matched set of new Alco FAs in 1951. Donald Sims photo […]
Missouri Pacific history is easier to understand if the railroad is considered in three parts: the lines west of St. Louis, the lines south and southwest of St. Louis, and the lines in Texas and Louisiana. Lines west of St. Louis Ground was broken for the Pacific Railroad at St. Louis, Mo., on […]
The Chicago, Burlington & Quincy’s Zephyr was the first diesel streamliner, entering service in 1934. The locomotive, which was articulated with the train set, was powered by a 660-hp Winton 201A diesel engine. Classic Trains collection […]
Brooks-built class Norfolk & Western K2 4-8-2 No. 117 goes for a turntable ride at Schaffers Crossing in Roanoke, Va., in 1954. The locomotive is one of 22 class K1 Mountain types given J-style streamlining in the late 1940s. W.A. Akin Jr. photo […]
Of the many first-rate photographers who became fascinated by postwar railroading, one of the best was James La Vake. An airline pilot by profession, he also had some experience as a photographer, and it showed: his photos in Trains magazine in the late 1940s and early ’50s are among the best featuring diesel-powered streamliners. I’ve […]
In Chicago, an observation car originally built for Great Northern’s 1947 Empire Builder is ready for its first run on the Western Star in June 1951. The trains utilized Chicago, Burlington & Quincy trackage east of Minnesota’s Twin Cities. Wallace W. Abbey photo […]
A Southern Pacific produce train arrives at Tucumcari, N.M., in June 1951 behind AC-9 class 2-8-8-4 No. 3804. The railroad had 12 such locomotives built by Lima in 1939. W.G. Fancher photo […]
A replica Pioneer coach rides a special flatcar at the Chicago & North Western station in Fond du Lac, Wis., on June 27, 1948. The original operated with Galena & Chicago Union locomotive Pioneer, a C&NW predecessor, in October 1848. Harold Nehls, Lake States Railway Historical Society collection […]
Three Southern Pacific F units lead a Los Angeles-bound piggyback train running as Extra 6368 East past Portrero Tower in San Francisco in 1956. Southern Pacific photo […]
A driver backs a brand-new 40-foot Union Pacific trailer into position on a likewise-new 85-foot flatcar in a 1959 publicity shot. The trailer was one of 10 new insulated trailers from Utility, and the flatcars were among 100 new UP cars equipped with two ACF hitches. Union Pacific photo […]
