Heavy Mikado of the Muskogee Group poses on the turntable at Muskogee, Okla., in August 1950. Joe Collias photo In the early 1950s, a friend and I traveled extensively in an attempt to photograph as many steam locomotives as possible before their impending destruction by dieselization. On one expedition, we chose a corner of Oklahoma […]
Gone, though much beloved. Peru’s Ferrocarril Central Andino recently painted former Conrail C39-8 No. 1031 in a “Tribute” paint scheme. In addition to wearing the South American railroad’s Conrail-inspired logo, the locomotive has been painted in Conrail colors and named the James A. Hagen, in honor of Conrail’s former chairman. Railroad Development Corp. owns share […]
This Chicago Railroad Fair plate commemorates the 1949 industry gathering in Chicago. It is popular, but worth less than $50. Two photos, Peter Smith Q I have been given a nice dining-type plate commemorating the 1949 Chicago Railroad Fair. It is cream-colored with red-brown single-color images of seven period locomotives (for example: Minnetonka, Tom Thumb, […]
Pennsylvania E7A 5901, one of the units constituting the big road’s first passenger diesel, teams up with an E7B and another E7A on a “Blue Ribbon” limited departing Chicago. This historic unit is preserved at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania. PRR photo […]
A railfan went to Eureka, Calif., to see SD9s, but it’s the flowers at a memorial that made an impression. David Lustig photo It was the lure of the machinery that first attracted me to trains. But technology is nothing without people to operate it, and I suppose it’s a side effect of the aging […]
Santa Fe GP7 No. 2651, above, was equipped with steam generators unlike its sister, No. 2656, which had dynamic brakes and was scrapped in 1966. Trains collection Q I have a black-and-white photo of Santa Fe GP7 No. 2656. The engine has what looks like a 48-inch fan on the top and 13 to 14 […]
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Central of New Jersey Steam Locomotive Planbook – Postwar Power, second edition By V.S. Roseman Anthracite Railroads Historical Society Inc., P.O. Box 519 Lansdale, PA 19446; 110 pages, 70 b/w photos; spiral bound, 8.5 x 11 inches; $25.98 www.anthraciterailroads.org Thirty-three years is a long time to wait for a book update, and for fans of […]
Baltimore & Ohio No. 9 is one of four class C-16 0-4-0T switchers built in 1912 to work tight-radius street trackage along Baltimore harbor. Two were rebuilt as tender engines in the 1920s, but the other two worked as-built until several years after World War II. Their compact size made them a favorite among HO […]
With the Chicago skyline in the background, Illinois Central’s Panama Limited pulls into Central Station to load passengers in a view from atop the terminal building. Illinois Central The Panama Limited was for many years the premier, first-class luxury train of the Illinois Central on its Chicago–New Orleans route. All-Pullman in consist, it left Chicago’s […]
Assistant Editor Brian Schmidt talks with John Gruber about the history of the famed Chicago North Shore & Milwaukee interurban and a related art exhibit at the Milwaukee School of Engineering’s Grohmann Museum. Gruber is a co-founder of the Center for Railroad Photography & Art, based in Madison, Wis., and a curator of the exhibition […]
Assistant Editor Brian Schmidt talks with John Gruber about the history of the famed Chicago North Shore & Milwaukee interurban and a related art exhibit at the Milwaukee School of Engineering’s Grohmann Museum. Gruber is a co-founder of the Center for Railroad Photography & Art, based in Madison, Wis., and a curator of the exhibition […]
