Dixie Line The Nashville, Chattanooga, & St. Louis rostered 23 F7A and eight F7B units, built 1949-51. Mainline freight and passenger trains were dieselized with GP7s and F units starting in 1948 with the last steam operating in 1953. It was merged into parent Louisville & Nashville in 1957. Linn H. Westcott photo […]
GP9 Alco was first on the market with the road-switcher concept, but it was EMD that capitalized with its “Geeps,” such as this Northern Pacific GP9. EMD sold more than 6,800 of its 1,500-hp GP7s and 1,750-hp GP9s. EMD photo […]
‘Erie Limited’ The Erie Limited’s route takes it through some of the best scenery in the East. Far above he Susquehanna River and the Delaware & Hudson main line, westbound train No. 1 approaches famed Starrucca Viaduct. Erie Railroad photo […]
Bristol brothers Southern and Norfolk & Western shared the N&W roundhouse, located on the Virginia side of Bristol. SOU F3 4151 and N&W J 602 wait to take trains west and east, respectively, on March 2, 1957. Steve Patterson photo […]
Galewood Yard The Milwaukee Road’s Galewood Yard in Chicago supported numerous rail-served industries on the city’s west side. A variety of freight cars are visible in this undated view, including boxcars, gondolas, and hoppers of both steel and wood construction. Milwaukee Road photo […]
Pecos River crossing Southern Pacific’s crossing over the Pecos River 65 miles west of Del Rio, Texas, stands 362 feet above the river. It opened in 1944. Southern Pacific photo […]
Chesapeake Western Chesapeake Western DS-4-4-660 No. 662 switches at Harrisonburg, Va., on September 15, 1958. It was one of three such 1946 Baldwins on the 54-mile road. J.W. Swanberg photo […]
Cars of the ‘Century’ Mail-baggage car No. 5020 had a 60-foot Railway Post Office section. The 20th Century Limited typically carried one such car per consist. There were four cars in the 5020-5023 series. Pullman-Standard photo […]
Lane Cutoff Brand-new in mid-1936, one of the two City of Denver trains poses on the Lane Cutoff west of Omaha, a favorite spot for Union Pacific publicity photos. The portholed cab and booster units rode on two trucks each, but were connected by a span bolster, not couplers. Union Pacific photo […]
Branch line service The Milwaukee Road ordered the lightweight EMD SDL39 for use on its light-rail branch lines. The railroad bought five of the locomotives in 1969 and followed with an order for another five in 1972. The 2,300-hp unit is equipped with a 12-cylinder 645E3 prime mover and 1,200-gallon fuel tank. EMD photo […]
Blue Ridge conqueror Norfolk & Western 2-8-8-2 No. 2174 climbs Blue Ridge Mountain east of Roanoke, Va., on Sept. 11, 1958. The railroad had 227 locomotives of the wheel arrangement in 10 classes. Ken Murry photo […]
‘San Francisco Overland’ Dressed in two-tone gray, FEF-1 816 and FEF-2 824 make 55 mph up Sherman Hill near Otto, Wyo., on October 21, 1949. Green flags and “1-27” in the 4-8-4s’ train indicator boxes tell that at least one other section of the San Francisco Overland is following. Ross B. Grenard Jr. photo […]
