An 0-6-0 of the South Omaha Terminal Railway shuttles cars near the Omaha stockyard in the 1940s with a string of Swift refrigerator cars in the background. Joseph Burkhart photo […]
South Omaha Terminal 0-6-0
1950s EMD customer relations — a different take
1950s EMD customer relations: At the height of dieselization circa 1950, the volume of orders pouring into Electro-Motive Division was sufficient to require three production locations: La Grange, by far the largest; Plant 2, a former Pullman Co. facility in South Chicago; and Plant 3, the ex-Cleveland Engine Corp. facility in Cleveland, Ohio. However, by […]
The Shay Locomotive: An Illustrated History book review
The Shay locomotive was a widely used North American geared steam locomotive, built to the patents of Ephraim Shay, who is credited with the popularization of the concept of a geared steam locomotive. Shay’s early locomotives differed from later ones, but there is a clear line of development that joins all Shays. Shays were especially […]
Santa Fe’s first 2-10-4 on Raton
Santa Fe No. 5000, the first 2-10-4 Texas type built for the road, and 2-10-2 No. 3873 climb the 3.5-percent grade on the north side of Raton Pass with a westbound freight extra on May 18, 1946. Pushing at the rear of the 37-car train is 2-10-2 No. 934. Preston George photo […]
Secondhand Alco diesels on the L&N
Alco diesels acquired secondhand from the Rutland Railway and Lehigh & New England stand with a Louisville & Nashville F7 at L&N’s South Louisville Shops on July 29, 1963. Charles B. Castner photo […]
Santa Fe 4-4-2 crossing stone culvert
Santa Fe 4-4-2 No. 1440 leads the Colorado & Southern’s southbound Pike’s Peak Special over a stone culvert on the “Joint Line” between Denver and Colorado Springs in 1910. The C&S train is operating on trackage rights over the Santa Fe, which shares the route with the Denver & Rio Grande. L. C. McClure photo […]
Ps-4 perfection
Southern Railway Ps-4 Pacific 1395 departs Alexandria, Va., with the Atlanta-New Orleans Express in June 1937. Painted a striking green with gold trim, the 64 well-proportioned Ps-4 engines were among the most celebrated of all 4-6-2 classes. Walter H. Thrall Jr. photo […]
Palatial stock car
Northern Pacific 84300 is one of 22 double-deck, 86-foot “Big Pig Palace” cars built for NP by Ortner Freight Car in 1966. Ortner also built 61 similar cars for three private firms. They were among the last stock cars built in America. Ortner Freight Car photo […]
North Western’s RDC experiment
Chicago & North Western experimented with the self-propelled Budd Rail Diesel Car for commuter service, but never really embraced the concept, buying only these three cars — two RDC1s and an RDC2 — and eventually swapping them to the Chesapeake & Ohio for three intercity coaches. Bob Borcherding photo […]
EMD Model 40 profile: Diesels That Didn’t
We all love the unusual — something that departs from our perceived norm. In railroading, it’s an Alco showing up on an otherwise all-Electro-Motive locomotive roster, or perhaps a slight variation of a paint scheme that catches our eye. Or it could be an EMD Model 40. A total of 11 were built between 1940 […]
MoPac express boxcar
Missouri Pacific rebuilt several older boxcars for merchandise service, adding steel sides and a blue-and-gray paint scheme. The lettering at upper left reads “For merchandise loading only between M.P. lines and T&P freight houses—do not interchange with other lines.” Missouri Pacific photo […]
Moffat Road train loading at Denver
An Adams Express Co. horse-drawn wagon is backed up to the Denver & Salt Lake (Moffat Road) depot in Denver around 1900. Several crates and barrels of LCL and express can be seen on the platform. Classic Trains coll. […]
