Sunset on the swamp Framed by trees heavy with Spanish moss, the eastbound Southern Pacific Sunset Limited crosses a bayou near Morgan City, La., about 80 miles west of New Orleans, in 1958. Diesels and streamlined cars came in 1950. Classic Trains collection […]
Altamont Pass(enger) During its 924 miles on the Western Pacific, the westbound California Zephyr passes through the barren hills of Altamont Pass, Calif., on March 15, 1953. W. E. Malloy Jr. photo […]
Detroit diesels In March 1965 near Detroit, New York Central GP40 3039 leads two sisters south on the Dearborn Branch as they approach the Detroit, Toledo & Ironton crossing at Schaefer Tower. Henry G. Goerke photo […]
All through July 2021, Classic Trains editors are celebrating the style, heritage, and grit that was the IC. Please enjoy an image gallery of Illinois Central Railroad passenger trains, originally published in July 2018. Only from Classic Trains! […]
Steam queen For a few years in the late 1930s, the steam queens of New Haven’s Shore Line were 10 class I-5 4-6-4s. The handsome Hudsons’ wheel-balance woes prompted NH to begin acquiring a fleet of 60 DL109 diesels in 1941. Here, an I-5 roars west with the Merchants Limited at Sharon, Mass. Wayne Brumbaugh […]
Postwar ‘El Cap’ A Santa Fe publicity photo shows the inside the postwar El Capitan. In 1956, the all-coach train was re-equipped with innovative new “Hi-Level” double-deck cars. Santa Fe photo […]
Black Fork Gorge Seven Western Maryland 2-8-0s — two up front, three at midtrain, and two ahead of the caboose — urge a 78-car eastbound train up the twisting grade through the Black Fork Gorge toward Thomas, W.Va. Edward Theisinger photo […]
Williamsport-bound At Fassett, Pa., just south of the New York state line, I1 4315 gets a roll on a Williamsport-bound freight. Rugged, simple, powerful, and compact, the I1’s served for four decades. Jim Shaughnessy photo […]
History of the Illinois Central Railroad Illinois Central Railroad dated from 1851 when it was chartered by its home state to build a line from Cairo, at Illinois’ southern tip — the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers — to Galena, in the northwestern corner of the state and at the time a mining […]
Oakland Pier The California Zephyr’s signature sleeper-observation-dome car, complete with neon tail sign, gleams in Southern Pacific’s Oakland Pier station 10 minutes before departure on June 15, 1958. John C. Illman photo […]
Scenic views Curved windows along the edge of the roof give the Santa Fe El Capitan’s Hi-Level lounges a bright, airy feeling; a smaller lounge-buffet is below. Budd Co. photo […]
Shipping container New York Central (and subsidiary Michigan Central) had a large fleet of steel auto cars by the early 1920s. These had 10-foot door openings with 6- and 4-foot platesteel doors. New York Central photo […]
