Seatrain Georgia Seatrain Georgia, built in 1951 as one of the last two 1928-style rail car ships, is on the Hudson River at the start of a voyage. The vessels carried mostly boxcars, with tank cars and gondolas a distant second and third. Her colors are gray and white, with red funnel markings. U. S. […]
Sunset Limited station stop Southern Pacific 4-8-2 4326 has just entered Arizona from California as it brings the Sunset Limited into the station at Yuma sometime in the 1940s. Seated on the platform are local Indians with souvenirs to sell to passengers. Classic Trains collection […]
Grain train on the prairie A Canadian Pacific GP9 switches the grain elevator at Headingley, Manitoba, in August 1980. In this time of transition, the cars to be loaded are a mix of cylindrical covered hoppers and boxcars. John Uckley […]
Flexi-Van flexibility A driver loads a New York Central Flexi-Van container from a truck bogie onto a flatcar in 1958. No overhead crane was needed, just a flat area next to the track. The NYC had more than 7,000 Flexi-Van containers in service by the mid-1960s. Photo by New York Central […]
Extra 6311 East A westbound freight, led by an F7 quartet, coils past Extra 6311 East near Alta, Calif., in October 1957. The eastbound’s helpers are just visible up ahead. Photo by Philip R. Hastings […]
Windy City excursion A Michigan Railroad Club special from Detroit to Chicago pauses for a crew change at Battle Creek, Mich., in February 1967, following a 28-inch snowfall. The two locomotives, Nos. 4900 and 4901, were the GTW’s first passenger diesels, acquired as Nos. 1750-1751 in 1954. Photo by J. David Ingles […]
Newsworthy New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal’s newsstand is centrally located in the facility’s main room. The $25.5 million facility had 12 tracks and opened in May 1954. Photo by James G. La Vake […]
Automobile unloading Ramps at many early auto-handling facilities were permanently mounted. This Buck ramp on the Louisville & Nashville in 1962 has a full-width platform and can be adjusted to any deck height. Photo by Louisville & Nashville […]
Steam superlative The Rock Island had a fleet of 85 4-8-4s, largest in the United States. Here, No. 5058 leads a westbound freight near Lawrence, Kans., in January 1952. Photo by Robert Olmsted […]
Kickbacks Cars of coal are unloaded dockside by the Chesapeake & Ohio at this massive facility in Newport News, Va. Once unloaded, cars roll out of the dumper toward the camera, up a steep kickback track, and reverse direction down to the empties yard. Later they’ll head west for another load. Photo by W. A. […]
Wide open spaces Great Northern 2-8-2 No. 3117 is westbound at Richmond, Minn., in 1955. The railroad’s territory was sparsely populated, with one city over 100,000 between its endpoints. Photo by James Kreuzberger; Steve Glischinski collection […]
Steam down south Gainesville Midland 2-8-0 No. 301 switches at its namesake Georgia town. The two-story building in the distance is the road’s headquarters. Photo by Philip R. Hastings […]
