Streamlined Hudson-type No. 5448 leads New York Central’s 20th Century Limited at LaSalle Street Station in Chicago in the late 1930s. Nos. 5445-5454, known as the J-3a subclass, wore the Henry Dreyfuss-styled streamlining. Alexander Maxwell photo […]
A brand-new A-B-B-A set of orange-and-black Bessemer & Lake Erie EMD F7 diesels pose on the State Route 358 bridge near Greenville, Pa., shortly after delivery in 1951. Bessemer & Lake Erie photo […]
A Chicago, Burlington & Quincy train treads some of the most famous tracks outside of the mountains in Colorado: street running in Fort Collins. Behind the locomotive are 26 cars of sugar beets for Loveland, Colo. Jim Ehernberger photo […]
Union Pacific Big Boy 4-8-8-4 No. 4014 on a test run in Cheyenne, Wyo., on May 2, 2019. TRAINS: Jim Wrinn Q: How were the Big Boys originally delivered to Union Pacific? — David Kuntz, Salt Lake City A: The exact original routings of the Big Boys have been lost to history, but we have […]
This blue roller bearing cap is a Brenco Class K 6 1⁄2 x 9 model. These are more common as half of the freight-car fleet is made of heavier cars. Bucyrus Railcar Repair Q Why are the roller bearing caps of some freight cars painted blue? – Nathan Penn, Monmouth, Ill. A In 1988, the […]
A CSX Transportation freight passes Marion (Ohio) Union Station. The site is now a museum with a restored interlocking tower. Brian Schmidt Q Why is the word “Union” used so often in the names of passenger stations and terminals? For example, Cincinnati Union Terminal, St. Louis Union Station, or Denver Union Station. Is there a […]
New York Central SW8 8626 stands at the road’s Avon Yard near Indianapolis in 1966. Another EMD switcher powered the E&W Turn some 140 miles to the north. Louis A. Marre As a struggling schoolteacher in northern Indiana in the early 1960s, I worked a few summers as a brakeman on a couple of local railroads, […]
A train-view of a flyover at Zoo Interlocking in Philadelphia. Brian Solomon Question: Where are some other mainline flyovers in the U.S.? — Frank Klos, San Diego, Calif. Answer: A flyover is grade-separated track arrangement used to keep busy lines fluid by avoiding the need for conflicting crossover movements, often built in conjunction with junctions […]
Question: What do the numbers and letters mean on the side of the cab of Union Pacific Challenger 4-6-6-4 No. 3985? — Ben Fairbank, San Antonio, Texas Answer: 21 – 21 4-6-6-4-4-69 ————— 404 UP […]
Question: What do the numbers and letters mean on the side of the cab of Union Pacific Challenger 4-6-6-4 No. 3985? — Ben Fairbank, San Antonio, Texas Answer: 21 – 21 4-6-6-4-4-69 ————— 404 UP […]
Classification lights on Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern SD40-2 No. 6090. David C. Schauer Question: When a train displays color flags on the engine indicating “Extra” or “Second” section, how is that information used in the operation of the railroad? — Robert Miller, Hernando, Fla. Answer: A complete answer is available in Trains’ online “ABCs of […]
BNSF Railway ES44C4 No. 8338 works at the lead of a freight train. The locomotive’s C4 trucks have only two powered axles in the three-axle trucks arranged in a powered-unpowered-powered arrangement known as A-1-A. Tom Danneman Question: What is the purpose of the A-1-A C4 truck on the BNSF Railway Evolution Series diesels, and how […]
