Traffic jammer

  A northbound Norfolk Southern train enters the street running at Warsaw, Ind., on March 24, 2011. The signal guards the crossing of the former Pennsylvania Railroad main line, now the Chicago, Fort Wayne & Eastern. The former New York Central branch line was upgraded with Pennsylvania-style position light signals recycled from other routes during […]

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Trains Presents: NS Fostoria District, Vol. 2

Norfolk Southern diesel locomotive

Visit Norfolk Southern’s fabulous Fostoria District, connecting Fort Wayne, Ind., and Bellevue, Ohio! This volume highlights the busy junction with CSX Transportation at Leipsic, Ohio, and includes a number of NS heritage units! Bought to you by Trains Magazine! Watch more: Trains Presents: Norfolk Southern’s Fostoria District Trains Presents: Norfolk Southern’s Fostoria District, Vol. 3 […]

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Pennsylvania’s Steel City gateway

PRRMoM

Railroads included in this map: Norfolk Southern; CSX Transportation; Johnstown & Stony Creek; Ligonier Valley; Lehigh Valley Rail Management; Pennsylvania; Southwest Pennsylvania; Turtle Creek Industrial Railroad; Western Pennsylvania This map originally appeared in the September 2014 issue of Trains Magazine. […]

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Three-phase locomotives

TRNAT0414_01

Great Northern Railway used three-phase locomotives in the 1920s. This General Electric locomotive operated with three-phase power. General Electric Q In a September 1999 article in Trains, I read that the Great Northern Cascade Tunnel electrification project was the first and only three-phase A.C. system in America. Was three phase delivered to a moving locomotive? […]

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I was a teenage hostler

BENWD

Big EM-1 2-8-8-4s congregate at the Benwood, Ohio, engine terminal in August 1957, a decade after author Tanner was a hostler there.  J. J. Young Jr., Bob Withers coll. Sixty-odd years ago, North American railroads were enjoying prosperous years. World War II was over, but the momentum created during that time continued for another decade. […]

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Charlie’s Trackside Postcards – BNSF Balmer Yard Ready Tracks

An orange-painted locomotive near silver-colored passenger cars in a rail yard.

The Seattle-centric postcards continue with Charlie and MRVP’s Kent Johnson visiting the locomotive ready tracks at BNSF’s Balmer Yard. From a prime street-side vantage point, the two investigate an eclectic range of vintage Santa Fe and BN equipment, plus modern BNSF diesel power idling and working the site. […]

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Charlie’s Trackside Postcards – Portland to Seattle on the Amtrak Cascades

Stone or brick tower and red roof of a train station in sunshine.

After attending the 2015 National Train Show in Portland, Ore., Charlie and Kent Johnson decided to leave the driving to Amtrak for the return trip to Seattle, Wash. In this video, the guys share the high-speed sprint from one classic station to another, and highlight numerous railroad interests along the BNSF main line! […]

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Whatever happened to the Santa Fe?

ATSFMoM

Railroads included in this map: Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe; Arizona & California; Arizona Central; Blackwell Northern; BNSF Railway; Cimarron Valley; Dallas Area Rapid Transit; Farmrail; Fort Worth & Western; Grand Canyon; Garden City Western; Heart of Texas; Kansas City Southern; Kansas & Oklahoma; Midland; Panhandle Northern; Pacific Sun; Rail Runner Express; Metrolink; Coaster/Sprinter; Santa […]

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