When mourners gather Thursday for services at the Church of Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Auburn, Calif., it will mark a special occasion for anyone associated with the once-upon-a-time Southern Pacific Railroad: a moment to appreciate a true SP hero, James C. Mahon, known from Sacramento to San Antonio as “The Bear.” Railroaders in charge […]
For many of us today, Amtrak has been the only inter-city passenger railroad. While the six Class I railroads can find passenger trains in component railroads, only the Union Pacific has a direct corporate lineage to passenger service. Long gone is the competition between railroads to provide a better passenger train experience. Also, in the […]
High-horsepower, six-axle road locomotives are generally regarded to be units making between 3,800 to 4,400 hp. Over the last four decades the horsepower output has steadily grown to the high end of this range for the majority of the North American locomotives built. When this threshold was first reached with EMDs SD60 at 3,800 hp […]
The silver and gold bonanza of the late 19th Century led to a boom in narrow gauge railroad startups across Colorado. But out of the plethora that’ve come and gone, which left an impact in the Centennial State and sparked our enthusiasm to visit what’s left today? Let’s find out by reminiscing about five prolific […]
Burlington Route diesel locomotives showed a strong loyalty to Electro-Motive Division, located in the online community of LaGrange, Ill. The Chicago, Burlington & Quincy was a diesel pioneer with its Zephyr passenger trains in the 1930s, and the railroad began dieselizing mainline freight trains with EMD FTs in 1943. The CB&Q continuing dieselizing with a […]
Saluda Grade There is a right way to build a railway up a mountain. The Swiss, for example, have covered their country with curvy, winding rack railways that start in the valleys and reach for the snow-capped peaks. There is a wrong way to build a railway up a mountain. The Porterfield & Ellis Railroad, […]
Christmas dinner in the dining car Fun travel and good food, along with presents and tasty egg nog, are essential parts of the Christmas holiday season. As noted many times previously, in today’s “get there now” expedient travel environment, the journey is no longer part of the adventure. Thus, the fun of travel combined with […]
Just shy of two years after the CPKC merger, the Class I railroad has purchased its first “new” locomotives. The eight General Electric ET44ACs were originally an order for Baffinland Iron Mines located on Baffin Island in Canada. The new-build mine project to haul iron ore to seaport via rail has been delayed many times, […]
Railfanning California’s Central Valley offers diverse operations, wide-open vistas, and plenty of action. Even so, the Central Valley gets no respect. Fresno, Bakersfield and even Sacramento are the butt of jokes by Los Angeles and Bay Area citizens. Railfans make trips to Cajon, Donner and Tehachapi passes but seldom celebrate the tabletop-flat topography of the […]
Rail travel often involves changing trains. I’ve always delighted in the transition from one train to another. These can be great moments to observe the railroad in action, make photos, and perhaps chat with railroaders and fellow passengers. I’ve sometimes planned changes to include a short layover. For many travelers changing trains represents unwanted stress […]
Amtrak SDP40F diesel locomotives were derived from the best-selling SD40-2 platform but were far from a success on their own. The SDP40F shared its 72-foot, 4-inch frame with the predecessor passenger unit FP45 from 1967. Internally, however, it was akin to a 3,000 hp SD40-2 with a steam boiler added. That should have been a […]
Burlington Route passenger trains are part of Classic Trains‘ editors’ celebration of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy all through December 2024. Please enjoy this photo gallery of Burlington Route passenger trains selected from Firecrown Media’s David P. Morgan Library. Since October 2019, Classic Trains’ editors have celebrated a different Fallen Flag, that is, […]
