For 35 years, these two GE 54-ton switchers were the workhorses for USG Corp.’s gypsum-hauling 3-foot-gauge railroad in Southern California’s Imperial Valley. Built in 1956, the two GE rest on April 27, 1991, at Plaster City, Calif. The following year, the units were donated to Colorado’s Georgetown Loop, displaced by USG’s Bombardier-built DL535Es. David Lustig […]
Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page Thirty years ago on September 26, 1979, construction began on Model Railroader Senior Editor Jim Hediger’s influential HO scale Ohio Southern. Jim describes the concept and some of the challenges building his HO layout. Learn how a three and a half hour lunch […]
John Gruber collection John Gruber collection John Gruber collection John Gruber collection In the 1920s, the United States poured millions into a federal highway program that coincided with the automakers’ creation of lower-cost cars. The developments enabled almost all Americans the freedom to travel independently for the first time. But personal cars – even limousines […]
Railbuses & Motor cars Railbuses and motor cars have run all over North America. Here are some other outrageous conveyances rail passengers have sampled over the years. This Kalamazoo, Mich., railbus was operated by the Alaska Railroad during summers to transport passengers between Portage and Whittier, south of Anchorage. Known as the “Ice Worm,” the […]
Photos of Alco’s mid-1940’s Black Maria freight diesels are extremely scarce. Obviously one factor was the short time the units operated. When Jerry A. Pinkepank and Kalmbach Publishing Co. issued the first Diesel Spotter’s Guide in 1967, no photos of the units had come to light, so on page Alco-49, below the technical description of […]
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U.S. Sugar Corp.’s common carrier and private railroads could face new futures under a planned Florida Everglades restoration, as we reported in the September 2009 issue of Trains. Lets look back and see what the railroad looked like when steam reigned. These two photos show examples of steam power working the sugar cane lines. Also, […]
Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page Model Railroader Senior Editor Jim Hediger also has experience working on the real railroads. In this episode Jim talks about his job as a telegraph operator for the Wabash RR. You’ll also see some vintage photos of some places where Jim worked, including […]
A supplement to the Classic Trains Online Look Back e-mail newsletter Canting grandly to the gentle curve, E units break the quiet of a late fall day as they roar through Georgetown Junction with B&O’s Capitol Limited. Paul Seidenman photo Late fall encounter at Georgetown Junction By Paul Seidenman It was especially beautiful, that fall […]
Railroad History in a Nutshell Two coal trains in the Powder River Basin in Wyoming illustrate the astonishing growth of railroad freight in the U.S. and Canada. Matt Van Hattem North American railroading has a rich past. How can it all be encapsulated? Where can you go to learn its roots? The Center for Railroad […]
Now on display at the Reading Co. Technical & Historical Society’s Reading Railroad Heritage Museum in Hamburg, Pa., office car No. 15, the Henry E. Huntington, led a rich life. No. 15 served the Reading for 40 years. Then, Philip and Diana Goldman purchased, preserved, and used the car. Author of “Going Home” in August […]
Flying flags that mark it as an extra, Louisville & Nashville 806 South pulls a 106-car freight upgrade south of Montgomery, Ala., on May 26, 1955. The train consists mainly of empty cars bound for the docks at Mobile, Ala., and New Orleans. […]
