Classic Trains

CELEBRATE THE GOLDEN AGE OF AMERICAN RAILROADING – WHEN GIANT STEAM LOCOMOTIVES, COLORFUL DIESELS AND STEAMLINERS SHARED THE RAILS. CLASSIC TRAINS COVERS THE 1930’S THROUGH THE 1970’S WITH REMARKABLE PHOTOGRAPHY, DETAILED REPORTING AND FIRST-HAND ACCOUNTS FROM PEOPLE WHO WORKED THE GREAT PASSENGER AND FREIGHT TRAINS.

First encounter with steam

Head End • A potpourri of railroad history, then and now

Raritan River in steam • Letters from readers on our Summer 2018 issue

When steam rocked the stereo • A new CD of locomotive sounds recalls the heyday of railroad-sound LPs

Reefers under wire

“The J” returns to its origins • Elgin, Joliet & Eastern went from belt line to steel-hauler and back again

Rambling on the Reading • Between 1959 and ’64, surplus 4-8-4s and idle commuter coaches crisscrossed southeastern Pennsylvania on a series of remarkable excursions

Life after the Rambles

Off-line adventures

ROLLING LABORATORY • THE AMERICAN STEEL FOUNDRIES TEST TRAIN HELPED ADVANCE THE SCIENCE OF RUNNING-GEAR DESIGN

SERVICE LABORATORY TEST TRAIN asf

AMTRAK’S early years FROM THE INSIDE • After hiring on in 1974, I witnessed many changes, highlighted by the company’s first new cars and locomotives

Western Pacific freight on Altamont Pass • A USRA heavy Mikado labors toward a famous California summit, circa late 1940s

EMD’S MIGHTY MITE • Unique in profile and sound, this switcher model found many buyers during its 15 years of production

The great Ancona standoff • HOW MISMANAGEMENT FROZE UP SANTA FE’S MAIN LINE DURING A 1978 ILLINOIS BLIZZARD

Getting my kicks in 1966 • A transcontinental train trip was the perfect graduation present

Dearborn Station delights

My 6,135-mile graduation present

Heading home on the ‘City’ and the ‘States’

LAST HURRAH FOR THE GREAT STEEL FLEET • In the late 1950s, New York Central looked to high-capacity sleeping cars in a final effort to bolster its fast-fading long-haul passenger trade

PULLMAN’S CONVERSION COST ESTIMATES

At last, working on the railroad • A move to New York Central territory widened my horizons and led to employment on the “Road to the Future”

Heavy on the throttle • A Conrail assistant track supervisor gets to play engineer on an F unit out of Boston

Spokes and flanges • A boy’s bike takes him trackside for his first up-close look at railroading

Colorado adventures in the 1940s • Thrilling times on the Rio Grande, including a ride down the Front Range on a 2-8-8-2 with no brakes!

Interurbans to El Reno, Norman, and Guthrie

Mohawk stars at NYC museum • Late-model 4-8-2 No. 3001 sets Indiana’s National New York Central Museum apart

Ontario branchline terminal