Wabash E8 #1006 slowly accelerates out of Chicago's Dearborn Station with train 121 the Blue Bird for its run to St. Louis in November 1959. Photo by Al Holtz, from my slide collection.

Rio Grande Alco PA-1 #6011 and F7B #5712 slowly accelerate from Denver Union Station with the southbound Royal Gorge on November 15, 1958. Photo from my slide collection, photographer Lou Schmitz.

Leading this southbound Monon freight is F3A #201, BL-2 #32, two more F3A's and an FM H15-44 #45 at Harrodsburg, Indiana on, Monon's Bloomington to Bedford Line in March 1965. Photo taken from my... (more)

For the Birds

The birds perched on the ledges of downtown buildings in Orange, Virginia have decided that three Southern SD40-2’s roaring through town with a northbound train co... (more)

A Reading C424 hovers in the greasy, oily gunk that was the foundation of the Lehigh Valley’s Bethlehem Terminal. The Reading C424’s were among the early-production versions that had the radia... (more)

The grade out of Opelika may be imperceptible to the naked eye but, believe me, it's tough. Four old geeps and a newer GP40 on train 208 are proving that to the doubters. The driver of that Econ... (more)

The addition of N&W 1218 to the NS steam roster created several changes to the annual two-week excursion schedule in northern Virginia. Usually four Alexandria – Charlottesville round trips were... (more)

Union Pacific's City of Portland leaves Denver headed west, as it passes four CB&Q E's which have just delivered the California Zephyr from Chicago to Denver, heading to the 23rd Street engine te... (more)

New York area commuter service to the Jersey shore on the former New York & Long Branch was one of the last strongholds of E units. Here a Penn Central E8A stands near the engine house lead in Sou... (more)

The power - three SD40s plus three B367s - kind of tells you that is probably an important CSX train sitting just beyond the signal. That doesn't matter, as the Southern (well, ok... NS) long-ran... (more)

On October 27, 1965 the westbound Houston to Clovis train 75 the California Special behind Alco PA 53 and two PB's at Texico, Texas near Clovis, New Mexico. The California Special will connect wit... (more)

In the 1970s, the southbound Crescent did not get to Hattiesburg until very late in the afternoon, which could be a problem on short winter days. That's why the approach to the Leaf River Bridge ... (more)

Two SD9s and Southern's (and Central of Georgia's) only SD7 drag a transfer from SL-SF past the Southern Crescent and the pitiful remnants of Terminal Station.

Unknown photographer photo, from my slide collection.

It is still hard to believe that the Southern Crescent had to call at this pitiful remnant of Terminal Station. Built in 1909, and torn down in 1969 (just 5 years before this photo), Terminal Sta... (more)