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DEDICATION
This book is dedicated to my father-in-law, Evan Ammeson. Evan never got to meet my father, who died so young.
lt was my great fortune to marry Margaret and gain a superb new father-and one who was a railroad buff as well!
This book is also dedicated to my wife Margaret and children, Kevin and Karen. Their support was vital not
only to writing this book, but in pursuing railroad history and photography for most of my life.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............ .. ... ...... ...... ...... ..... 6
CHAPTER ONE THE RIGHT STUFF . ...... ...... ...... .. .. ....... ...... 8
CHAPTERTWO ROBBER BARON BOOM ............................ .38
CHAPTER THREE FADED GLORY ...... .... ............. . . . ........... .. .84
CHAPTER FOUR OLD PROBLEMS, NEW SOLUTIONS .. . .......... . .142
CHAPTER FIVE THE RIGHT STUFF, AGAIN ..... .... ... . . ..... ..... .190
APPENDIX A HISTORICAL SOCIETIES AND
OTHER RAILROAD ORGANIZATIONS ........ . ...246
APPENDIX B PRESERVED RAILWAYS, MUSEUMS,
AND HISTORIC SITES . . ....... .... ............. ....248
]
8
N
o project with as broad a scope The following organizations also pro-
as this book could be completed vided assistance for which I am grateful:
without the help of many expert 7+ RAILROADER magazine; American
individuals and relevant organi- Short Line and Regional Railroad Associ-
zations. I especially thank my son, Kevin, for ation; Archives of Advertising; Association
all his help with ideas and reviews of copy of American Railroads; Baltimore & Ohio
and images. His help made this a much bet- Railroad Museum; Belton, Grandview and
ter book. I also thank the following individ- Kansas City Railroad Company; Bionik-
uals for their assistance: Media Photo Lab; California State Railroad
Charles Albi, Evan Ammeson, Lindsey Museum; Colorado Railcar; Colorado
Ashby, Don Barnes, Bob Bartizek, Mark Railroad Museum; Durango & Silverton
Bassett, Brittany Bower, Ed Boyle, Richard Narrow Gauge Railroad; Friends of the
Braden, Bob Brown, Jerry Carson, John Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad; Garden
Coker, Paul Conn, David Conrad, Steve Railways magazine; Genessee & Wyoming
Crise, Kyle Davis, Richard Davis, Holly Incorporated; Image Archives; Iowa Inter-
Delants, Doug Doane, Karen Dougherty, state Railroad; Kansas City Southern; Leanin'
Michael Dregni, Stephen Drew, Greg Tree Museum of Western Art and Sculpture
Gardenour, Amy Getz, Bob Goldsack, Jack Garden; Manitou & Pikes Peak Railway;
Gurner, Marc Horovitz, Tom Janaky, Cody Narrow Gauge & Shortline Gazette; Nevada
Jennings, Dwight Johnson, Doniele Kane, Northern Railway; Norfolk Southern
Doug Kaniuk, George Lawrence, Josh Corporation; 0 Gauge Railroading maga-
Leventhal, Bill Lock, Paul Loyd, Dan Markoff, zine; OmniTRAX, Incorporated; Railroad
Kara Marshall, Bill McBride, Scott Development Corporation; Royal Gorge
McCandless, Mel McFarland, Joe Minnich, Route; Shortlines of Chicago Historical
Linn Moedinger, Gordon Osmundson, Tom Society; Strasburg Rail Road; The Grand
Palmer, Bob Parker, Tom Parker, Wendy Scales Quarterly magazine; Tourist
Pifher, Ken Postma, Larry Powell, Teresa Railway Association Incorporated; Ute
Propeck, Kathy Przybylski, Dan Ranger, Phil Pass Historical Society; Valley Railroad;
Raynes, Alan Reff, Dave Reynolds, Ellen Verde Canyon Railroad; Water Valley
Roberts, Susan Robinson, Dave Schackelford, Railroad Museum; White Pass & Yukon
Steve Schroeder, Rene Schweitzer, Paul Scoles, Route; World Museum of Mining; and
Mike Shea, Sara Sheldon, Patrick Sirois, Yakutat & Southern Railroad Restoration
Brooke Smith, David Tanis, Wilma Taylor, Incorporated.
Karen Wiatrowski, Kevin Wiatrowski, Omitted are hundreds of friends with an
Margaret Wiatrowski, Jay Wimer, John interest in railroads who have contributed
Winfield, and W. Spencer Wren. indirectly to the creation of this book.
Top: This 1876 Santa Fe brochure appealed to tourists, settle rs, and freight sh ippers. lt in cluded a rather
sparse passenger timetable with only two eastbo und a nd two westbo und trains daily between Atchison,
Kansas, a nd Co lorado Springs, Co lorado.
W
hat is it that quickens the
pulse when a train passes?
If you have ever stood near "
a high-speed train (but not .~
too close!), you know of the roar of engines, ~
the blurring of colors, the shaking of the
ground. The experience is all the more
J
:;;
moving if a steam locomotive is pulling the :
train. The smells of coal smoke and hot oil. ;,o;;
The shriek of the whistle. The clanking of ~
the rods. The rapid-fire sound of the ~
c
exhaust. It is no wonder that a large corn- 15
:.:J
m unity of fans follows these steel monsters. ;g'
Magazines are printed. Books are pub- ;
lished. Videos, computer games, and simu- ~
lations are produced. Miniature railroad s
empires grow in basements! I understand lc
that fans exist for all modes of transporta- e
tion. But airplanes are too high to see en 6
"-
route. Neither trucks nor buses have the size o
and majesty of a train. Ships spend most of Th e Delawa re & Hudson had the distin ction of operatin g th e first steam locomotive on a
their time on the high seas. Perhaps antique commercial Ameri can railroad. Its 3-mile run so damaged th e track- not design ed for
automobiles come closest to trains m heavy 7-ton locomoti ves-th at neither it nor its three sister locomoti ves w ere ever used.
inspiring aficionados.
It's not just the railfan who has an
interest. Almost everyone follows the trials page through the book and chose sidebars of interest to you. You might
and tribulations of the U.S. railroad pas- enjoy topics of general interest such as Streamliners or Steam Locomotives.
senger service. Though they may not ride Or, consider reading the captions of photos you find compelling. Many tell
trains, they are sorry to see them decline, short, interesting stories about the image they describe.
because they know they are such an impor- The history of U.S. and Canadian railroads would fill volumes. This
tant part of U.S. history. They also have a short volume is an abbreviated look at U.S. and Canadian railroads. I hope
vague, and quite correct, feeling that pas- you find the time to visit a preserved railway or railroad museum-some
senger trains should be making their travels are listed in Appendix B-and experience how railroads once impacted the
easier if only they worked. Anyone who has daily life of Americans. Many such railroads and museums have gift shops
traveled the European railroad systems that feature a variety of additional books and videos on railroad subjects.
knows that U.S. policy toward rail trans- Model railroad hobby shops and bookstores (physical or Web-based) are
port is seriously lacking. additional resources. Buy a few railroad magazines just to scan the adver-
I know that you are interested in trains tisements. You'll find tour companies ready to send you riding trains in
or you wouldn't be holding this book in Colorado or China!
your hands. The basic thread of the text, Wave at a train. The engineer will almost surely wave back. There is a
presented in five chapters, is a short history long tradition of friendly communication between train watchers and rail-
of U.S. railroads from their very beginnings road employees. Compare those friendly waves to the kinds of hand ges-
to the present. Scattered among those chap- tures sometimes exchanged between automobile drivers! For those of you
ters are dozens upon dozens of sidebars who remember railroads in their prime, I hope this book brings back happy
covering everything from Circus and memories. For younger readers, who know railroads only as coal trains
Carnival Trains to Snow Plows. If you are blocking their automobiles, you will find this book a pleasant surprise as
not up to reading every word, you might you discover the many facets of railroading.
Voyageu r Press collection
The "Lightning Express" Trains: "Leaving the junction." Currier & Ives.
..........
business community clearly chose well in selecting the
....................
technology of railroads .
ERIE RAILROAD
The New York & Erie Railroad was the first of the four great
trunk lines to reach western waters, but it did so at great
cost. Opened from Piermont on the Hudson River to
Dunkirk on Lake Erie on May 17, 1851, the Erie Railroad
was a gift to southern New York State, a consolation prize in
return for their support of the Erie Canal farther north.
Serving an area lacking sufficient traffic and burdened with
inexperienced management, the Erie found itself in bank-
ruptcy in 1859. Its business model of "build a railroad and
commerce will follow" was eventually used successfully by
the great transcontinental railways in settling the far West.
Future railroads would also emulate its pioneering bank-
ruptcy all too frequently.
·¥'·········
0*~
"PATJIERS
SBBtll5
PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD
The Pennsylvania Railroad was everything that the Erie was
not. The Pennsylvania was so well constructed, well man-
aged, and efficiently operated, it became know as the
"Standard Railway of the World." The story of the
Pennsylvania clearly demonstrates the superiority of rail-
roads over canals.
In 1825, at the age of 76, John Stevens designed and constructed a The chief competitor of this privately financed railroad
small steam locomotive-the first to operate in America-which ran
was the publicly financed Main Line of Public Works, an
around a circle of track on his estate in Hoboken, New Jersey. The
locomotive was propelled by a gear that meshed w ith a toothed rail
incredible Rube Goldberg combination of 3 canals, 2 cable-
in the center of the track. Early inventors were not sure that friction hauled railroads, 177 canal locks, 49 aqueducts, 11 inclined
between the locomotive's wheels and the track wou ld be sufficient to planes, and a 1,000-foot tunnel-all to connect
prevent slipping. Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, and then only when its water-
10 CHAPTER ONE
ways weren't frozen in the winter.
The costly Main Line showed
what could be done using yester-
day's technology to build tomor-
row's transportation system. Not
only was it expensive to con-
struct, it was slow to traverse.
Construction of the Pennsyl-
vania Railroad began in 1847,
and chief engineer J. Edgar
Thomson's well-thought-out route
concentrated the railroad's steep-
est grades in a single mountain-
ous area. The Pennsylvania
Railroad was completed from
Philadelphia to Pittsburgh by
November 1852, putting the
Main Line on the sideline forever.
To try to protect its archaic
Ameri ca's first comm erci al railway was built at this site in Massachusetts. Three miles of track were
investment, the state of Pennsyl- laid to convey stone to the construction site of the Bunker Hill Monument in 1826.
vania included in its charter a tax
on traffic moved by the railroad.
Yet the railroad's efficiencies were such that even this the political landscape by controlling so much wealth and
desperate ploy could not save the old Main Line. employment. Small investors-as well as some wealthy cap-
italists-lost a great deal of money, as there was little regula-
NEW YORK CENTRAL RAILROAD tion and most railroads went bankrupt at least once. Many
The easternmost section of the Erie Canal was exceptionally railroads were built, deliberately or not, on business models
slow, with several locks and a pair of inclined planes. Early that simply could never have resulted in profitability.
in the canal's history, a stagecoach company began service Also, management of huge railroad enterprises was a
on a 17 -mile route that bypassed 40 miles of canal travel. A new science. Only the world's armies were of comparable
year after the canal was completed, the Mohawk & Hudson size and the railroads were quick to adopt the layered
Rail Road was incorporated to replace these stages. In a management structure of the military. The military also
not-so-subtle comparison, the railroad's first locomotive provided key managers and construction engineers for
was named the DeWitt Clinton after the man who pro- early railroads.
moted the construction of the Erie Canal. The Mohawk & Imagine the difficulty of choosing a route for a pioneer
Hudson was the third U.S. railroad to power its trains with railroad. A surveyor would be sent into the mountains hav-
steam locomotives. ing heard only rumors about the lay of the land. In the very
It would have been logical to parallel the entire canal earliest years, little was known about how steeply a railroad
with a railroad, but vested interests-including the State of should climb or how sharp its track should curve. There
New York, which paid for the canal-did their best to pre- were scores of questions to be asked just ahead of the next
vent this with restrictive legislation. The result was a jumble rise in the land. What would be the best balance between the
of railroads paralleling segments of the canal. The railroads cost of constructing and the cost of operating the railroad?
cooperated with each other, and travel from Albany to What lay up this canyon-a dead end? Should the tracks go
Buffalo declined from days via canal boat, to hours via rail- this way or that? Should the track be laid on the ground or
road coach. In 1851, the little railroads were consolidated on a trestle above it? Should the rails be wood with iron
under the name New York Central Railroad, which would straps or made entirely of iron? How far apart should the
give the mighty Pennsylvania a run for its money. rails be spaced? How many wheels should a locomotive
have? A passenger coach? A freight car? How long should
BUILDING THE IRON TRAIL they be? All these questions and more were answered by
Railroads were among the first truly big businesses. They experiment. Some decisions were disastrously incorrect and
dominated the stock markets in which their equities traded. some wonderfully successful. The knowledge accumulated
They dominated the employment market with a large number from this experimentation created standards for railroads
of jobs, some of the best in the nation. And they dominated that have remained remarkably robust for over 175 years.
~
Georgia, rebuilding railroads in 8
front of it, but destroying them in its
wake. Although the war devastated
southern railroads, it gave birth to
the great era of railroad expansion The second commercial railroad in America originally transported coal by gravity at Mauch Chunk in
in the rest of the country. Northern Pennsylvania . it was a tourist railway before its demise.
12 CHAPTER ONE
In 1867, the Dominion of Canada was formed from to the new national government on the condition that they
New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and the old province of would be extended to join all the provinces by rail. This
Canada. In this restructuring, the province of Canada was promise was fulfilled by 1876 with the Intercolonial
divided into the provinces of Quebec and Ontario. The Railway, which would later form the nucleus of Canadian
country of Canada was born and the government-built rail- National Railways.
roads in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia were transferred
Voyageur Press collection, courtesy of Bionik Med ia Photo lab, bion ikmedia .com
This huge mortar, nicknamed the " Dictator," bombarded Petersburg, Virginia, with federal projectiles weighing 200 pounds. This image was also
th e basis for a comedi c scene in th e Buster Keaton movie Th e General.
14 CHAPTER ONE
The reverse side of this
postcard states, "CAR ILLON
PARK, DAYTON OHIO. The
John Quincy Adams is the
c
Q
oldest origina l Baltimore
] & Ohio locomotive in
8 existence. it is of the
'grasshopper' type, was built in
1835, and saw active service
for more than 50 years."
== :::;
16 CHAPTER ONE
Steam locomotive Marlboro chugs
through Massachusetts' Berksh ire Hills
about the time of the Civil War.
Below: These two postca rd views of the west portal of the Hoosac Tunnel
show it before and after electrification. The tunne l was first proposed as a
cana l tunne l in 1819 and was finall y completed as a rail tunnel in 1875,
becom ing part of the Boston & Maine in 1900. Electrifi cation of the tunne l
was co mpl eted by 1911.
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<.:i THE RIGHT STUFF 17
n 1828, the Delaware & Hudson Canal Company opened trains on the shortest and fastest line to New England
I a 108-mile canal from Honesdale, Pennsylvania, to New
York's Hudson River.
and Montreal.
Trackage rights to Buffalo, Newark, Philadelphia, and
An Erie Railroad branch reached the D&H coal Washington, D.C.-compensation for the formation of
mines in 1868. In 1871, the canal company continued Conrail-could not stem the inevitable red ink, however.
this track north to ensure its coal had access to Albany. In 1984 Guilford Transportation Industries purchased
The canal company continued to build railroads, reach- D&H, intending to consolidate its operations with the
ing Scranton, Pennsylvania, in 1871, and Montreal by Maine Central and Boston & Maine. Unsuccessful, D&H
1875. The canal was last operated in 1891. After a name went bankrupt and was purchased by CP Rail in 1991.
change to the Delaware & Hudson Railroad, came a new Today, Canadian Pacific trains have access deep into the
mission. With oil replacing coal for heating, the railroad U.S. eastern seaboard on those same tracks D&H obtained
evolved from plodding coal trains to racing merchandise during the formation of Conrail.
Delaware & Hudson locomotive No. 708, a GE U3 3C, waits a ca ll to duty at M echanicsville, New York, in March 1970.
18 CHAPTER ONE
THE ADIRONDACKS • LAKE GEORGE
LAKE CHAMPLAIN • SARATOGA SPRINGS
A Delaware & Hudson coa l train rumbl es past as an Erie train flies
overhead on the massive Starrucca Viaduct. The yea r is 1947, and w ith coa l
a diminishing commodity, the cove r wonders about the
Delaware & Hudson's future.
The Laurentian
was the Delaware
& Hudson's crack
passenger train
between Montreal
and New York City.
Thi s sma ll booklet
details th e route w ith
full-color strip maps
and descriptions of
some of the sights
along the way.
THE RIGHT STUFF 19
T
Lackawanna locomot ives burned o gain support for the Erie Canal, politicians
anth rac ite coal , which produces little promised a transportation artery to serve cities
soot to rain down on passengers.
on New York's southern border. Thus, the New York
Advertis ing underscored cleanliness
through M iss Phoebe Snow, an
& Lake Erie Railroad was chartered in 1832.
imaginary woman in a wh ite gown The original 1851 route from Dunkirk on Lake
whose journeys were chronic led Erie to Piedmont on the Hudson River was soon
in advertising jingles: "Says Phoebe revised to connect Buffalo with New York City. The
Snow/About to go/ Upon a trip/ Erie's trains arrived in Ohio in the 1870s, and 1880
To Buffalo/' My gown stays wh ite/
proved pivotal as the railroad was narrowed to stan-
From morn till night/Upon the
Road of Anthrac ite."' This sma ll
dard gauge and extended to Chicago.
brochure was issued after Cooperation between the Erie and the Delaware,
the merger of the Erie and the Lackawanna & Western Railroad evolved into a 1960
Lackawanna to exp lain the origin merger. Bankruptcy was at hand when the road suf-
of the name of the stream lined fered heavy damage from Hurricane Agnes in 1972.
passenger train ca lled the
The Erie Lackawanna became a constituent of
Phoebe Snow.
Voyageur Press collection
Conrail in 1976.
20 CHAPTER ONE
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8
Th e Eri e's great Starrucca Viaduct was built in Pennsy lva nia w hen
Ameri ca n ra il roads still emulated the European practi ce of erecting
monumental engineering wo rks built to last th e ages. Such practi ces
were not unreasonabl e in the eastern United States w here railroad
traffi c was fairl y certai n, espec iall y on the first ra ilroads to be buil t.
lt wasn't long before a crossing such as thi s wo uld be made on an Thi s 1950 Lackawa nna ti metabl e lists passenger tra in schedules
inexpensive wooden trestle or eliminated comp letely w ith switchback in New York, New jersey, and Pennsy lva nia, but also includes
tracks to the va lley fl oor. connections as fa r west as Chicago and St. Louis on oth er ra il roads.
Stream lined and diesel-powered trains are specifica ll y identified.
Above: Wi th a train of hopper cars in tow, Eri e locomoti ve 3376, a 2-8-4, smokes it up near Hackensack, New jersey, in 195 1.
Opposite: The Eri e ce lebrated the opening of Ameri ca's longest ra il line in 185 1 with a 427 -mil e party. Guests included President
M ill ard Fill more and Secretary of State Da niel Webster. The 69-yea r-old Webster ins isted on rid ing outs ide on a flatcar to better
observe the sights. Webster was ahead of his time, as anyo ne w ho has ridden in an open ca r on a preserved rail way w ill te ll you it is
the best experi ence of rail travel.
An Illinois Central Mountain-type locomotive with a 4-8-2 wh eel arrangement passes through Homewood, Illinois, in 1955. Railroad
photograph ers would describe this image of No. 2604 as a "glint shot."
22 CHAPTER ONE
Welltern J(entuci<Y
CroiiSiJ>Q JCentucky [)al%1 •
... nqer Tra I n An Illinois Central
;UJnoi• c;enrral Pa
passenger train crosses
Tennessee Valley
Authority's concrete
blockage of the
Tennessee River that
created 184-mile-long
Kentucky Lake. The
dam was completed
in 1944 after six years
of construction.
Compan ies that built stream lined passenger cars for railroads also
advertised their customers' services. This ad boasted of a 29 1/2-hour
schedu le between Ch icago and Miami. Departures, however, were every
third day.
24 CHAPTER ONE
The Missouri Pacific's first
locomotive is unloaded
from a river boat in 1852
and w ill be th e first to run
west of the Mississippi
River. When that ri ve r was
bridged, the railroad had
second thoughts about its
wide gauge and converted
to sta ndard gauge in 1869
to allow interchange with
ra i Iroads in the eastern
United States.
>
0
A giant-size car was h cleans a Missouri Pacific strea mlined locomotive at Choteau Yard in St. Louis in 1970.
Th e Reading publish ed th is
60-page booklet in 1958 to ce lebrate 125 yea rs.
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8
of READING COMPANY Read ing's streamlined Crusader leads a parade of steam
• lt\OTIVE POWER locomotives. Pub li shed in 1941 , the 1OS-page book
inc ludes exquisite photographs of Read ing locomotives.
26 CHAPTER ONE
READING COMPANY NO. 178 PHILADELPHIA, PA.
4·6-2 SEMI·STREAMLINED PASSENGER LOCOMOTIVE 1940
READING COMPANY NO. 348 DRIVERS 90" ·BOILER PRESSURE 200 LB.
4-4-2 PASS. LOCO.-ATLANTIC TYP E A VER·Y FAST ENGINE-
All three of these locomotives show Reading's characteristic wide firebox at the back of the boiler, which
allowed anthracite coal to be burned efficiently.
Th e Rock Island's Rocky Mountain Rocket arri ved at the foot of Pikes Peak in Colorado Springs but never
climbed into the pine-clad foothi ll s as shown in this postcard. The Rock Island ca me close to purchasing
th e Colorado Midland Railway and, if it had, a scene like this wou ld have actu all y been possible.
28 CHAPTER ONE
Above: The United States' entry into World War 11 and the railroad traffic it wou ld bring
was a year in the future as this Rock Island Northern-type locomotive passes Silvis, Illinois.
A Rock Isl and stream liner passes through joliet, Illinois. The EMD ES locomotive is fo llowed by a baggage car and a dome observation car
hauled "backward" in the consist.
hen a second locomotive was added to a railway's adopted the procedure. It wasn't until a half-century later,
W roster, that railway was faced with the problem of
preventing the two locomotives from colliding. The earliest
however, that public outrage over avoidable fatalities in
train wrecks finally convinced railroads to use telegraphs to
solution was to give each train written orders based on a coordinate train movements.
timetable. Besides the risk of error in devising and inter-
preting such orders, trains were often obliged to wait for
hours, delaying passengers and freight. Even so, train
orders were not foolproof and collisions could and did
occur due to unforeseen circumstances-there was no
communication method faster than the trains themselves.
That changed with the invention of the electric telegraph
and its instantaneous communication.
Although Samuel Morse telegraphed the message
"What had God wrought" on May 24, 1844, the first tele-
graphic train order was not sent until September 22, 1851.
Charles Minot, superintendent of the New York & Erie, was
faced with holding a westbound train for hours at Turner's
station when the eastbound train failed to show up.
Telegraph wires paralleled the railroad but were not used to
control trains. Minot telegraphed the operator at the next
station to the west, Goshen, inquiring about the where-
abouts of the eastbound train. Upon receiving a reply that
the eastbound train was nowhere in sight, Minot acted. A
surprised operator copied Minot's Morse code message to
hold the eastbound train at Goshen should it arrive. Minot
then asked the westbound train's conductor to tell the engi-
neer, Isaac Lewis, to proceed to Goshen. Lewis refused,
believing he was obligated by the timetable to wait for the
eastbound train. Minot operated the locomotive himself for
this first-of-a-kind run to Goshen. Showing his confidence
Operators hooped up orders to
in the telegraph. Lewis retreated to the last row of the last the locomotive and ca boose whil e th e train
car to wait for the inevitable collision that never happened. continu ed moving. Train orders frequentl y depended on th e
Minot's telegraphic dispatching of trains was so obvi- correct tim e, and th e regul arl y checked accuracy of railroad
ously effective that railroads everywhere should have watches was criti ca l.
30 CHAPTER ONE
Left: When the station agent needed to stop a train,
he lowered the ball on its rope . The engineer knew
to stop to pick up an order or for some other
purpose. If the ball were high on the mast, the
engineer ca lled out " highball," the fireman
confirmed the signal by repeating " highball," and
they roll ed through the station without stopping.
32 CHAPTER ONE
Claude Wiatrowski photo Detroit Publishing Co., LC-USZ62-76127, library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
This angled steam locomotive was designed to climb the steep This rare 1906 exposure shows an early prototype of the Shay geared
grades of the cog railroad that travels up Colorado's Pikes Peak. In locomotive on a logging railroad in Michigan. Invented of necessity by a
addition to propelling itself via a gear that meshes with a toothed local mechanical genius, the locomotive was eventually mass-produced
rail, this unusual locomotive is also a "Vauclain compound," by the Lima Locomotive Works in Lima, Ohio. Snappily dressed ladies and
meaning it uses the steam twice to extract as much energy as gentlemen attest to this train being used for a short holiday excursion into
possible before exhausting it up the stack. the woods.
_---.............
looo .......
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8
. ?
. the freight locomota'le .
Which one ts
Required after every run , the considerable routine
This American Locomotive Company advertisement asks, servicing of steam locomotives was perform ed in a
"Which one is the freight locomotive?" In 1948, average roundhouse. There we re man y roundhouses across
Americans still cared enough about steam locomotive technology America but few survive. Light repa irs also were
to be impressed by a single design that could race along with a completed here. Major maintenance and heavy repairs
passenger train in tow or pull thousands of tons of freight. were completed in a "back shop."
Whyte System Pilot Wheels Driving Wheels Driving Wheels Trailing Wheels Nickname(s)
4-4-0 4 4 0 American
Exceptionally well-adapted to American railroad conditions (hence the name), tens of thousands were built starting in 1837. In the 1870s, 85 percent
of all U.S.locomotives were Americans. By 1900, they were obsolete in the United States.
2-8-0 2 8 0 Consolidation
Built in 1865, the first of this type was named the Consolidation. Replicated in large numbers, they replaced Americans, especially in freight service.
4-8-4 4 8 4 Northern
Pocono
Dixie
Niagara
Potomac
Most call this locomotive a Northern because the first of its kind was produced for the Northern Pacific in 1927. Eastern and southern railways did
not appreciate its nickname, however, and devised many others. It was popular until the demise of steam locomotives. Union Pacific Northern No. 844
is the only U.S. steam locomotive never retired by a Class 1 railroad and still operates on special trains.
2-8-8-2 2 8 8 2 Y6b
Built by the Norfolk and Western, these articulated locomotives used the same steam twice, first for the rear set of driving wheels and again for the
front. Such locomotives are called Mallets, after a French designer. The terms Mallet and articulated were interchangeable in the United States,
though they described different technologies.
34 CHAPTER ONE
HOW STEAM LOCOMOTIVES WORK Steam locomotives run on anything that will burn. In the
Fuel is burned in the firebox of a boiler that turns water United States, early locomotives burned wood. Coal, with a
into steam. In a modern locomotive that steam is passed much higher energy density, replaced wood and on some
through superheater pipes exposed to the fire's hot exhaust railroads oil replaced coal. Even the lowest quality, least
gases, increasing the steam's temperature and the energy in expensive oil could be burned, and was easier to transport
it. Steam is then piped to a cylinder on each side of the than coal and created less smoke.
locomotive. Its pressure pushes pistons back and forth in
the cylinders. A main rod connects each piston to one driv-
ing wheel, converting reciprocating motion to rotary
motion. Side rods transfer the motion to other driving
wheels.
The valve gear-a second mechanical system-starts
and stops steam flow into the cylinders at the correct times.
A "Johnson bar" in the locomotive's cab controls the length
of time steam is admitted to the cylinders (as well as the
direction of the locomotive). For starting a train, steam is
admitted for most of the cylinder's stroke to provide max-
imum force. As the train's speed increases, steam is admit-
ted for a shorter time and natural expansion continues to
power the cylinders. Without this function, a steam loco-
motive would use too much water and fuel to be useful.
Cylinder exhaust steam is directed up the same smoke-
stack through which the fire's exhaust gases are expelled. If
the locomotive works harder, more steam exits the stack,
pulling more exhaust gases from the firebox, creating suc-
tion that pulls more air through the fire, making it burn
hotter. This feedback system is critical for practical opera-
tion. The harder the locomotive works, the hotter its fire
A fireman hoses down the boiler of a helper locomotive that has just
and the more steam it generates.
assisted the regular passenger train up Cumbres Pass from Chama,
Water and fuel is carried in a tender behind the loco- New Mexico, in July 2001. The fireman is responsible for the
motive. A modern locomotive tender might carry tens of mechanical we ll-being of machinery from the boiler up while the
thousands of gallons of water and tens of tons of coal. engineer cares for everyth ing below.
Steam locomotive driving wheels have steel tires. Just like rubber tires, these need to be replaced when worn . A circular gas-fi red burner heats a
steel tire in the Santa Fe shops at Shopton, Iowa, in 1943. The tire expands and can be slipped over the driving whee l. As the tire cools, it
contracts to secure itself to the wheel.
l (J 5:L 19']2
fott one hundred years, Western Maryland
has oucceufully 1•arecl Its service to the
ever-changing requirement• of lndut try ancl
l !~~t£5:;Ji71=-r~------------------ 'ommerw atanclard ... attaining a of
I~ partatlan excellence which ranks lt ao ono
of the nation's outotanclln1 frol1ht carrion.
With o praucl backworcl 1lance the Wootem
MarylaftCI reaches toward ttew vi1taa of
• achievement with onclurln1 faith In Amorlco'o
futuro.
36 CHAPTER ONE
Western Maryland locomotive No. 3579, an EMD GP35, stands ready at
Hagerstown, Maryland, in 1969. Most photographers preferred this co lor
scheme to Western Maryland black.
Wntem ~ryloncl's fosl fr.;gN lrgifl$ gre ~red by o &et of modem difl.. loc.omoti"" like d.e lfv... lorif
4500 ltotMpower eft9iM shown ...., • . The tOrnblned w.;gtw of the ....... \Mih n 369 ton5; length. -roll 150 feet.
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...... IS I"*- ~C~S:I~'-t ... .SOI..I 6.,._
'WNI"UU'WWOO CAt • IMiofcerll ...... tlto~ 'WII RAT C.U • ,,_,..,, kl<'ea ~ .. f9flll .._ W/111 POUill MOmt • eom...-1 . . - Wll otnnwo CAt •
c:tNTit ~to WI'I'Y Wll rt04JY lACK •
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ROBBER BARON
BOOM
38
fter the Civil War, the railroad's effect on to coordinate their schedules, so time itself was standard-
these entrepreneurs were either railroad barons or robber the poor and needy. The life of this prototype railroad
barons. The truth is that a few played each role and many baron was more complex. Vanderbilt made his first fortune
both. Railroad barons raised money, built track, and operated as a ferry boat operator and was thereafter called
railroads that benefited Americans. Robber barons manipu- Commodore Vanderbilt. Starting at age 69 with the New
lated stocks to enhance their personal wealth and power York & Harlem Railroad, he became a collector of railroads.
regardless of the negative effects on the railroad or its con- Through large investments and high performance stan-
stituents. Greed sowed the seeds of government regulation, dards, Vanderbilt's railroad collection became the great New
which eventually strangled the once all-powerful railroads York Central Railroad from New York City to Chicago, with
almost to their demise. eventual service to Boston, Cincinnati, and St. Louis.
Although Vanderbilt was certainly a wily manipulator
"COME, YE SINNERS, POOR AND NEEDY" of railroad securities when necessary, he at least created real
"Come, Ye Sinners, Poor and Needy" was said to be value in profitable railroads. Others had no interest at all in
Cornelius Vanderbilt's favorite hymn. Some certainly clas- running railroads, only in manipulating their stock price.
sify Vanderbilt as a sinner; others say he had little interest in Daniel Drew, Jay Gould, and Jim Fisk all fell into that latter
40 CHAPTER TWO
category. They operated under the principle that good press INVESTORS
releases and political contributions were more effective at The robber barons looked upon railroad treasuries as their
fortune-building than running trains on time. The three par- own personal piggy-banks. Construction companies-
ticipated in such fortune-building using Erie Railroad stock. owned by corporate insiders-would profit handsomely
The Big Four-Charles Crocker, Mark Hopkins, Leland from a railroad's construction even while the railroad itself
Stanford, and Collis Huntington-built the Central Pacific went bankrupt and its stockholders lost everything. (A never-
Railroad, the western end of the nation's first transcontinen- completed tunnel west of Denver was to be a link in a
tal railroad. Their political friends declared that the Sierra transcontinental railroad. If any investor had stood at the
Nevada foothills began on the flatlands near Sacramento, tunnel mouth, as has the author of this book, they would
California, thus qualifying for more federal construction aid. have realized that the only way a train could get to the tunnel
The eastern end of the first transcontinental was the was to fly through the air!) Nevertheless, it took the collapse
Union Pacific Railroad. After particularly scandalous affairs of of the stock market in 1929 to bring about the establishment
graft and corruption during construction, the Union Pacific of the Securities and Exchange Commission in an effort to
was purchased by Edward Harriman in 1897. Harriman regulate abuses against public stockholders.
already owned the Illinois Central and added the Southern
Pacific (formerly the Central Pacific) to his empire in 1901. WORKERS
Like Vanderbilt, Harriman spent much effort creating effi- After struggling to coax a reluctant train over a snow-cov-
cient railroads that would be profitable and useful businesses. ered landscape for days, crews might get a couple hours of
James J. Hill built the Great Northern Railway, another rest before being called for a return train. Refusal meant loss
transcontinental railroad. His railroad portfolio would also of their jobs. Railroad accidents were frequent as dog-tired
include the Burlington and Northern Pacific, and it was workers stumbled over heavy equipment bereft of the most
instrumental in the development of the
Pacific Northwest.
The shenanigans of these and other
robber barons have filled volumes that
only accountants could love. Railroad
magnate and banker J. Pierpont
Morgan consolidated railroads into
what would become the Southern
Railway, instrumental in the develop-
ment of the United States Southeast.
Morgan's own words, "I owe the public
nothing," summed up the era of the
robber barons.
Morgan turned out to be disas- c
.,
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VOTERS
By the end of the Civil War,
Jefferson's vision of a rural nation
of small farms and businesses was
42 CHAPTER TWO
quickly disappearing. Americans reveled in stories of railroad government either built or financed many of its railroads
entrepreneurs whose hard work, cunning, and ability pro- and thus exerted more control over them than in the United
pelled them from obscurity to wealth and power. At the same States. Although the United States eventually came to view
time, voters were increasingly alarmed by these same men its railroads as quasi-public works and control them by reg-
who had more power than their elected government. With a ulation, Canada had this view of railways from the start and
tradition of freedom from government intervention, how believed in using them to affect social policy.
was America to deal with entrepreneurs who exercised In 1871, British Columbia was induced to become part
unlimited power? Could America remain a democracy under of Canada on the promise of a Pacific railway-to be con-
such circumstances? It was Vanderbilt himself who said, structed in 10 years-that would connect this far-west
"Law! What do I care about law? Hain't I got the power?" This province with Canada's eastern provinces. However, the
arrogant attitude eventually gave rise to anti-trust laws Canadian government found itself pressed for funds; it had
limiting anticompetitive behaviors of big business, and also committed to build another railroad, the Intercolonial
laws taxing the income of the wealthiest Americans. Railway, binding its eastern provinces together. In 1880, just
one year before the promised completion date of the Pacific
WORLD WAR I railway, the Canadian government struck a deal with private
The performance of the nation's railroads was less than stel- entrepreneurs to construct that line-to be called the
lar during World War I. The United States entered the war in Canadian Pacific Railway. The agreement specified that the
April 1917 and legislation to nationalize the railroads was Pacific railroad be completed by 1891, 10 years past the date
passed on December 26 after a little more than eight months originally promised to British Columbia. The privately
of unacceptable performance. U.S. railroads were brought financed Canadian Pacific was completed in 1885 and
almost to a standstill by congestion that some blamed on the began service in 1886-five years ahead of its second
railroads' incompetence and others attributed to factors promised completion date.
beyond the railroads' control. Whatever the reason, the In the 1890s, a small local railroad-the Canadian
United States Railroad Administration would temporarily Northern-began to expand both east and west from its
operate the railroads until hostilities ended. Germany sur- origins in western Manitoba, which had become a province
rendered on November 11, 1918, but the railroads were not in 1870. Both the Grand Trunk Railway and the Canadian
returned to their owners for another 16 months, and then Northern had ambitions to become Canada's second
not until the Interstate Commerce Commission was transcontinental railroad. After unsuccessfully trying to
strengthened in anticipation of their return. Railroads were so broker a partnership between these two railroads, the
disliked and distrusted that consideration was given to Canadian government decided to back the transcontinental
keeping them in the government's hands. aspirations of the Grand Trunk by constructing the eastern
portion of the new line as far as Winnipeg. The govern-
A GLIMPSE OF THE FUTURE ment-built portion was to be called the National
As the twentieth century dawned, growth of the railroad Transcontinental Railway. The Grand Trunk would build
network slowed. It had been that breathtaking growth that the western portion, called the Grand Trunk Pacific, from
had motivated the robber barons. Even before James J. Winnipeg to a new Pacific port named Prince Rupert. Both
Hill-the last of his kind-died in 1916, swashbuckling railroads were constructed but the Grand Trunk had
entrepreneurs were being replaced by professional man- exhausted its funds and was unable to lease and operate the
agers. The Colorado Midland Railway closed in 1917, and in National Transcontinental as it had promised. As a result,
1921, unfamiliar scenes of this major railroad being dis- Canadian Government Railways-successor to the
mantled were a precursor to events that would become all Intercolonial Railway-was given the task of operating the
too familiar. The failure of the Colorado Midland was often National Transcontinental.
blamed on the nationalization of the railroads in World Meanwhile, the Canadian Northern also completed its
War I. While this was the immediate cause, the Colorado Pacific extension to Vancouver. After the start of World War
Midland would have eventually fallen, as did many other I in 1914, the Canadian Northern went bankrupt and was
railroads, to technological change and regulatory excess. absorbed by the federal government. In 1918, all railroads
of the Canadian government were consolidated under the
CANADA IN THE ROBBER BARON AGE name Canadian National Railways.
At first glance, Canada's railroad history may look similar to By the end of 1914, Canada's railroad network had
that of the United States but it is actually quite different. mushroomed to 30,000 miles. By way of comparison, U.S.
Great distances and few residents meant that the Canadian railway mileage reached its peak of 254,000 miles in 1916.
The Burlington's ya rd in Keokuk, Iowa, bustl ed w ith activity in 1907. Milk cans are unloaded from th e baggage section of the passenger train's
combine and transferred to horse-drawn wagons. Beyond the passenger train is a carload of Fa Istaff beer. A sternwheeler is ti ed up on the bank of
the mighty Mississippi River, no doubt engaged in intermodal transport. At far left, a switch engine waits for its next ca ll to action .
n 1850, the Aurora Branch Railroad was opened from Burlington to his empire. The Burlington gained access to
I Aurora, Illinois, to a connection with the Galena &
Chicago Union Railroad. With its name changed to the
Dallas and connections to the Gulf of Mexico after it purchased
the Colorado & Southern in 1908. By 1934, the Moffat
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, its tracks would Tunnel and the Dotsero cutoff gave the Burlington a direct
bridge both the Mississippi and the Missouri. Its trains connection to the Pacific from Denver.
would call on Kansas City, Denver, and St. Paul; traverse The Great Northern, Northern Pacific, and Burlington
Wyoming's coal fields to reach Billings, Montana; and chug were merged in 1970 to form the Burlington Northern. The
through South Dakota's Black Hills on narrow gauge tracks. Burlington Northern and the Santa Fe Railway would
In 1901, James J. Hill, who had had built the Great become BNSF Railway.
Northern and acquired the Northern Pacific, added the
44 CHAPTER TWO
Though the Burlington was a pioneer of
diesel stream liners, it had stream lined
steam locomotives as we ll. No. 4000, the
Aeolus, awa its its next ass ignment in West
Burlington, Iowa, on August 8, 1937.
General Electric U28B near Pueblo, Colorado, leads a Burlington freight train in July 1971.
46 CHAPTER TWO
LC-USZ62-9375 9, l ibrary of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
~ /11/i-L ,
~~~- h~~~4t~-~& lloura Oft
A Chicago Great Western passenger train rum bles over a trestle ·--eyRe'~
·~
near Harl an, Iowa, in 1910. Its lines bound this railroad's routes
-
00 , ha E!\Mous
- Streamline;;
to Chicago, O maha, Kansas City, and Minneapolis. lt was merged The Chicago & North Western 's
into the Chicago & North Western in 1968. 1957 timetabl e featured both diesel-powered freight and
passenger trains on its cove r. Li stings incl uded not onl y passenger
trains but freight-onl y and mi xed (freight and passenger) tra in schedules.
In December 1942 at least 19 steam locomotives are visibl e in a Chicago & North Western ya rd in Chicago. At left are fo ur switch engines ready
for ass ignments in front of a line of 11 road locomotives wa iting th eir turn . These counts do not include locomotives obscured or identified by
w isps of steam on this frosty morning.
48 CHAPTER TWO
Perhaps, the most famous and beautiful American electric locomotives Chicago, North Shore & Milwaukee "steeple-cab" locomotive 452 sits
were the Pennsylvania Railroad's GG1 s, this one shown in 1969. One alone in Highwood, Illinois, in 1960. The North Shore was famous for
hundred thirty-nine were built during the 1930s and some operated its high-speed interurban service from Chicago to Milwaukee,
until 1983. although freights trundled along behind locomotives like this.
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Th e Illinois Terminal was an interurban with substantial
freight service. This unusual electri c freight locomotive
~
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wa its for a train at Springfield, Illinois, in 1960. 0
Visitors to th e Fair of the Iron Horse in 1927 could purchase a packet of 15 postcards for 15 cents. The cards chronicled the history of Baltimore &
Ohio locomotive technology from the tiny 1829 Tom Thumb, the first demonstration of steam locomotion on the B&O, to th e magnificent
President Washington, a modern 90-mile-per-hour passenger locomotive in a striking green and gold livery.
50 CHAPTER TWO
The pageant's program cover features a scene that
shows how stagecoach construction influenced
ear ly railroad passenger cars.
An aerial photo of the Fair of the Iron Horse shows its immense size.
An Ind ian vi llage is at the lower right. Above the vi llage are severa l
display tracks. The one closest to the building supports six tiny antique
locomotives. At upper ri ght are four tracks of the Baltimore & Oh io's
main line between Washington, D.C., and Baltimore. Below the main
I ine is a queue of 10 large steam locomotives "backstage" before
entering the pageant area. A rail-mounted float parades past the
pageant grandstand at upper left.
Voyageur Press col lecti on
52 CHAPTER TWO
himself would congratulate any girl who was still single build elegant destination hotels. Starting in 1900, he built
after six months! Harvey Girls were an important part of the La Fonda in Santa Fe and El Tovar at the Grand
civilizing the American frontier. Canyon. These hotels, and others, still shelter travelers
Eventually, dining cars began operating west of Kansas today! Other former Harvey buildings now harbor muse-
City and faster trains made "breaking the trip" with a hotel ums, art galleries, bus stations, railroad offices, and storage
stay less important. It seemed that the Harvey operations buildings. Coming full circle, still others are used as new
were doomed. Fred responded with an innovative plan to hotels and new restaurants.
.
CASTAN f DA ,HOTEL
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Harvey Girls pose in front of the Chanute, Kansas, Harvey House about 1900. The substantial building contained the Santa Fe's depot as we ll as
the eating house.
Fath ers often passed their railroad calling to their sons, who often The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers
passed it to th eir sons. just such a famil y is pi ctured outside th e publish ed this journal. Th e content of this issue included everything
Milwaukee Road roundhouse in Minneapolis in the 1930s. From left to from wedding anniversaries and obituari es to railroad history, and from
right are AI , Phillip, and Tom Bowler. technica l issues and union administration to railroad fi ction .
54 CHAPTER TWO
A locomotive engineer oils around the running gear of his
A fireman releases
locomotive. He was responsible for its mechanical care, for its safe
thousands of gallons of
and efficient operation, and for the safety of everyone on his train
water into the tender of
and other trains it might meet. In an era where most emp loyees
his locomotive. He also
were closely supervised, train crews were on their own. lt is no
loaded coal or fuel oil
wonder that railroads were run like military units and many early
into the tender and
railroad managers were former military officers.
was responsible fo r
the operation and
we ll-being of the
boiler, a comp lex
task. Occasional
proposals stil l surface
for designing and
building new steam
locomotives w ith
the boiler contro lled
by microcomputers
instead of a fireman.
A S
The June 1932 issue of
Railroad Magazine honors
the conductor. They had the
final authority in the
operation of the trai n.
When a train stopped
unexpectedly, the
conductor or a brakeman
everything, in the howling wind. Before automatic cou- had to wa lk back to
plers, a brakeman also stood between cars and guided the protect the rear of the
coupling mechanism with his hand. If things went wrong, tra in . Before radio
a few fingers might be left behind. commun ications, there
was no other way to
warn fo llowing trains.
CASEY )ONES
Surely the most famous railroad hero is Casey Jones. By age
15, he was an apprentice telegrapher for the Mobile & Ohio
and was a fireman on the same road at age 18. Just short of
his 24th birthday, he signed on as a fireman with the
Illinois Central and passed the exam to become an engi-
neer at the ripe old age of 26. His career as an engineer was
launched running fast freights between Jackson, Tennessee,
and Water Valley, Mississippi.
Casey was offered the job of running the most presti-
gious of the Illinois Central's passenger trains: Nos. 1 and
2, the Chicago-New Orleans Cannonball. Casey moved to
Memphis on January 1, 1900, when he was assigned to the
Memphis-Canton segment of the run, and began what In May 1980,
would be a short career on the IC's crack passenger trains. a retired
Then on April 30, 1900 at 12:50 a.m., running 95 min- conductor in his
utes behind schedule, Casey and Simm Webb, his fireman, origina l uniform
we lcomed
eased locomotive 382 out of Memphis southbound with
Man itou & Pikes
six cars of train No. 1 in tow. Casey's orders were to make Peak passengers
up all 95 minutes by the time he reached Canton, 190 miles aboard a rare
to the south. Two southbound trains were ahead of Casey's steam train
train and three trains were headed north, including north- excursion.
bound No. 2. Most of them would pass each other at River on July 6, 1881. Usually tranquil Honey Creek over-
Vaughan, Mississippi, which had few sidetracks, but a delay flowed its banks as it roared past the home where Kate
in the complex switching procedure left a caboose and four Shelley and her mother remained awake. The Shelleys were
freight cars on the main line when Casey's train was due. A no strangers to danger-Kate's father, a railroad worker,
flagman walked back to warn Casey with a lantern. He also had been killed just three years prior.
fastened a torpedo, an explosive signaling device, to the A lone Chicago & North Western locomotive ventured
track. Casey roared by the flagman at 70 miles per hour out into the storm from Moingona, Iowa, with four men
and hit the torpedo. At the sound of the explosion, his train anxiously peering out to inspect the track for washouts-
began to slow. Its speed was estimated at 50 miles per hour an eastbound passenger train was due shortly. The loco-
when Simm jumped-and lived to tell about it. Casey motive crawled across the huge wooden trestle straddling
stayed with his train, still attempting to stop it when it the Des Moines River without incident, but as it crossed
slammed into the caboose. Legend has it that Casey's body little Honey Creek Bridge, the timbers gave way. The
was found in the wreck with one hand gripping the whistle Shelleys knew exactly what had happened when they
cord and the other on the brake. heard the crash. Fifteen-year old Kate could not be
Why has Casey become an icon of the heroic railroad restrained from venturing out into the storm to try to help
worker? Wallace Saunders, an African-American round- the men on the locomotive.
house worker at Canton, had known Casey and cared for his She found that only two of the four men had survived
locomotive. Soon after the crash, he composed the words and were clinging to trees in the flood. Unable to help
and lyrics to a song honoring Casey as the "brave engineer" them, she struggled westward to warn the oncoming pas-
(many felt that by staying with the train and trying to stop it senger train, which was due to stop at Moingona before
he had helped save his passengers' lives). The song was tran- continuing east over Honey Creek. With only a makeshift
scribed by another IC engineer lantern, she crawled across the dam-
and adapted by others. In 1903, aged bridge in the rain and the dark
T. Lawrence Siebert further and arrived at Moingona, to the
adapted the lyrics and Eddie surprise of the railroad personnel.
Newton the music in a version The signal was set to stop the pas-
that is still sung today and which senger train arriving from the west
~
has been recorded by dozens of ~ § and a locomotive whistle called
lJ ~
musicians. Millions of copies have ~::;: everyone in town to help rescue the
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been sold, helping to enshrine 6 2 two men at Honey Creek.
Casey in railroad history. -i~ As the sun rose on the days fol-
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lowing Kate's heroic deed, newspa-
KATE SHELLEY ~ a permen showed up at her door and
A great storm bore down on Casey jones poses in the cab of his favorite locomotive, accounts of her bravery appeared all
the valley of the Des Moines Illinois Central No. 638. over the country.
56 CHAPTER TWO
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This Lehigh Valley Ten-wheel er is a "camelback" locomotive with its cab astride th e boil er, allowing th e firebox to extend the full width of th e
locomotive for effici ent combustion of th e anthracite or hard coal that it burned. The fireman had the job of shoveling coal under the miniscul e
sh elterin g roof between locomotive and tender.
58 CHAPTER TWO
White was not the best choice for a locomotive, but these Lehigh Valley locomotives are clean and bright near Waverly, New York, in 1972.
Three Lehigh Valley diesel locomotives display three different calor schemes.
T HE - SYSTEM
60 CHAPTER TWO
Lo ui sv ille & Nashville
M-1 Class 2-8-4 No.
1954 sta rts an Atla nta-
bound fast fre ight fro m
DeCoursey Ya rd near
Cin c innati in 1956 .
Crews refe rred to the
M- 1s as "B ig Emmas."
Two A Ieo RS3 locomotives pull a train of auto racks through Covington, Kentucky. Hopper ca rs of coa l define the primary industry of this region.
Ra il roads still carry new automob iles but in covered ra il road cars to protect them from vanda l ism.
left and below: In a joint effort with the Boston & Maine, the Maine Central introduced new
streamlined passenger service between Boston, Massachusetts, and Bangor, Maine. A total of
~6UA'!LI:J~
24 cars were purchased (thus the "twelve sets of Twins" referenced on the brochure's cover).
This is part of a 38- inch- long brochure about the new cars. Individual headrests allowed
passengers to sleep in their reclining seats on air-conditioned cars. Special sound insulation
~S.eioj-~ made sleep easier. Meals and drinks were served in the restaurant-lounge cars, and glass-
enclosed smoking sections were part of each coach. New England workmen built the cars at
a total cost of $2 million.
62 CHAPTER TWO
A M aine Centra l EMD GP7 idles in South Portland,
Maine, in February 1972.
64 CHAPTER TWO
Oedmans photo, courtesy Wh ite Pass & Yukon Route Wheeler, LC-USZ62- 121970, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Di vision
The Tanana Va lley Railroad in A laska was built to 3-foot gauge to serve mi nes near A locomotive of the Durango & Sil verton Narrow Gauge
Fai rbanks. Th e U.S. government purchased it and co nverted a portio n to standard gauge Ra ilroad wa its at Sil verto n fo r its return tri p to D urango.
to complete th e Alaska Ra il road from Sewa rd th rough Anchorage to Fairbanks. Th e rocky crags are Colora do's San juan Mountains.
0 E
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Th e Pennsylvani a Railroad celebrated its centenary in 1946. Th e image show s its modern diesel, steam, and electric locomotives. In 1946,
the railroad operated 3,170 daily freight trains and 1,340 dail y passenger trains.
66 CHAPTER TWO
A 1903 photo of the Pennsylvania Railroad's shop at A ltoona,
Pennsylvania, shows why steam locomotives were expensive to
maintain. In 1903, there was no practical altern ative motive
This 1907 photo shows all four tracks of the Pennsylvania
power. Altoona wou ld grow to enormous size and build as wel l
Railroad's main line occupied. The rightmost tra in is a work tra in
as maintain the Pennsylvania's fleet of steamers.
most likely hauling rock from the embankment on wh ich the men
are working. The first car of this train carries the men to and from
work. The third tra in is pulled by two steam locomotives, whi le the
RAI ~,.o~,D
fourth and leftmost train demonstrates one of many reasons why
brakemen's jobs were the most dangerous. As two men wa lk
across the tops of the ca rs, each of the four stacks of semaphore
blades controls tra in movements on the track below it.
35 CENTS
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68 CHAPTER TWO
The Liberty Limited speeds between
0Ep£NoASL£
Was hington, D.C., and Chicago. Its name
is clea rly inspired by the Allied victory in
World War 11, which ended eight years
Liberty
before this ad ran.
Limited
WAa.,, No To N - aA '< l .. o ~ c.
Cf11CAGo
f. ORM 1
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www.archivesofadvertising.com
Th e Santa Fe was one of a few rail roads that used the Prairie-type steam locomotive w ith
its 2-6-2 w heel arrangement. One wonders about the econom ics of this passenger train
with one "combine" ca r, half devoted to passengers and half to baggage and express.
70 CHAPTER TWO
Clouds of steam testify to Chicago's bitter co ld as
a Santa Fe freight train prepares to leave Corwith
Yard at the height of World War 11 in 1943.
ei{/O!f a
Super Chief
AdvaDOed ideoo for )'OUr tmoelluurr........ -n.d IIDOCl4hness
warbonnet calor
scheme of the
locomotive to the
Turquoise Room
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lounge car, it was an
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www.archivesofadvertising.com
El Paso & Southwestern Railroad emp loyees pose by the 14-stall roundhouse and shop buildings in Douglas, Arizona, in 1909. The El Paso &
Southwestern was a little-known railroad connecting El Paso w ith Tucson. Built by the Phelps Dodge Corporation to facilitate their copper-mining
business and later merged into Southern Pacific, most of its tracks are now gone. Beautiful depots remain in Tucson and Douglas.
72 CHAPTER TWO
These three views of passenger train s on the Southern Pac ific's Shasta
Route from San Franc isco to Seattle exp lain its popul arity w ith tourists.
Below: Th e Sunset Limited crosses thro ugh the cotton fields on its
way from Los A ngeles to New O rleans. The locomoti ve co l or scheme
is similar to that used o n th e Southern Pacific's Daylight steam
locomotives. In th e postwar optimi sm about passenger trai n travel,
the Southern Pacific purchased five tra in sets fo r the Sunset at a tota l
cost of $15 millio n. The trip was schedul ed for 42 hours, a number
that shows w hy airlines we re unbeatab le co mpetito rs for lo ng-d istance
passenger travel in th e 1950s.
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In 1904, the Southern Pac ific completed a 12-mile trestl e across the Southern Pac ific passengers enjoy spring-tim e w ild fl owers of th e
Great Salt Lake. Thi s Lu c in Cutoff was eventuall y replaced w ith Ca lifo rni a desert.
earthen fill. Th e original trestle's wood, pi ckl ed in th e lake's sa lty
mineral-laden water, is pri zed for its va ried co lors and has been
sa lvaged and used as paneling in new constructi o n.
74 CHAPTER TWO
Th e City of Sa n Francisco has just departed its namesake
western terminu s for a direct trip to Chicago via Southern
Pacific, U nion Pac ific, and Chicago & North Western ra ils.
The trip featured a daylight crossing of Donner Pass high in
the Sierra Nevada Mounta ins. In 1939, th e City of San
Francisco was w recked in Nevada w ith the suspected ca use
being sabotage of the rails. In 1952, 226 people, co ld,
hungry and miserabl e, we re stranded on the train in 12-foot
snows on Donner Pass. Th at same storm saw one SP engineer
kill ed and four of its fi ve rotary snowpl ows immovabl y
buri ed in th e w hite powder. The fifth an d oldest rotary
plow finall y resc ued th e stra nded train after three days.
S~'EN!l O... 'E\'I.RSI. "K .\\Ol NTAI. ', RI': 01 (j, I' A.
Someone has dotted the route of the Neversink Mountain Railway on this old
postcard. Opened on June 30, 1890, Pennsylvania's Neversink was the third
electric railroad in the United States. lt closed in 1917.
76 CHAPTER TWO
6«!7 Circular Brid~re, 400ft. aoove lower track., Mt. Lowe Railway,
Call!ornia
"On' the Road ol a Thousand Wonders"
Above and right: The Mt. Lowe Rai lway inc luded several segments. Near Los
Angeles, a Pac ific El ectri c trolley snaked up Ru bio Ca nyon, w here an incline
railway climbed the hillside to the A lpine Division, pictured here. A tavern,
hotel, and cas ino were some of the attracti ons along the rail lines. Th e railroad
ceased operation in 1937.
RO BB ER BARON BOOM 77
n 1850, California became the 31st state. In 1859, Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad joined in 1988. In 1995,
I Oregon became the 33rd. Their isolation was the moti-
vation for a transcontinental railroad. The Pacific Railroad
the Chicago & North Western was folded into the Union
Pacific with its straight-line route from Omaha to Chicago.
Act of 1862 chartered the Union Pacific Railroad to build Coming full-circle, the Southern Pacific again became part
west from Omaha, Nebraska, to meet the Central of the Union Pacific in 1996.
Pacific, which would build east from Sacramenta,
California.
On May 10, 1869 at Promontory, Utah, two last
spikes were driven, celebrating completion of the
transcontinental route. From Ogden, Utah, Union Pacific
trains reached the copper mines of Butte, Montana, and
the Pacific Ocean at Portland and Los Angeles.
In 1897, E. H. Harriman purchased the Union
Pacific at public auction. He controlled and made
improvements to the Union Pacific, the Southern
Pacific (successor to the Central Pacific), the Illinois
Central, and the Chicago & Alton. In 1912, federal
regulators required that the Union Pacific sell its
ownership in the Southern Pacific.
In the 1980s, merger with the Western Pacific gave the Streamlined diesels generating
u .....
Union Pacific a third Pacific terminus at Oakland. Merger 5,400 horsepower rocket the City of Los Angeles
with the Missouri Pacific added Texas and Chicago. The across the flower-carpeted desert after the end of World War 11.
Sherman Hill is the Union Pacific's ori gi nal cross ing of the Continenta l Divide. Although the line has been relocated and add itional tracks added,
the route still crosses the divide between Cheyenne and Laram ie, Wyoming.
78 CHAPTER TWO
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80 CHAPTER TWO
Claude W iatrows ki ph oto
UNION
PACIFIC
RAILROAD
Above: "We can handle it" underscores this scene as Union Pacific 's last two operationa l steam
locomotives, 8444 and 3985, thunder past a Wyoming billboard in May 1981. "Thunder" is an
understatement for a pair of steam locomotives weighing about 1,000 tons and running at 70
miles per hour.
Left: This 1955 Union Pacific timetable listed passenger service from
named high-speed stream lined trains down through self-p ropelled
motorcars, ending with, remarkably, mixed fre ight and passenger trains.
This 1979 photo of a leased Union Pacific locomotive at Martin, Utah, predicted the future. The Un ion Pacific now owns the track that passes
M artin , and its ye llow tra ins climb past this spot regularly.
82 CHAPTER TWO
hicago's Columbian Exposition hosted 27 million temporary duty of running shuttle trains to the fair-
C visitors in 1893. It featured a fast, smoke-free electric
railway to transport guests who gawked at displays of
grounds. Jones found Illinois Central locomotive 638 on
display at the expo and had it assigned to him on his return
locomotives and included soon-to-be railroad legend to Water Valley, Mississippi.
Casey Jones, whom the Illinois Central had assigned the
j. E. France photo, Bruce Gurner co llection, Water Valley Casey ]ones Railroad Museum
Illinois Centra l No. 638 was displayed at th e 1893 Columbian Exposition in Ch icago where Casey Jones was assigned to run shuttle trains carry ing
visitors to th e fair. Casey was so impressed with locomotive No. 638 that he managed to have it assigned to him in Water Valley, Mississippi. He
even convinced management to al low him to run the locomotive al l the way from Chicago to Water Valley across five divisions of the rai lroad.
Normally, an engineer assigned to each division wou ld have piloted the locomotive across that division. In this photo, Casey relaxes in the cab
just north of Water Valley in 1898.
FADED GLORY
84
s the nation's primary mode of
BLACK THURSDAY
October 24, 1929-Black Thursday-is gener-
ally acknowledged as the start of the Great
\
Depression. By 1932, 25 percent of the American
workforce-13 million-was unemployed. A
year later saw an additional 2 million without
work. At the Depression's low point, 50 percent of
ROttiNG Voyageur Press col lection
This railroad yard holds the 75 trains- passenger and freight- that
were required to move a single armored division of 12,000 men
during World War 11. it is no wonder that the war gave the
railroads a temporary reprieve from their long-term decline.
Voyageur Press collecti on
FADED GLORY 85
Unc le Sam pitches
in to help the
wartime activities
of the Pennsylvania
Rai lroad and the
industries it served.
passenger trains polished the steel rails each day. In 2005, WORLD WAR 11
U.S. airlines operated 27,000 daily flights. In 1929, one daily Railroads proved themselves the primary domestic trans-
passenger train ran for every 600 Americans. In 1995, one portation mode in World War II. Gone were the missteps of
daily airline flight operated for every 1,100 Americans. By World War I. The railroads moved freight and passengers as
these measures, transportation services in 1929 were almost never before: over 80 percent of all freight traffic during the
double those in 1995. In addition, those 20,000 trains in war years and close to a billion passengers in 1944. What
1929 served numerous small, rural towns. Today, most air- makes this record all the more remarkable is that the rail-
line flights operate between hub airports in large cities. roads' capital resources were spent. Through over a decade
Rural America, especially, lost out when passenger trains of Depression, the railroads had limped along with old
started to slide toward oblivion. locomotives, old cars, deferred maintenance, and inade-
In the United States, 1932 freight tonnage was less than quate infrastructure. With the outbreak of war, the coun-
half of what it had been in 1929. Canada fared worse. try's resources were stretched to the breaking point and the
Canadian grain shipments in 1935 were an eighth of what they railroads delivered magnificent service with the resources
had been in 1928. Recovery had been almost nonexistent when they had. With young men away at war, old-timers were
another economic decline in 1937 and 1938 must have con- brought out of retirement and for the first time women
vinced Americans that the world was coming to an end. By played a substantial role in railroad operations. Wooden
1939, a full third ofU.S. railroad trackage was in the hands of railroad cars emerged from what had been expected to be
court-appointed trustees of bankrupt railroads.
The excesses of the robber barons motivated
government regulations that limited the railroads'
ability to respond to the changing conditions of
the Depression. Although railroads may have done
better had they been allowed to adapt, it would
have been impossible for them to have done well.
The North American economy had collapsed and
the railroads were intimately intertwined with
that economy. Stock manipulations begun in the
days of the robber barons reached their zenith in
the 1920s. The Great Depression motivated the
establishment of the Securities and Exchange
Commission and the first attempts at regulating
the securities industry.
None of this had any substantial immedi-
ate effect on ending the Great Depression.
Entry into World War II and the enormous
demands the war made on the economy put
Americans back to work and the railroads
on the right track. But time would prove
that the war was only a temporary respite
from more basic structural causes for the
railroads' woes.
:z
p use of cite tr.wding public. J
brod,crs-in-3rrns. by tli elr figJu• ng
many women who wanted to continue in
~1.1GJ ,'11 tllr.I,.,JF~u .......
careers. Molly Pitcher was a Revolutionary
War heroine and became associated with the :::.:~::.:::;· ·•"'""•!-. ~ P<'nns,rh·ania flail road
women who went to work during World War 11. - . 5 ''' ••r tll r h'11 t io• :.::~:~'!r,
..
88 CHAPTER THREE
A 1945 advertisement by the American Locomotive Company illustrates the key decision to be made by the nation's rail roads at the time: steam or
diesel or both? Alco manufactured both and the ad illustrates some of the company's most successful products.
permanent retirement and antique locomotives chugged was purchased yet again but retained its EMD initials when
down the rails. it was rechristened Electro-Motive Diesel. This book will
use the letters EMD to refer to this company.)
THE GREAT MOTIVE POWER DEBATE The purchase of a new fleet of steam locomotives
By the war's end in 1945, the American locomotive fleet was seemed virtually guaranteed. At war's end, U.S. railroads
worn out. Most locomotives had been built in the 1920s prior operated 40,000 steam locomotives and only 3,000 diesels.
to the Great Depression and they were at the end of their use- The railroads had massive investments in steam locomo-
fullives. After the war, railroads saw a dramatic drop in busi- tive infrastructure. Perhaps most importantly, a steam
ness even as their labor costs remained high. Solutions were locomotive cost half as much as a diesel locomotive with
limited by constraints imposed by the Interstate Commerce the same horsepower. On the other side of the equation,
Commission and union labor agreements. This set the stage many more men were required to service and maintain
for an important decision about technology. Should the new steam locomotives.
locomotives be steam-powered or diesel-powered?
One important player on that stage was the Electro- DIESELS AND STANDARDIZATION
Motive Division of General Motors (EMD). Formerly the Each railroad had different operating conditions to which
Electro-Motive Corporation (EMC) and a pioneer manu- steam locomotives were custom-designed. Diesels were
facturer of diesel locomotives, the company was purchased much more adaptable than steam locomotives and one
by GM in 1930 and became EMD. (In 2005, the company design would work as well amid the grain elevators of the
FADED GLORY 89
flat Midwest as it would on the steep climb through the DIESELS AND THE UNIONS
western mountains. In 1937, railroads agreed to station a fireman in the cabs of
An unexpected consequence of standardized diesel diesel locomotives, even though these locomotives had no
designs was ease of financing. Since steam locomotives were boiler for the fireman to tend. Management's decision to
unique to a specific railroad, banks knew that they would be include a fireman was made primarily for labor peace. It
difficult to sell and were loath to use the locomotives as col- was not until a 1963 U.S. Supreme Court decision that fire-
lateral for loans. Diesel locomotives were standardized and men gradually started to disappear.
easy to sell to another railroad if a purchaser defaulted on a When the modern freight diesel, EMD's model FT,
loan. Much like an automobile loan today, approval was arrived just before World War 11, those locomotives could
almost automatic since the loan financed the purchase of be connected together to form one multiple-unit (MU)
the very item that would act as collateral. locomotive, all of which could be controlled by a single
engineer in the first unit. Unions demanded a second engi-
DIESELS AND PASSENGERS neer on multiple-unit diesels. The railroad resisted and
As servicemen returned from the war, the railroads saw an strikes ensued.
expanding market for passenger business and were deter-
mined to get their share. The automobile had already THE UNIMAGINABLE
become formidable competition and commercial aviation The considerations that governed the selection of the tech-
would soon be unstoppable. With their sleek, modern, col- nology for the next generation of railroad locomotives were
orful styling, and fast, smooth rides, streamlined diesel compelling:
locomotives caught travelers' imaginations. In a reversal of
Henry Ford's philosophy of delivering Model T autos in any • New diesel servicing facilities would have to be built, but
color as long as it was black, EMD delivered the flashiest old steam facilities would have to have been upgraded.
color schemes but only on standardized diesel locomotives. • Employees would have to be trained in diesel maintenance
and operations but only a fraction of the current steam-
knowledgeable employees would be required for a
dieselized railroad.
• Although diesels were expensive, financing was easy and
the savings from operations and maintenance would
quickly make up the difference.
• Diesels spent much less time being serviced than did
steam locomotives so they could spend more time
pulling trains. Also, fewer diesels would be required.
• Maintaining both technologies simultaneously would be
prohibitively expensive.
Setting the MODERN It was clear that not only was the future in diesel loco-
motives, but that the best course of action was to convert as
quickly as possible. Change swept the railroad yards like
90 CHAPTER THREE
than ever? Railroads invested heavily in diesel-hauled both good and bad. They have been attributed to the suc-
streamlined trains, and dome cars gave vacationing families cess of the free market system and to the failure of the gov-
spectacular views of western America. ernment's biased intervention in that system. It seems that
As the standard of living rode the tide of postwar pros- conclusions are in the eye of the investigator. One thing that
perity, Americans wanted the convenience of a personal was certain: The railroad age-central to the development
automobile. Politicians scrambled to build and improve of America from the 1840s-was over. The railroads were
highways. The Interstate Highway System was begun in no longer central to the economic, political, social, and cul-
1956 and gasoline was inexpensive. World War 11 had pro- tural life of the nation. As the story unfolded, railroads
duced great strides in aircraft technology that was now would retain their importance but in a different and more
transferred to civilian use. Plane trips were not just for the invisible role.
wealthy adventurer anymore.
By 1960, it was clear that passenger train travel in the TOUGH TIMES IN CANADA
United States was doomed and that the railroads' massive By 1919, the Canadian government controlled the Grand
postwar investments had been a waste. Trunk Pacific, and it took control of the Grand Truck
Western in 1920. Both were integrated into Canadian
ANOTHER TEAR IN THE FABRIC OF RURAL LIFE National Railways in 1923. Now there were only two major
Though the demise of steam locomotives and passenger railways in Canada: one-Canadian Pacific-was owned by
service occurred for very different reasons, they both had private investors, and the other-Canadian National-was
consequences that were especially difficult for small-town government -owned.
America, where steam locomotives no longer stopped to Both spent much of the 1920s-perhaps too much-
quench their thirst. The roundhouse was deserted and rail- expanding connecting lines, especially in the prairie
road employees' salaries no longer contributed to the local provinces. Rail also reached northern waterways in 1929 at
economy. Outside of agriculture, mining, or logging, the Churchill, Manitoba, and in 1932 at Moosonee, Ontario.
main source of wealth for many small towns was the salaries Though there was much less railroad track in Canada than
of railroad workers. Their departure left holes in the social the United States, Canada's rail system had more excess
and economic fabrics of towns. capacity for the m eager amount of traffic available. In many
Without the passenger train, it was a long drive to ways, Canada was hit harder by the Great Depression than
Grandma's house or to the nearest big city to board an air- was the United States. Canadian Pacific actually proposed
plane. The town didn't seem as connected to the outside integration and management of Canadian National, a pro-
world without its passenger train. It was more isolated and posal that was politically unacceptable even though logical.
more of its younger residents moved to the nearest metropolis. By a 1933 agreement, the two railroads did manage to elim-
inate some parallel lines and share some duplicate facilities,
END OF AN ERA, BEGINNING OF ANOTHER efficiency-enhancing moves that would be implemented by
By 1962, railroad freight traffic dropped to its lowest level mergers in U.S. railroading in the 1960s and 1970s.
since the Great Depression. On newly improved highways, Newfoundland was added to Canada in 1949 and
truckers more easily competed with railroads not just over brought with it a government-owned network of 700 miles
short and medium distances but on long-distance hauls as of narrow gauge (3 feet 6 inches) track that became part of
well. These changes have been recorded by historians as Canadian National Railways.
E
8
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1
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~
i
Each group of travelers enjoys a different view from th e dome car of Santa Fe's San Francisco Chief. From left to ri ght: Cattl e roam th e Texas
panhandle; th e red rocks of New Mexico and Arizon a brighten th e landsca pe; th e San Fran cisco Peaks, th e highest in Arizona, crest at 12,000 feet;
and th e Oakl and Bay Bridge si gnals imminent arrival in San Francisco.
FADED GLORY 91
n the 1840s, a converted boxcar at the end of the train and rear brakeman were stationed in the caboose and a
I became an office for the conductor to complete paper- friendly wave from a child would always bring a wave
work. That last car, called a caboose, became a logical place in return.
for an extra set of brakes to augment the locomotive's Improvements in technology, changes in work rules
brakes. An observation post, the cupola, was built on the requiring fewer crewmembers, and the cost of maintaining
top of the caboose. Stoves were added for warmth, and and operating cabooses led to the demise of this famous
facilities for eating and sleeping were crowded into the bright-red car. It was displaced by the decidedly less
cramped little car. Crews personalized their caboose, mak- romantic end-of-train device, also called a "flashing rear
ing the days they sometimes spent getting their trains end device" or FRED.
across the road more comfortable. Although the caboose Except in railroad museums or at preserved railways,
was a warm place away from the storm, one of the train the caboose is rarely seen on trains. With the end of its use,
crew's favorite nicknames for it was "crummy;' indicating thousands of cabooses became surplus, and many are used
another opinion about this car. today as restaurants, gift shops, motels, summer cabins,
Second only to the locomotive, the caboose symbol- and even lawn ornaments!
ized the romance of railroading. Normally, the conductor
Above: A dingy Denver & Rio Grande caboose brings up the rear of
a limestone train amid the autumnal colors on Colorado's M onarch
Pass. This track wa s removed in the 1980s.
92 CHAPTER THREE
Claude Wi atrowski photo
Above: When increasing freight car heights made the roof-mounted cupola
useless as an observation post, some railroads built bay-window cabooses such
as this one at the Carbon County Railway in Utah.
left: As freight car heights increased, some railroads widened the cupola to
improve sight lines. This "extended vision" caboose is displayed at the Col lis P.
Huntington Railroad Historical Society museum in Huntington, West Virginia.
ERN I
Th e Nevada Northern's cabooses were painted bright ye llow, which was more visible than traditional red against the rock backgrounds in the
copper mining area.
FADED GLOR.Y 93
n seasons of roughly five months each, the Chicago
I World's Fair hosted 22 million visitors in 1933 and 1934.
The Wings of a Century Pageant of Transportation cele-
brated not only railroads but automobiles, boats, and air-
planes. One hundred and fifty performers aided by 10
trains-in addition to the boats, autos, and a model of the
Wright brothers' airplane-mesmerized the audience.
On May 26, 1934, the Burlington's Pioneer Zephyr
broke the world's long-distance nonstop speed record,
traveling from Denver to Chicago, averaging 77.6 miles per
hour and reaching a top speed of 112.5 miles per hour. A
half hour after it came to a halt in Chicago, it appeared on
stage at the Wings of a Century pageant. It was a remark-
able experience even as the country was mired in the
depths of the Great Depression.
Th e Baltimore & Ohio's Century of Progress exh ibits featured interior sections of
three passenger cars, includ ing an 1890 coach. The other two cars were
replicated outside the building as full-size passenger ca rs, part of the Capitol
Limited headed by steam locomotive President Cleveland. Of the many antique
locomotives displayed there, the original 1832 Atlantic and a train of Im lay
coaches also starred in the pageant at the 1948 Chicago Railroad Fair and are
pictured on that fair's program.
Much importance was attached to the ai r cond itioning of trains, and B&O
was a pioneer in that technology. The dining ca r Martha Washington was air
cond itioned in 1930 and was the first railroad ca r to be mechanically
refrigerated. By 1931, B&O had its enti re St. Loui s-New York City train air
co nditioned. By 1932, severa l more trains were also equ ipped.
Additionally the public cou ld order "at cost" ch ina ce lebrating B&O's
centenary for later delivery.
94 CHAPTER THREE
This aerial view of Ch icago's A Century of Progress, from about 13th Street
on the ri ght to 31st Street on the left, shows the Sky Ride d ividing the north
and south lagoons. The round building c losest to the bottom of the photo is
the Ad ler Planetarium. The stadium at right is Soldier Field. The substantia l
railroad yards of the Illinois Centra l are easil y seen just above the fairgrounds
passing from upper left to lower right. The dark cy lindrical shape at the far
left of the fairgrounds is the rear of the Travel and Transport Bu ilding.
The Illinois Central's main lines and heavily used electric subu rban
service were adjacent to the Chicago Railroad Fair. Fair-bound
passengers arriving on through trains detrained at the Illinois Central
station near the Roosevelt Road fa ir entrance. Locals visiting the fair
arrived at one of five suburban service platforms, each adjacent to one
of the five fair entrances. This styli zed cover shows numerous Illino is
Central suburban trains and their stations at every fair entrance.
The heights of the fair buildings are greatly exaggerated.
FADED GLORY 95
he Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad was formed from a
T merger of the Virginia Central and Covington & Ohio
in 1868. Bankrupt by 1869, it was acquired by C. P.
Huntington, who saw it as a link in a transcontinental con-
necting the Atlantic with the Pacific. Huntington lost own-
ership when the road was reorganized in 1875.
By 1882, the railroad did reach the Atlantic at Newport
News, Virginia. Reorganized yet again in 1888, it was
acquired by the Vanderbilts. Soon, C&O trains were
whistling into Louisville and the nation's capital.
Acquisitions brought the railroad to the shores of Lake Erie
at Toledo in 1903 and to Lake Michigan at Chicago in 1910.
Like its competitors, the C&O would profit from hauling
coal across the Appalachian Mountains to the Midwest.
In 1960 C&O began to purchase the Baltimore & Ohio,
which owned half of the Western Maryland, which con-
trolled the Reading, which controlled the Central Railroad
9 of New Jersey, all of which became part of the Chessie
]
8 System in 1973. By 1987, the C&O, Baltimore & Ohio,
£ Western Maryland, Seaboard Air Line, Atlantic Coast
~ Line, and Louisville & Nashville had all become part of
g CSX Transportation.
Introduced in 1933, the Chesapeake & Ohio's new crack passenger
train, the Ceorge Washington, featured mechanical refri geration
instead of using ice as a coo lant. Ads for the coo l sleeping ca rs
soon included the words "Sleeping Like a Kitten " and an image
of a cat named Chessie. So successfu l was the adverti sement
that Chessie remained the railroad's adverti sing spokescat for
decades. She even found time to acqu ire a husband and give
birth to kittens. Millions of ca lendars were printed with her
likeness, as we ll as countless advertisements. In this ad, a
chorus sings Chessie to sleep to the tune of a popular song
" Let Me Call You Sweetheart."
96 CHAPTER THREE
c
g
Th ough Chessie th e Cat had retired by 1973, she was ca lled back to acti ve duty by the railroad as a stylized image th at appeared, among other
places, on Chessie System locomotives. Chessie adorn s a diesel locomotive w hile a Kentucky Central steam locomotive prepares to depart w ith a
spec ial passenger trai n fo r the Tourist Rail way Assoc iation.
FA D ED GLORY 97
NlW UNION STATION, CHICAGO
98 CHAPTER THREE
Union Station
Canal 6't. and Jaclt&U'Il Blvd.
Pennsylvania R. R.
Hurling-ton Rout~
Gulf Mobile & Ohip
Milwa4}tee Road
2·
Central St:>tion
Roosevelt Road neaf'
Michi.u an 4.1'6· •
1-6/1 Oml. fromUn. Sta.
Big Four Route
Illinois Central Sys.
Michigan Central
South Shore Line
3
C. & N. W. Terminal
Madi8on and Canal St8.
1/s mile from Un. Sta.
ChL & North Western
4
Dearborn Station
Dearborn and Polk Sta.
1 mile from Un. Sta.
Chi. & East. Ill~
Erie
Grand Trunk
Monon Route
Santa Fe
Wabash
5
Grand Central Station .
Harrison and Wella Sts.
If2 mile from Un. Sta.
Baltimore & Ohio
Chesaoeake & Ohio
Chi. Great Western
Soo Line
6
La Salle Street Station
la 8alle and Van Buren St11.
6/10 ml. from Un. Sta
New York Central
DD
Nickel Plate Road
Rock Island Lines ·
7
Englewood Union Station
C31'd St. nea1' State St.
Pennsylvania R. R.
DD
New York Central
Nickel Plate Road
Rock Island Lines
FADED GLORY 99
magine that you are 12 years old again and you are wait- watch the unloading. With only a single day in each town,
I ing by the railroad track in 1925 to watch the technolog- unloading started early and proceeded rapidly. Horses,
ical centerpiece of the age rumble past. You know the sometimes elephants, and later tractors unloaded one cir-
schedule of every train through town, so the sound of an cus wagon after another. No opportunity for advertising
unexpected whistle starts your blood pumping. You hear was wasted. All the wagons and animals crossed town to
the chugging of a steam locomotive before it comes close reach the circus grounds, and this explosion of color was
enough for you to see its white flags signaling that it is an always routed down Main Street.
"extra" or unscheduled train. That would be exciting As soon as the parade reached the circus grounds, tent
enough, but instead of the usual dark-green passenger cars poles, canvas, stakes, seats, flooring, rope, and everything
or dull-red boxcars, the locomotive is chased by a parade of needed to set up the circus tent was removed from those
brightly painted circus cars. Gold. Red. White. Blue. The wagons and the canvas arena hurriedly assembled.
rainbow train passes in review. Flatcars shoulder gaudily Excursion trains from nearby hamlets began to arrive at
painted circus wagons. Passenger coaches shelter clowns, the depot. Never before had so many passenger trains
acrobats, and lion tamers. Stock cars hold horses, ele- paused here at one time.
phants, lions, tigers, and bears. Such was the pageant as the Even as the show was enthralling the audience, much of
circus train passed, and it was no accident: the train was an the menagerie had served its purpose and was loaded back
advertisement for the performances to follow. on the train along with anything else that was now super-
If you lived in the town at which the circus would per- fluous to the actual performance. As the last reveler left the
form, you could rise early in the morning and go down to grounds, the tent was being struck and reloaded into the
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The yea r of this lithograph, 1872, indicates it is a representation of the first true railroad ci rcus organ ized by Coup, Castello and Barnum. Not all
advance ca rs included elaborate murals but they all were rolling billboards advertisi ng the circus. Advance ca rs were loaded w ith adverti sing bills,
posters, and everyth ing needed to custom ize them and paste them up. Men cal led "b illers" worked out of the ca r and slept in it at night. The
biggest shows had two, three, or even four such ca rs. Since a circus played most towns for just one day, the advance ca rs did their work in one
day too. Sometimes, 5,000 or even 10,000 sheets could be posted in a single day. Billers also traveled to nearby towns on regular passenger trains
to post bills, and an excursion agent operating out of an advance car arranged for th e rail roads to run special trains to bring patrons from nearby
towns. He sent small advertising bills and large advertising posters to nearby station agents to be posted " in the interest of the railroad." Two free
tickets to the circus accompan ied th e advertising posters just to be sure the agent complied.
cus to lrvin Feld, who created ·THE WORLD'S LARGEST. GRANDEST: BEST A~USEMENT INSTITUTION. ~
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This is the west portal of the Moffat Tunnel. Its 6-mil e plunge under the 0
RAILROADING
Norfolk Southern locomotive 9807 glides through the dusk. General Electric built their model C40-9W, common ly ca lled a Dash 9 series
locomot ive. The two low-mounted lights are ca lled "d itch lights" and their purpose is to illuminate the ground just ahead of the locomotive.
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Both of these Iowa Interstate locomotives are var iations of EMD's GP38. No. 603 is a GP38, w hile No. 700 is a GP38-2.
- ·-,. '
Self-propelled railcars were not restricted to standard gauge rai lroads. Narrow gauge Galloping Goose No. 5 crosses the Animas River on a
special excursion on the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. Several of these vehicles were constructed by the long-abandoned
Rio Grande Southern to carry both freight and passengers. Their economy of operation was said to have delayed bankruptcy of the Rio Grande
Southern for decades.
Frank Leslie's illustrated newspaper, LC-USZ62-14133, library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Div ision
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Woe to the railroad that was unwilling to lose money serv- rt.e r.~ .,..,, po~.by, kvll'" woe~ Ofld or1to.t ,.,.. ~~
tfH ... ..nJoy .... fd)o.Mo • .,.
Sloc.hofltleM fooch Cltt t.•Ofotd ot '*""'0'--. IIN •out•.
ing superb meals. Passengers would ride another railroad ..e_,. .....r..w. kw pon.'"'IJ ,,..;..,, wt..•.,...,
lfO'o'el .,_ UMon
fociflc YMl'll Ot Wifli of WO"'dttM !llfllfl.fHtpe~ed ffOI!I fft.tl
70adtftcnt the
Union Pacific served diners in dome ca rs on the City of Los Angeles and PACIFIC COAST
City of Portland. No other railroad offered dining service in a dome ca r. G~IC
l lrrt" .. wtl 'I ih ~"' ruon~ - r1 Id .udn-11. wt ..... flU'tlllf~oij: ·' hip··~ Ut L.,! I f:oli(..rtiLJ.
aki.Oik'"m<~tr'tlon.-.,,..~-lUn~ 11 P.lifi•'• ln'lmhl•llo ruodU..-n dill!''(",,.., m I'""''' rtz:t.,"'' rl.c( u.,u., n"
tlf,tb-''OT\'OF'i-T U..-a"Tucx-fromlt.-1'.-.etl.r 'Qrtb'l\ t,ritkd!'• l lnmt'!ti)('T
••Cm· Cif' I'OAU..A'-0 "'lll('rt:'l M n-tn. ttur(f' ••• rio.liu.t tiM! Dr-tnth1".o!'«-ju•t tlUt;a pk.u ... rc.
111(" UIIJOq_.,-jru~ f-'•mafy Jlal.- 11 11 ol\ljoli<"'l M ..tf
\-'nion l'"'n'lt" tr.-in) 4klu<lina~ tb· Oromrlmrr
-~-~~
On ,•,.ulotd.tllr.4111011,lOU
t•~ ., ... , .-., ......... e.. 110"
l \'frir~_.,-e.,,,.,.lt6
SRtAKfAST
Ou. r""Clf'ft'efhMiollolf\ln.
T t.. Pullman porUf"a work • hcht.
But jult b bop and rw.. M ...... But 01" our a.r-cond..ooned t.noe
ames J. Hill began acquiring railroads in 1878. By the end and Billings in Montana, as well as the copper mines of
J of 1890, the Great Northern was operating over 3,000
miles of Midwestern railroad. The railroad's Pacific Coast
Butte. Trains would also reach Oregon and California,
although extensions into Canada would not last.
extension was begun that year and completed in 1893. In 1901, the Great Northern and Northern Pacific pur-
The railroad crossed the Rocky Mountains over the chased the Burlington to ensure access to Chicago.
undemanding Marias Pass. It would not be so lucky cross- Regulators refused merger until 1970 when the three rail-
ing the Cascade Mountains, where switchbacks were later roads and the Spokane, Portland & Seattle became the
bypassed by a 2.6 mile-long tunnel; in 1929, a new Cascade Burlington Northern.
Tunnel replaced the old. Trains reached Duluth,
Minnesota, and nearby iron mines; Sioux City in Iowa;
Not all industri al locomotives were sma ll. Here, a huge Indiana Hill & Iron Range 0-8-0 switcher hauls coa l from sh ips on Lake Michigan to an
industrial plant in Hammond, Indi ana, in 1955. A conveye r wou ld handle the short run today.
MISSOURI-KANSAS-TEXAS RAILROAD
IIFTTt 11 k. '0\\' \~ TIIF
KATY
The Missouri-Kansas- Texas Railroad Better Known As The KATY
chronicled the history of that railroad in ce lebration of its centenary.
Above right: The first Climax locomotive had a vertica l boiler and a
gauge of 6 feet w ith concave w heels for operation on a "pole road" (a
railroad using round logs for its rail s). A small vertica l-cy linder engine
and a line shaft were centered on th e locomotive. The verti ca l boilers
soon gave way to larger horizontal boilers, and the sma ll vertica l-
cy linder engine gave way to more co nventionally mounted cy linders,
parallel to the ax is of the boiler but inclined, as shown here on the
Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad. Th ese cy linders drive a cross shaft that is
geared to a line shaft under th e boiler.
Logging locomoti ves were frequently anted ilu vian relics purchased fro m other rail roads. Not only were they inexpensive, th ey were small and
light, perfect fo r operation on the undulating track of logging lines. At least one source for this photo identifies this single train of logs as having
been cut from a single redwood tree.
he LaCrosse & Milwaukee Railroad was reorganized as In 1928, the railroad was reorganized as the Chicago,
T the Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway in 1863. In 1873, it
memorialized arrival in Chicago by changing its name to
Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific. Bankruptcy followed in 1935
and later in 1977. The Pacific Extension was abandoned.
the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway. The Milwaukee Road was a railroad in the wrong cen-
By 1901, it had grown to over 6,500 miles, and in 1905 tury. Its Midwestern routes were a maze of agricultural
it began construction of its Pacific Extension. Actual con- branches, vulnerable to competition from trucks. A single
struction cost totaled $235 million when completed in three daily freight train rumbled over its expensive Pacific
years-an inexcusable quadruple of the original estimate of Extension. Only its double-track main line between Chicago
$60 million! An additional $22 million was spent electrify- and Minneapolis-St. Paul was a modern railroad. Its route
ing two sections of the extension, an expense justifiable only map continued to be pruned and in 1986 the Soo Line
if many trains ran, but the Milwaukee overestimated traffic. merged what was left of the once great Milwaukee Road.
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across the Wisconsin prairie, a far Thi s photo of a constru ction train in Idaho's Bitter Root Mountains
cry from the EMD-built diesel locomotives includes two fl atca rs of workers leaning on th eir shove ls, one ca r in
that served the railroad's 225-mile Mountain front of th e locomoti ves and one at th e end of th e short train.
Divi sion from Avery, Idaho, to Othello,
Washington, during World War 11.
The line through Was hington's Cascade Mountains was one of two electrified Built by General El ectri c, th e M il wa ukee Road's Bi-Po lar locomoti ves were
segments on th e Mil wa ukee Road w here passengers sitting on the rear huge, powerful monsters generating 4,000 horsepower and measuring 76
observati on platform co uld stay free from th e soot and cinders of a steam feet long. In one publicity stunt, a single Bi-Po lar easil y wo n a tug of wa r
locomoti ve. w ith two large steam locomotives. Freq uently pulling heavy trains up steep
grades at 25 miles per hour, Bi-Polars co uld run as fast as 70 miles per hou r.
ON lHt CHICAGO N IL W.AU KH 6 SJ PAUl ~AILWAY · ON lH( CHICAGO Nl l WAUKtt 6 ST P'AUl RAil WAY
D uring the Industrial Revolution, the M inneapolis M illing Di stri ct was the subject A steam-powered O lympian crosses between M inneapo lis and St. Pa ul.
of a postcard in a booklet of sights to be seen along th e M ilwa ukee Road.
F. A. Mill er, LC-USZ62-1323 17, Library of Congress, Pri nts and Photographs Di vision
A 10-car M il wa ukee Road passenger train crosses an unidentified steel bridge in 1914.
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Because the vastly superior view from the classic dome cars was coveted
by all passengers, full-l ength dome ca rs like th at shown on th e ri ght followed.
A diesel-powered
freight is stopped at a
semaphore signal in th e
shadow of Idaho's Mount
Baldy. The white flags
designate the train as an
unscheduled "extra,"
li ke ly opera ted just to
take this photograph.
The horizontal position
of the semaphore blades
signals the train to stop.
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126 CHAPTER THREE
Top left: Other than thi s cover image, this
song's onl y connection w ith rail roads is a
fath er's stated desire to obtain a ti cket to
Tennessee to see his newborn . Th e lyri cs don't
even expli citl y mention a ra ilroad ti cket, for
train travel was th e logica l choice in 192 1.
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All Voyageur Press co llection, except lower ri ght, courtesy Sun Entertainment Corporat ion
FADED GLORY 127
he Northern Pacific Railway was the first of the north- over Stampede Pass. Stampede Tunnel was completed the
T ern U.S. transcontinentals.lts goal was to connect nav-
igation on Lake Superior with that on Puget Sound.
following year.
In 1896, reorganization put James J. Hill and banker J.
Chartered in 1864, it had reached only as far as Bismarck, P. Morgan in control of the Northern Pacific. Hill com-
Dakota Territory, when the financial panic of 1873 halted pleted the Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railway's line on the
construction. In 1881, construction resumed under new north bank of the Columbia River from Pasco to Portland
owner Henry Villard and the last spike was driven at Gold in 1908, again giving his trains access to Portland.
Creek, Montana, in 1883. Trains detoured over the tracks Attempts at merging the Northern Pacific and
of the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company from Spokane, Portland & Seattle with the Great Northern and
Pasco, Washington, to Portland, Oregon, until 1887, when Burlington were thwarted until 1970 when the Burlington
the Northern Pacific opened its own line to Tacoma, Northern was created from these roads.
Washington, on Puget Sound via temporary switchbacks
The attention to detail on the North Coast Limited included ca lor-coord inating train attendants' uniforms w ith the shades of green on the Vista
Dome passenger ca rs. The red and black symbol, part of Northern Pacific's logo, is a Chinese representation of the duality of nature, of balance
between the forces of yin and yang.
Challenger-type locomotive
No. 5133 spouts steam from every
pore. These 4-6-6-4 locomotives were
built during World War 11 by Alco and
weighed 644,000 pounds in working
order and carried 25,000 gallons of
water and 27 tons of coal. Th ey were
th e last steam locomotives built for
Northern Pacific.
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arly passenger cars resembled stagecoaches, with riders as others froze, were replaced with steam heat provided by
E sitting both inside and on top. Now, in addition to rain the locomotive's boiler.
and snow, hot cinders and soot were hazards for those rid- Railroads also began to name their trains. Initially, the
ing outside. Passenger cars evolved into boxes with undi- name simply described the train's function (e.g., Mail
vided interiors and seats arranged on each side of a central Train, Up Train, and Night Express), the train's performance
aisle. Passengers could walk the length of the car or train, (e.g., Cannonball, Fast Mail, and Midnight Flyer), and
use the toilet, or engage in conversations with strangers, a sometimes the destination (e.g., Boat Train and Capitol
social interaction common in the United States that would Limited). Even individual passenger cars were named, fre-
have been scandalous in Europe. quently with geographic names (e.g., Lake Zurich, East
By the 1840s, the first examples of dining cars, parlor Youngstown, and Durango). Both cars and trains were
cars, sleeping cars, and women-only cars appeared. named for people (e.g., General Palmer and George
Darkness was relieved by gas lamps that evolved into elec- Washington); Commodore Vanderbilt modestly named his
tric lights. Coal stoves, which roasted some passengers even private car Vanderbilt.
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Th e copy on the back of this postcard distributed on
8
th e Chicago & North Western's 400 stream liner
providing service between Chicago an d the Tw in
£
Cities stated, "Comfort to the point of lu xury! Latest
type seats-with pl enty of room between. Solex
glassware glass, draftless air-co nditioning, Stewardess
Service, Smoking and Powder Rooms."
HATCHING EGGS
HANDLE WITH EXTREME CARE c
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DO NOT DROP Railway Express Agency ca rts were a familiar sight on depot
platforms across America. Thi s scene is recreated at the Colorado
KEEP FROM EXTREME HEAT AND COLD
Railroad Museum.
Th e 1954 Lion el
cata log cover
stressed the
relationship
between father
and son in
constructing and
operating a
Lionel train
layout.
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Th e 1957 American Flyer catalog stressed the rea lism of its trains.
Bes ides being more rea listic than Lionel trains, American Fl yer trains
were smaller, allowing more railroad to be built in a sma ller space.
and all the cars ran at the same speed. Some cities had
steam dummies, small steam locomotives hidden inside
wooden coverings that looked like horse cars, a ruse to
avoid scaring horses. But steam locomotives were also
expensive to maintain and they rained down cinders and
soot. The development of electric motors provided the per-
fect form of propulsion for street railways. Nicknamed trol-
leys after the trolley pole that conducted electricity from an
overhead wire, electric cars were quiet, quick, and pollu-
tion-free. America's first successful trolley system was ener-
gized in Richmond, Virginia, in 1887.
Starting in New York City in 1867, railroad cars were
forced onto steel structures elevated above the congested
street beneath. These steel supports amplified the noise of
the train, shaded the street from what little sunlight was
left in the polluted city, and were unsightly. Starting in New
York City in 1904, street railroads went underground.
Called subways in the United States, underground railways
better preserved the quality of life but were much more
expensive to construct.
The advent of passenger railways allowed the wealthy
to commute from their rural estates to offices in city cen-
ters. It wasn't long before electric trolleys were venturing
beyond city borders to neighboring cities to provide simi-
lar services to the less affluent. Over short distances, the
electric cars were competitive-even superior-to the
Many cities combine new li ght-rai l systems with historic tro lleys,
steam cars. These electric interurban railroads came into
attracting both tourists and locals. One such city is Memphis, Tennessee,
vogue as the twentieth century began. Some systems grew where severa l brightly painted cars provide transportation through
to hundreds of miles. Cities that now long for high-speed downtown and along the Mississippi River. The system is being
public transportation once were blanketed with speedy expanded to serve the medical center and may cont inue to the airport.
A hand-tinted 1900 photo of a New York City elevated train at 11 Oth A Chicago, North Shore & Milwaukee Electroliner wa its at Milwaukee
Street shows that steam locomotives once hauled these tra ins. Drip to begin its SO-m ile-per-hour run to Ch icago in 1962, one yea r before
pans prevented grease, oi l, and water from soiling unlucky pedestrians its last run. An Electroliner is preserved at the Illinoi s Railway Museum.
under the tracks.
Twenty-seven eastern railroads jointly sponsored a model railroad layout at the 1939
New York World's Fair. Decades ahead of its time, the railroad was automated and
included locomotive sounds. A "performance" began in simulated pre-sunrise
darkness and ended at dusk. There were 7,000 individual trees, 1,000 buildings, and
280,000 minuscule railroad spikes that held down 3,500 feet of 0 gauge railroad
track upon w hich ran 50 locomotives and more than 400 cars. Trackside signals
utilized 500 red, amber, and green miniature light bulbs, wh ile the lights on each
train were powered by batteries so they wou ld remain illuminated even w hen the
train stopped running. Lakes and rivers contained 7,000 ga llons of rea l water. So
much wear was expected on the whee ls that they were equ ipped with ball bearings
so they cou ld operate for the duration of the fair.
_____
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OLD PROBLEMS,
NEW SOLUTIONS
142
T
he nail in the coffin for long-distance passenger assignments should be flexible; fewer crewmembers should
trains was the federal government's 1956 decision be assigned to trains that did no switching and those
to build the Interstate Highway System. Slow, dan- crewmembers should travel farther for their day's pay. Both
gerous, confusing highways were soon replaced by sides had good points. The solution lay in a formula for just
safe, high-speed, easy-to-follow Interstates. compensation and safe and reasonable working conditions
If automobiles and the Interstate Highway System that was compatible with the economic and operational
started the decline of the long-distance passenger train, realities of the 1950s and 1960s.
then surely passenger jet aircraft presided at its final demise.
The same technological advances that produced postwar THE URGE TO MERGE
automobiles also produced trucks that were faster and had The earliest railroads were often connected end-to-end,
increased capacity. That same Interstate system gave those forming a longer trunk. But then, railroads began to paral-
trucks the smooth, fast routes on which to operate. lel each other. Why hand over traffic to another railroad
Railroads had once thought that trucks would only be when your railroad could build a new track all the way to
short-distance feeders for long-distance freight trains. With the final destination and keep all the revenue? Each railroad
impediments removed, trucks competed with railroads and would, of course, need separate facilities in every city they
won freight traffic away from them. served. Although passenger terminals were often Union
The outcome was predictable. With declining revenue, Stations, shared by multiple railroads, other facilities were
railroad maintenance and service suffered, causing further not shared. Each railroad had its own freight terminal, its
declines in traffic and revenue. Regulation prevented the own yard tracks, its own engine service facility, and its own
usual free-market response. Railroads could not reduce rates repair shop. As railroad traffic dwindled after the war, par-
or change routes without permission from the tortoise-like allel main-line tracks spent more of their time idle. Yard
Interstate Commerce Commission. A competitive response tracks sat empty. Employees didn't have enough work to
might require a quotation in days-even hours or min- make a full day. Nevertheless, railroads still paid property
utes-but the ICC could take years to approve a change.
Railroad employment had dropped from 1.4 million
workers in 1946 to a mere 700,000 by 1962. Some of this
decline can be attributed to the death of steam-powered
locomotives and the consequent redundancy of the people
that serviced, maintained, and repaired them. However, this
steep decline in railroad employment was also a clear sign
of ill-health of the industry. With fewer employees, the rail-
road now had less political power and less influence on
everything in America.
It's not that railroads didn't try to solve their problems,
but the only avenues open to them were those of reducing
costs and, even in these areas, they faced regulatory scrutiny.
WHE~...~~:tmG
woRDS by BELEN pURCELL MAXWELL
Above: The Milwaukee Road's
Ch icago Railroad Fair brochure
highlighted an aerial view of the
PBILIP MAXWELL fairgrounds on its back cover. The
3 miles of railroad display track
are visib le at center right in the
photograph . Above the display
tracks is the 5,000-seat Wheels
A-Rolling grandstand facing
the shore of Lake Michigan.
The cover of the Chicago Railroad Fair guidebook for
The pageant was performed
1948-the first year of the exhibition-stresses the
as many as four times a day.
long history of railroading . A streamlined diesel is
paired w ith a very old wood-burn ing steam
locomotive, the Galena & Chicago Union Railroad's Left: As have all rai lroad
Pioneer. The fair commemorates the 1OOth pageants since the pioneering
an niversa ry of Pioneers first run into Ch icago, the 1927 Pageant of Inland
first steam locomotive to enter th e city that wou ld Transportation, the Wheels
become the nation's railroad hub. The Chicago & A-Rolling Pageant featured
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North Western displayed the Pioneer and a historic 0
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music as an important
coach next to a replica of Chicago's first railroad 3 element of entertainment.
station . Pioneer now rests at the Ch icago Historical
~ ,/ !LIP MAXWELLS This sheet music appears to
Society museum. fublisbed by THE PH ID be signed by its composers.
2335 l\larey Ave., Evanolon, •
Above: Several rai lroads run Christmas trains for charitable causes.
Decorated with 10,000 I ights, Kansas City Southern's Holiday Express is a
volunteer project of employees, vendors, and friends of the railroad whose
purpose is to enterta in and provide wa rm clothing for children in need.
Rudy, the pretend steam locomotive, is shown here. In 2005, the train
visited 22 towns in eight states. Visitors can tour intri cate train displays in
three cars of the six-car train and vis it w ith Santa
Left: This 1950 New York Central ad is ahead of its time with an HO sca le
train under the tree and not Lionel or American Flyer.
After the decision to widen the Cotton Belt's gauge, replacement ties were made long enough to accommodate sta ndard gauge track, standard
gauge locomotives and cars were stockpiled, and an outside sp ike was driven into the longer ties to save time on th e day the gauge was to be
changed. And it was a day. North ofTexas in 1886, 419 miles of 3-foot gauge track were widened to standard gauge in 24 hours. The Texas lines
would fo llow in earl y 1887.
TEACHER'S MANUAL
RAILROAD
TRANSPORTATION
Jit."S
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In 1956 rai l roads were still visib le enough to society that the Association of American
Rail roads published the seventh ed iti on of this teacher's kit. A great deal of research
went into its production and it included:
A book w ith lesson plans for lower, middle, and upper grades; a chronology of
American railroad history; a list of the addresses of 115 principal U.S. railroads and a
huge bibliography including reference materials, children's books, ch ildren's readers
w ith railroad subjects categori zed by grade level, books of railroad poems and
rhymes, sheet music and record ings of railroad songs; and sources for motion
pictures, maps, and other visua l aids.
56 photographs of railroad activities that cou ld be posted on classroom wa lls.
A book w ith lengthy explanations of th e activities depicted in the 56
photographs.
A copy of th e booklet " Rail roads at Work" for each student in the class.
The Association of American Rail roads still provides educational materials
through its webs ite www.ra ilfanc lub.org.
If you are small enough, a rail is just the right height for a seat.
For many years, a child's only close association with railroads has
been a visit to a preserved railroad or museum. The author's son,
Kevin, was just two years old when he sat on a rail at the ghost This coloring book tells the story of Dick and Sue's transcontinental
town of Osier along the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad train trip from the East Coast to visit their grandmother in California
in 1978. in 1937.
Left: In 1951, a rubber stamp app lied to the front of this timetable
indicates the Board ofTrade Building was then the highest in Ch icago.
Passenger services listed inside were somewhat meager.
Until 1869, U.S. postage stamps featured the images of Ameri ca's leaders. In
Stopping and restarting a fast train made it a slower train, so 1869, the Postal Department issued a dozen stamps w ith other images, one of
this heart-stopp ing technology was developed to pick up mail w hich was a railroad image. In 1998, a sheet of 20 stamps was issued
on th e fly. This 1939 cover of Railroad Magazine depicts a honoring five of America's famous streamlined trains: the Southern Pacific's
station agent positioning a mail bag on a mail cra ne. A Daylight trains, the New York Central's 20th Century Limited, the Santa Fe's
catcher arm on the side of a Railway Post Office car w ill Super Chief, the Pennsylvania Railroad's Congressional, and the Milwaukee
snatch the bag as the tra in passes. Road 's Hiawatha.
H w 3 billion pieces of
Traveling on a STAMp wC:.rtime mail a yea r
pOSTAGE ,, speed o"er the
Water l e, el Route
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This photo makes it clear that the Kentucky & Tennessee used the same commodity to power its locomotives as it transported with them.
Left: The March 1946 cover of Railroad M agazine showed coa l being loaded
fro m a mine into wa iting hopper ca rs.
Below: A Uta h Rail way locomotive shares the mounta in scenery w ith a
leased U nio n Pac ific locomotive in 1979 at the railroad's ya rd at M artin ,
Utah. Inco rporated in 1912, the Utah Ra il way, now part of Genesee &
Wyo ming, hauls 60, 000 ca rl oads of coa l ann uall y.
162 C HA PT ER FOU R
Above: The scope of coa l-moving operations is evident in thi s
Norfolk Southern ya rd full of loaded hopper ca rs wa iting to be
emptied into the holds of ships.
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Th e relative sizes of different modeling scal es are show n, represented by the same standard gauge prototype locomotive. From left to ri ght are Z,
N, HO, S, and 0 sca le locomoti ves, follow ed by the largest, a G gauge diesel locomotive.
An HO scale
Chesapeake & Ohio
diesel struggl es with an
M KT covered hopper.
One can guess from their
green calor th at the
tractors being delivered
to a miniature farm are
John Deere products.
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"gc' beyond the bridge. The
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remain intent on their task.
~ Hopefully, th e train isn't
iD .....~---...;;. both ering the fish!
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G gauge (G stand s for "Garden") makes larger sca les and larger layouts
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possibl e. Even landscapin g w ith rea l mini ature trees becomes a ~
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component of th e ga rden railroad hobby. ~
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N ick Edwa rd s mans the throttl e of hi s E6 Atl antic on th e 0
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7. 5-inch gauge Wimberl ey, Bl anco & Southern . l)
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Locomotive No. 2 crosses Caliente Bridge, wh ich spans Ca liente Inlet,
o'an arm of the Pacific Ocean. The Pelican Bay Railway & Navigation
t Company fi lls most of a 22x46-foot basement with 450 feet of Sn3
~ track. The designation "n3" means that the train is modeled as if it were
~ running on narrow 3-foot gauge track. The " S" stands for the railroad's
"' sca le, " S" being a ratio of 1:64. This scale is the province of master
Steam locomotive No. 13 is 15-inch gauge and was built by Ken builders since little is avai lable from commercia l manufacturers and
Kukuk. Here it is seen taking on water at the Hillcrest & Wahtoke most everything has to be constructed from scratch . Note details such
Railroad in Reed ley, Ca lifornia. as the rivets holding the bridge together, the cut-stone bridge abutments,
and the detailed needles on the trees of the evergreen forest.
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Legendary comed ian Buster Keaton starred in the 1927 silent film
named after the locomotive General that participated in the daring
but unsuccessful Civi l War railroad raid.
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a. This purple coach named Th e jersey Lily starred, along with Paul
1 Newman, in The Life and Times of judge Roy Bean (1972). This photo
~ was taken on Arizon a's White Mountain Scenic Railroad, wh ich
-g ceased to exist decades ago. You can still ride in the car at the Yuma
D Valley Railway in Yuma, Arizona.
Cec ille B. DeMille directed the epic motion picture Union Pacific about the building of America's first transcontinenta l. This image is the movie's
recreation of the golden spike ceremony in w hi ch rails from the East met those from the West. The movie's 1939 world premier was held in
Omaha, the headquarters of the Un ion Pac ifi c Railroad. lt drew 250,000 peop le and required that the Nationa l G uard be ca ll ed o ut to keep order.
The movie featured pu rchased o r leased Virgini a & Truckee Railroad locomotives and ca rs. This railroad retained a large co ll ection of espec iall y
o ld locomotives and cars that have appea red in many movies.
"Nlcke\ P\ate Road' uses T he New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railway was
founded in 1881 to connect Buffalo with Chicago. It
U·S·S MU l\PlE-WUR was built with cash, perhaps the only major railroad
financed by this novel method. The origin of its nickname,
WROUGHl SlEEl The Nickel Plate Road, may be an 1881 newspaper article
that referred to the "great New York and St. Louis double
WHEElS track, nickel plated railroad." One wonders why nickel and
not gold or silver! Vanderbilt purchased the railroad, most
likely to blunt competition with his own New York Central.
It was sold to the Van Sweringen brothers-Cleveland real-
estate tycoons-in 1916. Acquisitions would extend the
Nickel Plate as far southwest as St. Louis and give its trains
entrance to additional destinations in Illinois, Indiana,
Ohio, and West Virginia. Other mergers were rejected by
the Interstate Commerce Commission or shareholders. In
1964, it became part of the Norfolk and Western.
G . V. "Jerry" Carson photo
A Nickel Plate passenger train led by a classic pair of Alco PA 1 stream lined diesels races through the Midwestern countrys ide.
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"Calling all industrialists ... ca lling all factory pl anners ..." began th e copy
on thi s advertisement to induce companies to locate their pl ants along the
Norfolk and Western .
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Many rail roads gave away attractively decorative ink
blotters to rem ind the user to ship by that railroad.
When freight trains have to be broken up, ca rs sorted, and new trains put
together by destination, considerable delays are possible. The Norfolk and
Western adverti sement above explains that its c lassificatio n ya rds are fast.
Procedures are we ll thought out and there are enough tracks and switch
engines. Here in Roanoke Yard, switch lists are Teletyped (a n antique A postwar ad trumpets Norfolk and
mechanical device that is a terminal in a primitive data network), and radios Western's crack passenger services, the Pocahontas and the
allow instant communication. Powhatan Arrow.
lthough efforts had been made earlier, North toric equipment, small railroad museums in old depots,
A America's railway preservation movement began in large museum complexes on acres of land, dinner trains,
earnest after World War II, when inexpensive old steamers, model train layouts, and much more. All have goals of pre-
an abandoned branch line, and a dedicated group of vol- serving and interpreting railroad history. Visitors experi-
unteers could be combined to start a new preserved rail- ence railroading as it once was and learn why railway his-
road. Inevitably, private for-profit operators entered the tory is important.
arena. Preserved railroads and museums became entertain- Keeping antediluvian railroad equipment in good
ing and educational tourist destinations. Ironically, this repair is a challenge. If a locomotive is beyond repair, it
tourism was booming, thanks to private automobiles. may have to be completely reconstructed. Sometimes, a
Today, interest in our history has a name, "heritage very historic artifact is merely stabilized to prevent further
tourism;' and has grown 50 percent from 1995 to 2005. deterioration. On rare occasions, replicas are constructed
The first directory of historic railroad sites was pub- and run so the original artifact may be preserved without
lished in 1966 with just over 50 listings. The 2005 directory further wear. These issues extend not only to locomotives
lists over 500 in the United States and Canada, including and cars, but also to track, bridges, tunnels, depots, round-
preserved railways, trips on main-line railways using his- houses, water tanks, coal tipples, and more.
Above: A White Pass & Yukon passenger train crawls along the shelf at
Slippery Rock w ith the Sawtooth Mountains in the distance. The
narrow gauge tourist carr ier was completed in 1900 to carry gold
-;;; seekers to the Yukon for the Klondike gold rush .
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O ne of the earli est tourist rail ways in the U nited States was an
acc ident. In the 1950s, the Denver & Rio Grande co ntinued to ca rry
passengers on its narrow gauge branch-line train from Durango to
Sil verto n, Colorado-ini tiall y just a few rail fa ns in th e ca boose of a
freight train . Wo rd spread of thi s unique experi ence and soon the
railroad had to add a coach, then severa l coaches, th en a separate
passenger train, and then several passenger trains! The Ri o Grande so ld
the line to the Durango & Sil verton Narrow Gauge Railroad, w hich
continues to operate it.
PULLMAN TECHNOLOGY
Half of all Pullmans constructed had 12 sections.
Sections consisted of two seats facing each other for
daytime travel. At night, the seats were folded together
to create one bed. A second bed folded down from the
ceiling, where bed linens were stored. Heavy curtains
provided privacy. Luggage fit under the seats.
Later, private rooms were added. Some cars com-
bined sleeping with other facilities-usually a seating
area where drinks and food were served.
Combinations of modular components, while still
standardized, could be assembled to customize a car
for a particular railroad's needs. Procedures manuals
instructed employees on everything from folding
linen to serving beer.
Thi s ill ustration is from a broch ure distri buted at the 1934 Chicago Wo rl d's Fair to ce lebrate Pu llman's 75 th anniversary.
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Cuu,;; trut'lrd in l ' ullm :m -S t :nul:u··r~ "''"foil Tltt lar h••r• ~ .r...... ,.,.,..,...,. r,,.. ,,....,.
o·oollt•ol,-.,,..,.(tltf'l,riJIII ~ I ·I"' '" i " \m....:;,.,,, , an
ror tlw a l•·rl ~:till:! Fr lt;~ii M:ul. tlt i!O '"'" ,.,,.,.,., it fnll ) ,,...,,...., .-.... 1-'t.r ''""'· ;., ... , I~ .t.....
.-.r
fl ('t·l liC:h hu·ig ltl ''"n!'j,;; mnn• llmu :t J!lit- •ont t ... l ,la•i~ll, <'<>l oof,.,.t:..r.l,.. urr. ..,n,fin,_•, >llo•;t·
lt"ri ll~ c.~OH !IfJic ur the l'"""r::n·IW! r<~ilr•mt ll' Olffl tit·•ll ·lllitool.-.II"'(Ool'ltllo•... l•·•<'lo .. tll<·randcr<'lle
ruuLin ~ ••• it is :tlii! t nit ft•u•·•· uf lf w inllu- • ""'"'""'1,.•.-nl'irh in l•.liola) . ,.;, ;,,
f' llt"'' r f~:t l ~·u u . ;turf tra \t.•fl'r'!j fa,, . ~uu, !tan'!
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Fnr. iu ruilr-u.:u l iu~. tl." iu c Hr~ n rlwr lidtl
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o( t•nlo •rpri,.,•, mo•u :uul i u.• litul iun" nm~ 'it• Ut l nc•c .. lttr DIIIIfl ... t.l•nn<' nl tltr l.l.-••·
r;,.. lt•oult•r"lt if•· lotl unl.' rlw pulolit• hu,. rlu• .,.,,,.. , _• .,,,,.,;...,., ... ;,;.,,,ofiOII IIo<' oo,. ... ,,.... .....
Jjoo,..f ol i n itolrll~lotlilt lo} l'niJtOI IO II -...: III t"lllr• l folf'
J+U\\I 'f' tu t•uttfo•r it . lu m :tl..in~ l'ulluum•
Ill<' :;;;uola 1-'e • . • t-'rrd ll •rH ') mr11l~. ,..r.,,...
;o;lnwlnr•l·l111i h l'lrf·:tml int•n; 1lu· mnJI.I JKIJI· .,..,,... .,,.,. •n•l ,.,,...IJ,.,,.-e 11,... •~ 0010lh 03 tu tloe
nl ar :uulr•rulit :thlt• ~r'i lllft uf rr.. inii uttf':lrlh. S..U tlu• ~ l a!' clt•l oe •m.lt ell·llalltmh au.
~oou l.:t\1' tltuu• t lu· un •· 1ltiu ~ tll't't lt"'l tu itt ·
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c·r•·a_,:.o· rlw " ' uil;t ltili r' .. rJ. j,. mllflt·ru. ~u (•·.
ltt\uriuu"' alll l f:t .,l " ~~ lo 11'11 \•' 1 .,. shtmn
t ill' ntilrmul!! tlt:t l ).;.I \l :ntl 1111'~ tr;:tius!
l' r<~'c• l to tlu.·m tlt u l . "lu:rt'H 'r rl. t.·' un · in-
fil l ltll•·d. lhl') "illoJH'I':t lr :11 a Jlf'llfit ! t\1111,
Th e Pullman division that operated m arl.. ll tiii ii0 \111 h) tlt t" rni lr..:tol li'i• \t'rl ;~f! lin g
Dt lut Chlr C.r-C.",.om. l n•li•n l""'lol'"·...,u!.. l'f't'o lir , r•••nfrt tlllf'll \\illt 1011 r th..:·if!iou. tlu•\'
sl eeping cars was separate from the '"""•lta•ral"a)l' m~t~l~alrit•llm,.IJit llt<:'~llli· lm\'1' nor ho~ it a tt·•l . lour ' At"'t•ll . Al'le1l 11ith
a 11 ~\+"UI"•i.Mo into r Ofllllll<¥. No• it hn~Jo1u••
~ uc h pnrpuf!t' llull :~ lr•·:ul~ u\i'r 7'2 %• .. r rite
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ftt+'"" tli;on " ' "' 11 01 ur nr;o inn irttto hl\ 111"), ton! F'or
division that built them, the latter tlto .. r 11li• t r11i111 •t,...ll.tllliunll,..aol!i.,..r•" ''r<'d in ~tail!• ligltl\lcig ltt JOII't'llllll im"' l uuil s jJUn·lmk'tl J.y
l" ... ,,...!a .... ol""''l'"uol.air ........ lition...lalt+l ... tuit•toc•l !l wm h a \ t• l t~·n lmih h' l'ullntan- t 11rulunl.
becoming th e Pullman-Standard Car •it h tl wla t .... ttn~e,....,-Jiniu~r<'hair,.. •rr~..o .. ,Ai...... tr...-ri_,,,..:,,.,..,.;, t'fl.
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A Chesapeake & Ohio stream liner streaks by the Greenbrier Hotel. The hotel was owned and
developed by the C&O, whose trains stopped at a station on its grounds. The world-c lass lu xury hotel,
no longer owned by the railroad, gained notoriety when it was discovered that a secret underground
bunker had been built there to shelter U.S. government officials in case of nuclear war.
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TO CANADA
Motor tours through
JmericaJ p/ayyround
£
the Indian Country
planned for Santa Fe CANADIAN NATIONAl
Railway patrons
The Canadian National had 23,000 miles of track reaching
Travelers started and ended their one- to three- throughout Canada when this advertisement ran between the
day excursions at the Fred Harvey La Fonda world wars. The ad assures travelers that "Canada is unique because
hotel in Santa Fe, New Mexico. One trip it offers modern luxury and primeval adventure side by side." This theme
included the cliff dwellings in Frijoles Canyon, of luxury in the wilderness was common in railroad advertising. The Union
now part of Bandelier National Monument. Pacific emphasized the same experience for travelers to Yosemite National Park.
he Southern Railway was chartered in 1894 to consoli- also one of two railroads that did not initially join Amtrak
T date railroads operating 4,400 miles of track, which,
themselves, had a rich history of acquisitions. The new rail-
in 1971 and continued to operate its Southern Crescent pas-
senger train from Washington, D.C., to New Orleans until
road's oldest constituent was the South Carolina Canal & 1979. In 1982, along with the Norfolk and Western, it
Rail Road Company, chartered 66 years earlier. With the became part of Norfolk Southern. Their combined routes
acquisition of a line to New Orleans just before World War and trackage rights allow Norfolk Southern trains to prowl
I, the Southern grew to an 8,000-mile mesh of tracks that a region from Miami to Dallas and from Chicago to
covered much of the American South. Anchored in several Waterville, Maine.
Atlantic and Gulf Coast ports, its rail stretched to
Washington, D.C., Cincinnati, St. Louis, and Memphis. [- J
SOUTII,RH RAILWAY OH J. STE£P GRAD£ NUR ANDREWS G£YS,R.
In 1953, the Southern became the first large U.S. rail- W'SURH NORTH CAROliNA
Th e South Atlantic & O hio built a railroad track thro ugh a natu ra l tunnel in
southwestern Virginia in 1890, w hi ch became part of the Southern Rail way
in 1906. Thi s postcard (left) shows a steam locomotive emerging from th e
tunnel and is postm arked 1940. Th e Southern beca me pa rt of Norfolk
Southern and its locomotive No. 9803 (below) is shown traversing Natural
Tunnel. The surrounding area is now Virginia's Natural Tunn el State Park.
Passengers arrive at Alberta's Banff National Park on The Canadian. The Canad ian Pacific Railway adverti sed the train 's mountain cross ing as the
wor ld's longest scenic dome ride.
lv. l l2:45
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CHICAGO ond DENVER 1:15om Lv.Omoho. Ar. 12:40om "
rail-borne passenger carriages, whether 2:1 2 om 1\r. Lincoln . lv. 11:45 pm >~
8:30 om T 1\r, Donvor . lv . 4:00pm
for long-distance service or high-speed
commuter lines, follow the streamlined On October 23, 1936, Burlington's Denver Zephyr set a new speed record for a long-d istance
principles first set down by industrial nonstop train by reaching Ch icago-1,017 miles distant-in 12 hours and 12 minutes for an
designers of the 1930s. average speed of 83.3 miles per hour. Its top speed exceeded 116 miles per hour.
The Union Pacific's M-1 0000 was an arti cu lated train , meaning that the locomotive and all three ca rs were permanently coupled, w ith a single
four-wheeled truck sharing the duty of supporting the ends of two ca rs. This reduced the weight of the train (trucks are heavy), but also eliminated
the flexibility of adding and subtracting cars as needed. A Railway Post Office and a baggage compartment were in the power car just behind
the cab, and one sleeping car was followed by two coaches. With no dining ca r, meals were prepared in a sma ll kitchen at the rear of the
air-conditioned train and served in airline-style trays at passengers' seats.
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The inPnc JOU- it. JW'n know thb tnia it di!tmrt.. h'a two Jtoriu
New L11DUY Service hlah-detip.d to~ -..hn- ride., mon-. and b.«u
JIUOfNIIk m- o1 Sowb,....,. ._ry. "Uplllin"-•·tD a\xMI
dw clicMtr<led ol d~e rlli.h--loena-r\Hicr recliD.q: wau with
for Coach-Fare Travel full- ~h Mer-, bic pkturt window.. dinin& ~ aad hall-Jmcth
\ounp, "~ n"- Jucpp ncb llld ..... _
Courirtr N ut~~ MTYic.. lndiu C11idt, -boud Kro. New Maico.
Chicago- Los Allge1es FNCI Harwy -o.. You'D bl rid1q hlcb. wide aDd~ la lhil
Dft' alkoach !l a.~ .. ! &m. tart ss.oo. auc.,-to. AnplH.
Warch JOW' ~ nf'W>"fllptn for the ciM:t i1 pa it.rb~~r~~lc.l.
Goes into operatum in midsummor
THE
RIGHT STUFF,
190
AGAIN
T
he Staggers Act, passed by Congress in 1980, was a important short-line and regional railroads sometimes
major milestone in the history of railroad trans- provide competition to the largest railroads instead of
portation in the United States. Although the merely augmenting their services. Nevertheless, some ship-
Interstate Commerce Commission still regulated pers will probably always ship via a single track upon which
the process, the act authorized railroads and shippers to the trains of only one railroad operate. It is these shippers
negotiate lower rates for volume shippers. Previously, all that are likely to continue lobbying for increased regulation
shippers, regardless of size, would have been quoted the of rates.
rates in published tariffs for the goods to be transported. In 1995, the ICC Termination Act replaced the
This seemingly simple and obvious concept-lower prices Interstate Commerce Commission with the Surface
for larger customers-was all that it took to not only revi- Transportation Board. As of early 2007, two primary enti-
talize the railroad industry but also to change its basic char- ties regulate railroads in the United States at the national
acter. Coal, grain, automobiles, and other commodities level. The Surface Transportation Board (STB) regulates
shipped in enormous quantities filled freight train after economic matters, including rates and service disputes, as
freight train. Gone was the once-ubiquitous boxcar carry- well as restructuring issues such as mergers, new railroad
ing many small shipments, which now went by truck. construction, and railroad abandonments. The Federal
The Staggers Act did not completely deregulate the rail- Railroad Administration (FRA) was created by Congress in
road industry and the railroads have continued to lobby for 1966 and is concerned primarily with safety issues. Its for-
more deregulation. On the other hand, shippers have called mation also consolidated government support of rail trans-
for more regulation. Mergers have distilled the industry portation into a single agency.
down to seven large freight railroads, decreasing competi- Before the Staggers Act, railroads were in the business of
tion. These seven are called Class 1 railroads and are BNSF, carrying anything anywhere for anybody. After the Staggers
Canadian National, Canadian Pacific, CSX, Kansas City Act, railroads found prosperity in the 1990s by doing what
Southern, Norfolk Southern, and Union Pacific. Regulators their technology does best: carrying commodities between
must still approve mergers and often require that a newly specific terminals for large shippers. Unit trains move a sin-
merged railroad give trackage rights to its competitors gle commodity from one shipper to one destination.
(allow its competitors to use its tracks) . Increasingly Increasingly, merchandise is carried in standardized con-
tainers or in trucks placed directly on railroad flatcars.
In 2003,44 percent of the tonnage and 21 percent of the
revenue of the seven Class 1 freight railroads was derived
from the movement of coal alone! Other major commodi-
ties carried by railroads include chemicals, agricultural and
food products, minerals and ores, petroleum, lumber and
wood products, waste and scrap, metals, paper, containers,
and motor vehicles including automobiles.
GOODBYE CABOOSE
It wasn't many years ago that the author's children were
waving at the crew in the caboose bringing up the rear of
every freight train. They always received a friendly wave
back. Except in railroad museums, this simple pleasure is
now gone. In the 1980s the superfluous caboose was
replaced on virtually every train by the end-of-train device.
The ETD comprises a strobe light to mark the rear of the
train and a radio link to the locomotive's cab. The radio link
tells the engineer if the end of the train is moving and the
value of the air pressure in the brake line. Hardly as roman-
tic as the caboose, the ETD is much lighter than a caboose
and requires much less maintenance.
Crews on freight trains that run directly from one ter- Many industries along regional and short-line tracks
minal to another have been reduced down to three or even could not continue to operate without railroad connec-
two. New locomotive cabs are designed to be more com- tions, trucks being either too expensive or technologically
fortable for crewmembers, all of whom now ride there. incapable of moving certain raw materials or products that
are manufactured there.
SHORT LINES AND REGIONALS Entrepreneurs saw advantages of scale to owning multi-
With the Staggers Act, Congress hoped that a more rational ple short lines and regionals. Holding companies that own
process would relieve the railroads of the burden of unprof- multiple railroads, sometimes in many countries, created
itable track and that smaller railroads would spring up to yet a new type of railroad entity. RailAmerica operates 43
profitably operate track that the larger railroads could not. railroads with 8,800 miles of track in the United States and
The railroad system has always included small rail- Canada. Pioneer Railcorp operates 16 railroads in eight U.S.
roads, collectively termed short lines. Many fell by the states. OmniTRAX has 11 railroads in six U.S. states and
wayside or were absorbed into larger railroads. The three Canadian provinces. Ohio Central has 10 railroads
Staggers Act reversed the direction of that trend and more. totaling 500 miles in two U.S. states. Gennesee & Wyoming
Not only were "short" railroad tracks sold to new opera- operates 12 railroads in the United States, three in Canada,
tors but longer networks of railroad track were sold, lead- one in Mexico, three in Australia, and one in Bolivia.
ing to a new descriptive term: the regional railroad. Railroad Development Corporation operates the 623-mile
According to the definition used by the Association of regional Iowa Interstate Railroad plus railroads in South
American Railroads, regional freight railroads are those America, Central America, Africa, and Europe!
with at least 350 miles of main line and less than $40 mil-
lion dollars in annual revenue. In 2007, there are about 30 CONRAIL AND AMTRAK
regional railroads. Railroads smaller than this, as well as No examination of the current state of railroads can ignore
switching and terminal railroads, are colloquially called the U.S. government's involvement in Conrail and Amtrak.
short lines and there are a little more than 500 railroads in The Conrail story has been finished. The railroad was suffi-
this category. ciently successful that it was jointly purchased by Norfolk
Canadian branch lines to new short lines. As in the United tled, rural America relies more on trucks. New track is still
States, some Canadian lines would never be profitable, constructed, but for the purpose of increasing capacity
including the Canadian National's narrow gauge tracks in along major trunk lines or serving new major traffic sources
Newfoundland, which were dismantled in the 1980s. As such as coal mines. Although most of us pay electric bills
Conrail was privatized in the United States in 1987, and purchase automobiles, we don't recognize that we pay
Canadian National was also privatized in 1995. In an inter- less for electricity because railroads are efficient coal-
esting twist, now-private Canadian National assumed oper- haulers or that we pay less for automobiles because rail-
ational control of provincially owned BC Rail in 2004. In roads move steel to automobile plants and move finished
some ways, Canadian railroad history has been similar to automobiles across the nation. The manufactured goods
that of U.S. railroads but delayed in time. Although trends with which we most closely identify arrive at our local stores
in Canada-as in the United States-have clearly been on trucks, but those goods may have traveled part way to
toward privatization, the Canadian view of its railroads is their destination on trains
still different from that of the United States. So while railroads are still important to us, they have
become invisible to most Americans. The author some-
SUCCESS AND THE INVISIBLE RAILROAD times wonders how a 10,000-ton coal train can be invisible.
In 2003, railroads employed 154,000 people, a mere 8 1/2 A television reporter asked a man if he thought railroads
percent of their peak employment of 1.8 million in 1920. were still important. The man replied that he didn't even
Yet in 2003, U.S. freight railroads moved four times the know we still had railroads. They were standing next to the
amount of freight (but only a fraction of the passengers) railroad track!
they moved in 1920. Perhaps, it is this invisibility that has sparked our inter-
While reasonable profits are critical if railroads are to est in railroad history, with hundreds of preserved railroads
attract new investment capital, freight railroads have and railroad museums in North America. Americans won-
become invisible to most Americans. With so many fewer der at the romance of the rails and the intimacy we once
employers, you are unlikely to have a railroader as a neigh- had with iron monsters on steel track hauling wooden cars
bar or customer. As rural track is abandoned and disman- to every town.
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A Canadian National train passes the Chicago skyline. The acquisition of the Illinois Central allowed Canadian National trains to
pass through Chicago all the way to the Gulf Coast. Locomotive No. 5748 was built as an EMD 5075 in 1997.
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Th e co lorful 49er passes the depot at Echo, Utah, in about 1939.
Overleaf: Super C.
~~~GAZETTE
Accurate lnfomraUon for Fine Mode/building - July/ Aug 2005
$$.9$t~iled sr ..rn - I 1.9.J C.""""'- - $6.9J otMr cou .. tne.
Above: A judge put together the Colorado & Southern from bankrupt railroads,
including severa l Colorado narrow gauge lines. The severity of running trains
at these elevations is evident from the snow almost enveloping the locomotive.
Left: The Colorado & Southern was part of the Burlington system for many
years before its 1981 merger into its parent railroad, by then the Burlington
Northern. This 1948 passenger timetable lists integrated service with other
rail roads that were part of this family, including the Fort Worth & Denver City,
Voyageu r Press collection Burlington, Great Northern, Northern Pacific, and Spokane, Portland & Seattle.
All of these rail roads would merge into the Burlington Northern.
arly freight cars were wooden and not specialized. The local trains that dropped off and picked up cars
E Boxcars were predominant and remained so until the
middle of the twentieth century. In 1867, a refrigerator car
were peddler freights and the main-line trains were appro-
priately named drag freights, for their speeds were quite
for meat and fruit was patented. Anheuser-Bush deployed slow; the average speed of a freight train was 11 miles per
one of the first fleets of refrigerator cars along with track- hour in 1921 and rose to a still-not-very-impressive 17
side facilities to load ice into the cars. Horizontal tank cars miles per hour by the start of World War II. Scheduling was
made their first appearance in 1868, although the tanks difficult since numerous high-speed passenger trains
were wood. Cars for hauling coal made the transition from shared the rails with low-speed freights.
wood to iron before the Civil War.
North American railroads conducted their freight busi- UNIT TRAINS
ness in the same way for 150 years or so. A locomotive Unit trains are loaded with a single commodity, most
would make a circuit of local industries, picking up loaded commonly coal, from a single shipper. An entire train
railroad cars and dropping off empty cars at many small travels to a single destination where it is unloaded. The
shippers. Loaded cars were taken to a railroad yard where slow, inefficient, traditional process of assembling trains
they were sorted to be taken by main-line trains to various in classification yards is much more expensive than the
destinations. Freight cars might have to be sorted again in operation of a unit train. Railroads would profit from
some intermediate railyard to be carried by another main- offering lower rates to volume shippers that could load
line train to the railyard closest to their final destination. these large efficient trains, but not until federal regulations
Here, another locomotive would make a circuit of indus- were repealed that prohibited railroads from offering
tries to drop off loaded cars. discount transportation.
www.arch ivesofadvertising.com
Rail roads contribute to the variety of food we eat. At one time, perishable
fruits and vegetables might have filled a ca r or two that had been added to
a speedy passenger train. Traffic ori ginating in Ca lifornia, Arizona, and
Oregon grew quickly, and long trains of nothing but perishable foods
became commonplace. Railroads helped promote the products they
carried. To deal with the need for specialized refrigerator cars, Southern
Pacific and Union Pacific jointly created Pacific Fruit Express to buy and
maintain refrigerator cars and the industrial plants along the tracks that
supplied ice to cool the interiors of railroad cars. Pacific Fruit Express
entered business in 1907. Eventually, ice was repl aced by mechanical
refrigeration and the sight of large blocks of ice being loaded into rooftop
hatches of railroad cars became a memory.
CONTAINERS
Intermodal shipments-containerized shipments moved
by railroads, trucks, and ships-have become the most
important new business source for railroads. Containers
are simply rugged boxes of standard dimensions. They are
loaded and sealed by the shipper; transported to their des-
tination by any combination of ship, railroad, and truck;
and unloaded by the consignee. The ships, railcars, and
trucks that move containers-as well as the equipment that A Pennsylvania Railroad switch engine moves cars around
transfers them-can be built to a standardized design. a gra in elevator, and a main-line train roars past while a harvester is
Because containers are loaded and then sealed, shipments busy with its task. Railroads and the agricu ltural industry have had a
are less likely to be damaged or lost as they are transferred love-hate relationsh ip. Trains we re essential to estab lishing nationa l
from one transportation mode to another. Although con- markets, but unfair and unequal rates infuriated farmers who
lobbied for the first effective regulation of freight rates.
tainers can be used for almost anything, they were a boon
to the movement of manufactured goods. Containers can
be stacked two high on specially built flatcars that support
them closer to the rails so the two-high formations clear
obstructions such as tunnels.
Trailers are loaded and unloaded in Norfolk Southern's Bayview Yard in Ba ltimore, Maryland.
1
~
Southern Belle
was the Kansas
City Southern
crack passenger
train between
Kansas City and
New Orl eans.
Other trains listed
in the 1953
timetable (left)
were th e Flying
Crow between
Kansas City and
Shreveport and
the Shreveporter
between St. Louis
and Shreveport.
Detro it Publishing Co., LC-USZ62 -77352 , library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Div ision ,_,,.... _,...,
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Above: As did U.S. rai lways, Canad ian railroads promoted the
development of national parks along their routes. Jasper Nationa l Park
was established in 1907 after the Grand Trunk Pac ific's rails were driven
over Yellowhead Pass. Th e Grand Trunk Pacific became part of Canad ian
National.
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8
just after World War 11, the Budd Company adve rtised
an artist's co ncept of New Haven's train of self-propelled
RDC cars with a streamlined nose (opposite top). The
rendering became rea lity, as shown in the photo below
of RDC 140 at Davisville, New jersey, in 1968.
New York Centra l E7 locomotives leave St. Louis with a streamlined train (save the two older baggage cars directly behind the locomotive). Passing
in the opposite direction is a steam-hauled Missouri Pacific passenger train.
Eureka inches across the High Line above the Animas River. The
locomotive is trucked from its home in Las Vegas, Nevada, to run here
on the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad.
STEVE CRISE
The interest, curiosity, and desire to record the railroad
experience has always been inside Steve Crise. In 1968,
while aboard the Santa Fe's El Capitan, he instinctively
knew that it was important to record images of locomo-
tives and stations as they flew past, and so he clicked away
with his parents' Brownie. Crise studied photography in
college but found that he learned more as an assistant in
high-pressure celebrity shoots in Hollywood. Starting his
own photography business in 1987, he targeted subjects he
enjoyed: railroads and heavy industry. Though his photos
are sold commercially through stock photo agencies, he
donates his services to nonprofit organizations that pre-
serve and promote railroad history and culture. Crise
creates images that evoke the feeling or emotion of rail-
roading, and encourage viewers to fill in the blanks with
their own imaginations . He considers some of the best
railroad images ever created to be those that have utilized
the human element in their composition, an element he tries
to include in his own work. You can view some of Crise's
work at www.scrise.com.
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Cordon Osmundson. O iled Rods, S.P. 2467. Golden Gate Railroad Museum, San Francisco,
Ca liforn ia, 199 1.
PO\'JJ:R IN 1888 wu ~loptd b)> thia l)'pial wood bumrr. C:*Mf...t ulhf,y 'Wft, thNf
Q.rly ~onotnotl- bDd top...., • ..,. &G u.e Soor.u.·.
~~ quntl tor.,... powff. A que~
that MW in ~De on theSoo Lirle tbefirlll M lb6o tnoekleo!aotl..-. in 0. Unit«< S..ta . . . and
-or the "- ot 0.. P..n& 11110 &oc.;.motivoe.
NEVADA NORTHERN
The Nevada Northern Railway was completed in
1906 to serve copper mines. Its 140-mile main line
brought supplies to Ely, Nevada, from a connection
with the Southern Pacific. Because the Liberty Pit
mine was railroad-worked, numerous small steam
locomotives spiraled out of the fissure with ore des-
tined for the concentrator at McGill. Trains also
carried "blister copper" from the concentrator to be
sent east for refining. After mining ended,
Kennecott Copper Corporation donated 32 miles
of track connecting the mining district at Ruth
with the concentrator site at McGill, as well as the
Nevada Northern locomotive No. 93 runs around th e caboose of the train to w hich it will soon coupl e. Th e coal tippl es and water tank are seen in
th e distance. The track into dow ntow n El y is also still in pl ace, termin ating in El y's museum. The railroad sometimes runs shuttl es from its yards in
East El y to the museum, in addition to its mine and mill passenger runs .
A Cumbres & Toltec excursion train has just left Chama, New Mexico, to begin its arduous journey over the mountains to Antonito, Colorado.
In late summer 1990, locomotive No. 12 slakes her thirst at Orbisonia on the East Broad Top. The engineer oi ls around his charge wh il e the
fireman keeps on eye on the water in the tender's tank.
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California Zephyr passengers are treated to a daylight crossing of th e Sierra Nevada Mountains from fi ve dome cars.
~
8
Below: The Western Pacific was one of the first major railroads to
dieselize. Four 2-8-8-2 articulated locomotives, one shown here,
and eight 4-6-6-4 articulateds were delivered in 1938, and the
first diesel arrived in 1939. Only six more steam locomotives
were purchased amid the war-year desperation of 1943.
International Stereograph Co., LC-USZ62- 127101 , library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
www.archivesofadvertisi ng.com
Above: D ynamometer ca rs
we re co upl ed betwee n
loco motives and ca rs to
measure perfo rm ance in
actual service.
A tank of water, a diesel pump, and hoses protected not on ly Southern Pacific snowsheds, but other structures and the forest itself. Fire danger was
lessened in the transitions from wood to coa l to oil fuel for steam locomotives. Today, older diesel locomotives, overheated w heel bearings- ca lled
" hot boxes"- and dragging equipment can al l start fires, so fire protection is sti ll an issue w ith modern railroads, w hich install automated hot box
and dragging equ ipment detectors to signa l problems as trains run past.
246 APPENDIX A
Water Valley Casey ]ones Railroad Museum watervalley.net/users/caseyjones/home.htm
Western Maryland Historical Society moosevalley.org/wmrhs
Western Mining & Railroad Museum wmrrm.org
Western Pacific Railroad Historical Society wprrhs.org
APPENDIX A 247
APPENDIX B
PRESERVED RAILWAYS, MUSEUMS, AND HISTORIC SITES
This is just a sampling of hundreds of historic railroads and museums in North America. For more detailed
information and changes to these listings, see the Web sites listed or telephone.
APPENDIX B 249
Virginia & Truckee Railroad
Train ride; major extension in
progress.
Virginia City, NV
www.steamtrain.org
(775) 847-0380
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Conway Scenic Railroad
Two train rides; dining car;
roundhouse, turntable, and
spectacular depot.
North Conway, NH
www.conwayscenic.com
(800) 232-5251
railroad. ]
Bretton Woods, NH 8
www. thecog.com
(800) 922-8825
NEW MEXICO
Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad Train orders depended on the correct time, and the regularly checked accuracy
Several narrow gauge train rides, of railroad watches was cr itica l. Not surprisingly watchmakers, in this case E.
64 miles over mountain pass; Howard Watch Company, targeted railroaders. This art appeared in an ad in
large historic railyard. Harper's Magazine.
Chama, NM and Antonito, CO
www.cumbresandtoltec.com
(888) 286-2737 Bryson City and Dillsboro, NC Sumpter Valley Railway
www.gsmr.com Narrow gauge train ride.
Santa Fe Southern Railway (800) 872-4681 Sumpter and McEwen, OR
Train ride on mixed (freight and www.svry.com
passenger) train. North Carolina Transportation (866) 894-2268
Santa Fe, NM Museum (Historic Spencer Shops)
www.santafesouthernrailway.com Roundhouse museum; train and Willamette Shore Trolley
(888) 989-8600 turntable rides; shop buildings. Trolley ride; museum at Brooks, OR.
Spencer, NC Lake Oswego and Portland, OR
NEW JERSEY www.nctrans.org www. trainweb.org/ oerhs/
Northlandz (877) 628-6386 (503) 697-7436
Large model railroad.
Flemington, NJ OHIO PENNSYLVANIA
www.northlandz.com Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad East Broad Top Railroad
(908) 782-4022 Multiple train rides. Narrow gauge train ride; large
Akron, Canton, Independence, and historic railyard and shops;
NEW YORK Peninsula, OH museum at Robertsdale.
Adirondack Scenic Railroad www.cvsr.com Rockhill Furnace, PA
Multiple train rides. (800) 468-4070 www.ebtrr.com
Utica, Thendara, and Lake Placid, NY (814) 447-3011
www.adirondackrr.com OREGON
(877) 508-6728 Mount Hood Railroad and Dinner National Toy Train Museum
Train Toy train museum; five large train
New York Transit Museum Train ride; dinner train. layouts.
Urban transport museum in historic Hood River, OR Strasburg, PA
subway station. www.mthoodrr.com www.nttmuseum.org
Brooklyn Heights, NY (800) 872-4661 (717) 687-8976
www.mta.info/mta/museum
(718) 694-1600 Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad Middletown & Hummelstown Railroad
Train ride. Train ride.
NORTH CAROLINA Garibaldi, OR Middletown, PA
Great Smoky Mountain Railway www.ocsr.net www.mhrailroad.com
Several train trips; dinner train. (503) 842-7972 (717) 944-4435
APPENDIX B 251
Bianculli, Anthony J. Railroad History on American Postage
Stamps. Mendham, N.J.: The Astragal Pr., 2004.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Botkin, B. A. and Alvin F. Harlow. A Treasury of Railroad
Folklore. New York: Bonanza Books, 1953.
BOOKS
Abdill, Geo. B. Civil War Railroads. New York: Bonanza Books, Chappell, Gordon. Rails to Carry Copper: A History of the
1961. Magma Arizona Railroad. Boulder, Colo.: Pruett Publishing
Co., 1973.
Alexander, Edwin P. Down at the Depot: American Railroad
Stations from 1831 to 1920. New York: Bramhall House, 1970. Cohen, Norm. Long Steel Rail: The Railroad in American
Folksong. Urbana, Ill.: Univ. of Ill. Pr., 1981.
- - - . The Pennsylvania Railroad: A Pictorial History. New York:
Bonanaza Books, 1967. Cook, Richard J. Super Power Steam Locomotives. San Marino,
Calif.: Golden West Books, 1966.
Beebe, Lucius. Highball: A Pageant of Trains. New York: Bonanza
Books, 1945. Cornwell, L. Peter and Jack W. Farrell. Ride the Sandy River: Visit
the past on America's largest two-foot gauge railroad. Edmonds,
- - - . The Central Pacific & The Southern Pacific Railroads. Wash.: Pacific Fast Mail, 1973.
Berkeley, Calif.: Howell-North Books, 1963.
Dorin, Patrick C. The Lake Superior Iron Ore Railroads: The
- - -.Trains in Transition. New York: Bonanza Books, 1941. World's Heaviest Trains. New York: Bonanza Books, 1969.
Best, Gerald M. Snowplow: Clearing Mountain Rails. Berkeley, Farrington, Jr., S. Kip. Railroads at War. New York: Coward-
Calif.: Howell-North Books, 1966. McCann, Inc., 1944.
Hollander, Ron. All Aboard! The Story of Joshua Lionel Cowen &
His Lionel Train Company. New York: Workman Publishing,
1981.
252 BIBLIOGRAPHY
Keilty, Edmund. Interurbans Without Wires: The Rail Motorcar in Schafer, Mike and Joe Welsh. Streamliners: History of a Railroad
the United States. Glendale, Calif.: Interurbans, 1979. Icon. St. Paul, Minn.: MBI Publishing Co., 2003.
Kinert, Reed. Early American Steam Locomotives: 151 Seven Shaughnessy, Jim. Delaware & Hudson. Berkeley, Calif.: Howell-
Decades·1830-1900. New York: Bonanza Books, 1962. North Books, 1967.
Kreig, Allan. Last of the 3 foot Loggers. San Marino, Calif.: Golden Steinheimer, Richard. The Electric Way across the Mountains:
West Books, 1962. Stories of the Milwaukee Road Electrification. Tiburon, Calif.:
Carbarn Pr., 1980.
Labbe, John T. and Vernon Goe. Railroads in the Woods.
Berkeley, Calif. : Howell-North , 1961. Stunkard, Geoff. Rail Mail: A Century of American Railroading on
Picture Postcards. Milligan College, Tenn.: Quarter Milestones
Lavallee, Omer. Narrow Gauge Railways of Canada. Montreal: Publishing, 2004.
Railfare Enterprises Ltd., 1972.
Sutton, David. The Comlplete Book of Model Railroading. New
Martin, Cy. Gold Rush Narrow Gauge: The Story of the White Pass York: Castle Books, 1964.
and Yukon Route. Los Angeles: Trans-Anglo Books, 1969.
Tourist Trains 2005: 4oth Annual Guide to Tourist Railroads and
McKenzie. William H. Mountain to Mill. Colorado Springs, Museums. Waukesha, Wis.: Kalmbach Publishing Co., 2005.
Colo. : MAC Publishing Inc., 1982.
Wagner, Jr., F. Hol. The Colorado Road. Denver, Colo.: The
- - - . Opening the Rail Gateway to the West: Constructing the Intermountain Chapter National Railway Historical Society,
Rail Gateway to the West. St. Louis. Mo.: St. Louis Chapter Inc., 1970.
National Railway Historical Society, 200 1.
Westcott, Linn H., Model Railroader Cyclopedia: Vol. 1:
Middleton, William D. North Shore: America's Fastest Interurban. Steam Locomotives. Waukesha, Wis.: Kalmbach Publishing Co.,
San Marino, Calif.: Golden West Books, 1964. 1960.
- - - . South Shore: The Last Interurban. San Marino, Calif.: Westing, Fred. The Locomotives That Baldwin Built. New York:
Golden West Books, 1970. Bonanza Books, 1965.
- - - . When the Steam Railroads Electrified. Milwaukee, Wis.: Wiatrowski, Claude A. Railroads of Colorado. Stillwater, Minn.:
Kalmbach Publishing Co., 1974. Voyageur Pr., 2002.
Moody, Linwood W. The Maine Two-Footers: The story of the Wilson, William H. Railroads in the Clouds: The Alaska Railroad in
two-foot gauge railroads of Maine. Berkeley, Calif.: Howell- the Age of Steam, 1914-1945. Boulder, Colo. : Pruett Publishing
North Press, 1959. Company, 1977.
Moo re, John F. , The Story of the Railroad "Y". New York: Withun, William L., ed. Rails Across America: A History of
Association Pr., 1930. Railroads in North America. New York: Smithmark Publishers,
Inc. , 1993.
Myrick, David F. New Mexico's Railroads: An Historical Survey.
Golden, Colo.: Colorado Railroad Museum, 1970.
Neal, Dorothy Jensen. The Cloud-Climbing Railroad: Highest Grand Scale Quarterly Magazine. Red Bluff, Calif.: Robinson &
Point on the Southern Pacific, Centennial ed. El Paso, Tex.: Associates.
Texas Western Press, 1998.
Model Railroader. Waukesha, Wis.: Kalmbach Publishing Co.
Niehoff II, Waiter H. The Reincarnation of the Switch Back
Gravity Railroad. Vestal, N.Y.: Waiter H. Niehoff Consultant, Narrow Gauge & Short Line Gazette. Los Altos, Calif.: Benchmark
1995. Publications Ltd.
Nock, 0. S., ed. The Encyclopedia of Railroads. New York: 0 Gauge Railroading Magazine. Poland, Ohio: OGR Publishing,
Galahad Books, 1977. Inc.
Parkinson, Tom and Charles Phillip Fox. The Circus Moves by Railfan & Railroad. Newton, N.J.: Carstens Publications.
Rail. Boulder, Colo.: Pruett Publishing Co., 1978.
Railroad Model Craftsman. Newton, N.J.: Carstens Publications.
Polinghorn, R. S. Pino Grande: Logging Railroads of the
Michigan-California Lumber Co. Berkeley, Calif.: Howell- Trains. Waukesha, Wis.: Kalmbach Publishing Co.
North Books, 1966.
BLBL!OGRAPHY 253
About the Author
CLAUDE WIATROWSKI
ike all young boys of the 1950s, Claude Wiatrowski enjoyed toy trains.
L Scale model trains came next, but three degrees-including a doctorate in
electrical engineering-and a career in technology slowed his avocation until
his first encounter with Colorado's railroads in 1971. Model trains took a
backseat to standing on a mountain pass and watching real, narrow gauge
steam trains chug past. He moved to Colorado in 1975, partly to pursue his
exploration of Colorado's railroads.
Since then, Dr. Wiatrowski has authored or provided photographs for sev-
eral books on Colorado and railroad history. He has explored much of
Colorado's mountains, searching for remnants of its once huge railroad net-
work. His explorations were the basis for his book, Railroads of Colorado. His
travels have taken him as far as Wales to see the birthplace of the narrow track
gauge, which was an important part of Colorado railroading, and railroad
technology of the Industrial Revolution became more compelling to him than
the electronic technology of the information revolution. During the 1980s, his
hobby gradually became his profession and he now produces DVDs and writes
books on historic railroads. His productions have won Telly and Teddy awards
and one was selected for the Library of Congress Local Legacies Program.
Dr. Wiatrowski is a member of the Colorado Midland Chapter of the
National Railway Historical Society, the Railway & Locomotive Historical
Society, The Colorado Railroad Museum, The Friends of the Cumbres &
Toltec Scenic Railroad, Friends of the East Broad Top, the Nevada Northern
Railway Museum, the Pikes Peak Historical Street Railway Foundation, and the
Lexington Group in Transportation History.
20th Century Limited, 38, 13 1, 158, 75, 78, 91' 146, 147, 183, 186, Denver & Rio Grande, 64, 72, 77, 92, Granite Railway, 9
222 19 1, 193, 234 104-107,13 1, 144,148, 153, 174, Great Lakes Transportation, 206
49er, 197 Canadian, The, 146, 186 175, 189,205,2 12,235,240 Great Northern, 41, 44, 48, 116, 117,
Acela Express, 2 18 Cannonball, 55, 130 Denver & Sa lt Lake, 104 128,132,148,183,208,216,217,
A cuff, Ray, 12 6 Canon, "U ncle joe," 38 Denver, South Park & Pacific, 208 240
Aeolus, 45 Capitol Limited, 50, 94, 130 Oenver Zephyr, 187 Great Northern Steamship Company,
Aerotrain, 107, 189 Carbon County Rai lway, 93 DeWitt Clinton, 11 , 50 130
A lamogordo and Sacramenta Mou ntain Carter Family, The, 126 Drew, Daniel, 40 Great Western, 50, 195,2 14
Rai lroad, 180, 181 Cash, j ohnny, 126, 12 7 Dreyfuss, Henry, 222, 223 Green Bay & Western, 107
A laska Railroad, 65 Castello, Dan, 101 D uke, Donald, 226 Guilfo rd Transportation Industries, 16,
A Ieo (Ameri ca n Locomotive Company), Centra l Pacific Railroad, 150 Duluth & Iro n Range, 160 18, 62, 146
2~32,33,6 1 ,8~ 1 2~ 160 Centra l Railroad of New j ersey, 26, 96, Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range, 160, Gulf, Mobi le & Northern, 157
A lexa nder, j ack, 204 106, 145 161,206 Gulf, Mobi le & Ohio, 22, 157
A li en, Horatio, 9 Champ lain & St. Lawrence, 12 Ourango, 130 H arr iman, Ed ward H ., 4 1, 78
A lphabet Route, 36 Chapman, A li en, 154 D urango & Silverton Na rrow Gauge, Harvey, Fred, 52, 53, 71, 182
Alton Rai lroad, 157 Chesapeake & Ohio, 14, 96, 97, 144, 65, 109, 131, 175, 196,224,225 Haupt, H erm an, 12
American Express Train, 130 165, 180 East Broad Top Railroad, 236, 238, 239 Hiawatha, 158
Ameri can Fl yer, 136, 137, 149 Chessie System, 14, 36, 60, 96, 97, East Tennessee & Western North High Line, 224
American Railway Express, 134 154, 230 Caro lina, 142 Hill, james )., 4 1, 43, 44, 116, 11 7,
Am trak, 26, 48, 112, 133, 144, 145, Chessie, The, 96 East Youngstown, 1 30 128
153, 183, 192, 193,209,218,227 Chicago & A Iton, 78, 111 , 157 Edison Manufacturing Company, 168, Hi ll crest & Wahtoke, 167
Andover & W ilmington, 16 Chi cago & Eastern Illinois, 24, 60, 148 169 H iwasee Loop, 60
Angler, 156 Chi cago & M il waukee, 46 Edwards, N ick, 166 Holiday Express, 149
Arkansas, Loui siana & Mississippi, 193 Chicago & North Western, 4, 32, 46, Edwards Rai lway Motor Car Company, Hopkins, Mark, 4 1, 72
A rmstron g, George, 158 47, 56, 75, 78, 84, 126, 132, 148, 108 Huntington, Col li s P., 41, 72, 96
As leep at th e W heel, 126 158 El Capitan, 226 Illinois Central, 22, 23, 30, 41, 55, 56,
Atlantic, 94 Ch icago & Rock Island, 28 El Paso & Southwestern, 72 78, 83, 95, 112, 148, 157, 195,
Atlanti c & Pacific, 70, 114 Chicago Great Western, 47 Electroliner, 139 206, 243
Atlantic Coast Line, 60, 96, 230, 23 1 Ch icago, lndianapolis & Louisvi lle, 61 Electro-Motive Division (EMD), 89, 90, Illinois Central Gu lf, 22, 157
Attikumain, 156 Chi cago, M il waukee & St. Pau l, 122 105-107,119,122 Illi nois Terminal, 49
Aurora Branch Rail road, 44 Chicago, North Shore & Mi lwaukee, Elli ngton, Duke, 126 lmlay, 14
Badger, 156 49, 139 Empire, 220 Indiana Hill & Iron Range, 118
Ba ldwi n Locomotive Works, 32, 118, Ch icago, St. Pau l & Fond du Lac, 46 Empire Builder, 11 6, 132 lntercolon ial Railway, 13, 43
224 Chateau Yard, 25 Empire State Express, 220 International-G reat Northern Rai lroad,
Ba ldwin, Mattha is, 32 City of Los Angeles, 78, 11 2 Erie Ca nal, 9-11, 20, 220 24
Ba ltimore & Oh io, 10, 14, 15, 36, 48, City of Portland, 80, 11 2 Erie Lackawanna Rai lroad, 20, 21, 145 Interstate Commerce Commi ssion
50, 51, 94, 96, 131, 141 , 153 City of Salina, 186 Erie Railroad (New York & Lake Eri e (ICC), 28, 42, 43, 85, 89, 143-145,
Ba ngs, George, 158 City of San Francisco, 75 Railroad), 10, 19-2 1,30,39,41, 170,191,2 18
Barnum, P. T., 101 City Point Railway, 172 58, 64 Iowa Interstate Railroad, 192
Barticek, Bob, 166 C layburn junction, 228 Erie Works, 106 janney, Eli, 39
Bayview Yard, 212 Cleveland, 22 1 Eureka, 4, 82, 224, 225 jensen, Bob, 196
BC Rai l, 194, 206 Coburn, Charl es, 50 Eureka & Palisade, 22 4 j ersey Lily, The, 168
Belton, Grandview and Kansas City, Coker, John Hugh, 196 Fast M ail, 130 John Bull, 50
211 Co lo rado & Southern, 44, 208 Feld, lrv in, 10 1 Jo hn Deere, 165
Benne!, G il, 196 Co lorado M id land, 28, 43, 152 Fi ll more & Western, 168 John Quincy Adams, 15
Berl in, lrving, 126 Co lorado Railcar Manufacturing, 109 Fi llrnore, President Mi ll ard, 21 )ones, Casey, 55-57, 83
Bessemer & Lake Erie, 206 Co lu mbian Exposition, 83 Firefly, 11 5 )o nes, j anie Brady, 57
Big Boy, 80 Columbus & Greenville, 107 Fisher, Larry, 196 judah, Th eodore, 72
Blaylock, Ted, 196 Congressional, 158 Fisk, ji rn, 39, 40 jull Excavator snowp low, 232
Boat Train, 130 Conrai l, 18, 20, 26, 58, 145, 192, 193 Fitchburg Railroad, 16 Jupiter, 79, 140
Bombard ier, 176 Conway Scen ic Rai lroad, 62 Flagler, H enry, 180 Kan sas City Southern, 149, 150, 19 1,
Boston & A lbany, 220 Cooper, Peter, 10 Florida East Coast Rai lway, 180 214, 215
Boston & Ma ine, 16-18, 62 Corn Belt Rocket, 28 Flying Crow, 214 Kan sas Pacific, 52
Bow ler, AI, Phillip, and Tom, 54 Coronado, Francisco, 70 Flying Yankee, 16 Keaton, Buster, 13, 168
Bridgton & Saco Ri ver, 62 Corwith Yard, 71 Fogg, H oward, 196 Kennecott Copper, 235
Broadway Limited, 131 Cotton Be lt, 150, 151 Fort Worth & Denver, 208 Ken tucky & Tennessee, 161
Brom ley, John, 196 Coup, Castell o and Barnum, 100 Fremont & Elkhorn Va ll ey, 40 Kentucky Centra l Rai lroad, 97
Bryan, Wi ll iam j ennings, 38 Coup, W illi am, 101 Ga lena & Chi cago Un ion, 44, 46, 98, King, A lbert, 126
Budd Company, 109, 187,2 19 Covington & Ohio, 96 148 King George V, 50
Buffalo & Pittsburgh, 192 Cowen, Joshua Lionel, 136 Galloping Goose, 109 Kotowski, Mi ke, 196
Bu rl ington & Missou ri Ri ver, 177 Crescent, 184 General, 24, 140, 168 Kova lchick, N ick, 236
Bu rl ington and Northern Pacific, 41 Crise, Steve, 226-228 Genera l Electric, 106, 107, 109, 123, Kuhl er, Otto, 124, 196
Burlington North ern, 44, 114, 116, Cracker, Charles, 4 1, 72 233 Kukuk, Ken, 167
12 8, 145, 208 Crusader, 26 Genera l Motors, 89, 107, 189 Lackawa nna Rai lroad (Delawa re,
Burlington North ern Santa Fe, 44, 70, csx, 14, 36, 60, 96, 145, 191' 193 General Palmer, 130 Lackawa nna & Western ), 20, 21
191' 208, 228 Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, Genesee & Wyomi ng, 162, 192 LaCrosse & M ilwaukee, 122
Bu rl ington Route (Chicago, Bu rl ington 1 5~ 1 6~ 1 9~20~ 212, 22~ 232, Genoa, 140 Lafayette, 14
& Q uincy), 44, 45, 52, 94, 106, 233, 235-237 George Washington, 96, 130 Lake Shore & Michigan Southern, 220,
116,128, 140, 148, 177, 183, 186, Cu rr ier & Ives, 71, 130 Georgetown Loop Railroad, 82 221
187,208,2 16,2 17 Cyclone snow plow, 232 Golden State, 28 Lake Zurich, 130
Butte, A naconda & Pacific, 108 Davis, W. A., 158 Goodman, Steve, 126 Laker, 234
California Zephyr, 69, 106, 133, 153, Daylight, 73, 158 Cou ld, jay, 36, 40, 240 Laurentian, 19
188, 240, 241 DeCou rsey Yard, 61 Grand Canyon Railway, 21 7 Leadvi ll e, Colorado & Southern, 208
Ca nad ian Government Rail ways, 43 Delaware & Hudson Canal Company, Grand Central Station, 152 Lehigh & Hudson Ri ver, 145
Canad ian Nationa l, 13, 22, 43, 91, 9, 18, 146 Grand Scales Quarterly, 205 Lehigh Va lley Rail Way, 26, 58, 59, 145
108, 145, 182, 191' 193-195, 206, Delaware & Hudson, 7, 18, 19 Grand Trunk, 12, 43, 206, 234 Leslie Rota ry Snow Plow, 232
207,2 17 Oelmonico, 111 Grand Trunk Paci fic, 43, 91, 206, 2 17 Lew is, lsaac, 30
Canad ian Pacific, 18, 41, 43, 62, 72, DeM ille, Cecil le B., 169 Grand Trunk Western, 91 Liberty Limited, 69
INDEX 255
Lima Locomotive Works, 32, 22, 118, Na utilus If, 156 Railroad Magazine, 15, 55, 125, 158, Stourbridge Lion, 9
120,244 Nevada Northern Rai lroad, 93, 163, 162, 204, 209 Strasburg Rail Road, 174
Link, 0. Winston, 226 227, 235, 236 Railroad Man's Magazine, 204 Strates, James E., 102, 103
Lionel, 48, 136, 137, 149, 164, 166, Nevers ink Mounta in Rai lway, 76 Railroad Model Craftsma n, 205 Sumpter Va lley Rai lway, 121
196 Neversweat & Washoe, 108 Railroad Stories, 204 Sunset Limited, 73, 196
Li verpool and Manchester Railway, 9 New Haven Rai lroad (New York, New Rai lroad Young Men's Christi an Super Chief, 70, 71, 158
Locomotive Engineers journal, 54 Haven & Hartford), 102,2 18, 21 9 Assoc iation (YMCA), 56 Swain, Aa ron, 227
Loewy, Raymond, 69, 131 New Orleans, Texas & Mexico, 24 Railway Age, 29 Switch Back Rai lroad, 9
Loui sville & Nashvil le, 60, 61, 96, 230 New York & Harl em, 40 Railway Express Agency (REA), 134, Sym i ngton Yard, 108
MacRae, Cordon, 12 7 New York Centra l & Hudson Ri ver, 39, 135, 152, 159,218 Tanana Val ley Rai lroad, 65, 13 1
Mail Train, 130 220 Rai lway Post Office, 158, 159, 187 Tarkington, Booth, 38
Main Line of Public Works, 10, 11 New York Central, 11 , 3 1, 38, 40, 50, Reading Company, 26, 27 Telavue, 21 1
Maine Central Rai lroad, 16, 18, 62, 63 66, 92, 113, 13 1' 133, 144, 158, Reading Ra ilroad, 96, 145 Teller, Gri f, 196
Manitou & Pikes Peak, 55, 76, 233, 159, 170, 220-223, 242 Reid, Gil, 196 Texas & Pacific, 24
243 New York State Thru Way, 58 Ringling Bros. and Barn um & Bai ley, Texas Mex ican Rail way, 214
Markoff, Dan, 225 New York, Chicago & St. Louis, 101 Texas Special, 114
Marlboro, 1 7 170- 172 Rio Grande Scen ic Railroad, 105, 208 Thomson, J. Edgar, 11
Martha Washington, 94 New York, Ontario & Western, 144 Rio Grande Southern Rai lroad, 109 Thyma/lus, 156
McC iintock, Harry, 126, 127 Newton, Edd ie, 56, 57 Roanoke Yard, 1 73 Tiger, 67
McKeen Motor Car, 109 N ight Express, 130 Rock Island Rai l Road (Chicago, Rock Tippecanoe, 61
Michigan Central Railroad, 220 Norfo lk and Western, 32, 34, 48, 90, Island & Pac ific), 28, 29, 148, 150, Tom Thumb, 10, 15, 50
M id South Railroad, 214 1 7~ 172, 1 7~ 1 8~ 20~226 189 Trains magazine, 204, 205
Midnight Flyer, 130 Norfo lk Southern, 106, 145, 163, 172 , Rockefeller, John D., 36 Transportaci6n Ferroviaria Mexicana,
Mi lwa ukee & St. Paul, 122 1 8~ 185, 191 - 193,212 Rocket, 9 214
M ilwaukee Road (Chicago, Mi lwaukee, North Coast Limited, 128 Rockhill Trol ley Museum, 236 Trinity & Brazos Va lley, 208
St. Pau l & Pacific Rai lroad), 48, 49, North Pacific Coast Rai lroad, 34 Rocky Mountain Rocket, 28 Tucson, Cornelia & Gil a, 175
54, 122-125,148, 158,23 4 North Western Railroad, 132 Rod gers, Jimm ie, 126 Turner Station, 30
Minot, Charl es, 30 Northern Pac ific, 44, 11 6, 12 8, 12 9, Rogers Locomotive & Machine Works, Twin Cities 400, 132
M ississippi Ri ver Scen ic Line, 45 148, 208, 216 24 Twin Cities Zephyr, 187
M issou ri Pacific, 24, 25, 78, 22 3 Ohio Centra l, 192, 220 Roosevelt, President Theodore, 38, 41 Tyler Tap Rai lroad, 150
Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad (nee Olympian, 123, 124 Rose, Ted, 1 96 U.S. Mil itary Railroad, 12
Missouri , Kan sas & Texas), 78, 119 Olympian Hiawatha, 125 Roya l Ameri ca n Shows, 102 U .S. Posta l Department, 134, 152
Missouri-Kansas- Texas Railroad Omn iTRAX, 192 Royal Blue, 131 Uintah Rail way, 12 1
Better Known As The KATY, The, Ontario, 221 Roya l Gorge Route Rai lroad, 188 Union Pacific, 24, 41, 46, 72, 75,
11 9 Orange Blossom Special, 230 Ru ssell, Lill ian, 38 78-8 1, 104, 107, 11 2, 11 9, 140,
Mobi le & Ohio, 55, 157 Oregon Rail way and Navigation San Francisco Chief, 91 143, 148, 150, 162, 169, 182, 183,
Model Railroader, 204 Company, 128 Sa ndy River & Ran geley Lakes, 62, 64 186, 187, 191,210,2 16,228,240,
Models Oriental Limited, 11 7 Santa Fe Rail way (Atchi son, Topeka & 242
Adams Express, 231 Osmundson, Cordon, 227, 229 Santa Fe), 70 Southern Branch, 119
A lco PA l , 170 Pacifi c Electri c, 77 Saunders, Wa llace, 56, 57 United Parcel Service, 134
A lco RS3, 17,6 1 Pacific Frui t Express, 2 10 Scenic Limited, 104 Up Train, 130
Budd RDC, 109 Pacifi c Railroad, 24 Schumann-Heink, Mme., 38 Upper Juniata Canal, 67
Camelback, 34 Pa lmer, Genera l W ill iam, 131 Sca les, Paul , 165 Utah Railway, 160, 162
Challenger, 105, 129 Panama Canal, 214 Seaboard Ai r Line, 96, 230 Van Swerin gen brothers, 170
Climax, 120, 121 Panama Canal Rai lroad, 214 Seaboard Coast Line, 60, 230, 231 Vanderbilt, 130
E6 Atlantic, 1 66 Pana m a Limited, 11 2 Seaboard System, 60, 230 Vanderbilt, Corn elius, 39, 40, 4 1, 43,
E7, 223 Pelica n Bay Rai lway & Navigation Sears, Roebuck and Compa ny, 39 96, 82, 130
EMD Bi -Polar, 123 Company, 167 Seward Peninsul a Railroad, 65 Vanderbilt, W illiam H. , 56
EMD E8, 29 Penn Centra l, 66, 144, 145,193,218, Shaughnessy, Jim, 226 Verde Canyon Railroad, 107
EMD F7, 11 7 220 Shay, Eph rai m, 120 VIA Rai l, 145, 146, 209
EMD FP7, 107 Pennsy lva nia Rai lroad, 4, 10, 11 , 26, Shelley, Kate, 56, 57 Villard, Henry, 128
EMD FT, 90 32, 48-50, 66-69, 87, 88, 131' Sherm an, Gen. Wi lli am Tecumseh, 12 Virgin ia & Truckee, 162, 169
EMD GP35, 37 140, 144, 158,166, 189, 193,2 11 , Shortline Enterpri ses, 168 Virgin ia Central, 96
EMD GP38, 108 230, 236 Shreveporter, 21 4 Virginian Railway, 48, 172
EMD GP38-2, 108 Pennsy lvania-Read ing Seashore Lines, Siebert, T. Lawrence, 56, 57 Vista Dome, 96
EMD GP7, 107 26 Sierra Rai lroad, 168 von Siemens, Ernst, 48
EMD SD75, 195 Pere Marquette, 97 Soo Line (M inneapolis, St. Pau l & Sault Wabash Rai lroad, 172
ESl, 222 Phelps Dodge Corporation, 72 Ste. Marie), 122, 146, 234 Webb, Simm, 55-57
Gl , 146 Phi lade lphia and Readi ng, 26 South Atl antic & Ohio, 185 Webster, Daniel, 21
GE C40-9W, 106 Phoebe Snow, 20 South Carol ina Canal & Rail Road, 184 West Side Lumber Company, 205
GE C44-9W, 108 Pioneer, 46, 148, 176 South Shore Rai lroad, 49 Western Maryland Railroad, 96
GE U28B, 45 Pioneer Railcorp, 192 Southern Belle, 214 Western Maryland Railway, 14, 36, 37
GE U33C, 18 Pioneer Zephyr, 94, 186 Southern Crescent, 184 Western Maryland Railway in
GGl, 48, 49, 69 Pitcher, Moll y, 88 Southern Pacific, 34, 41, 46, 72-75, Minia ture, 37
Heisler, 120, 121 Plant System, 230 78, 104, 113, 114, 150, 151, 158, Western Pac ific, 78, 106, 240, 24 1
M-1 , 61 Plow den, David, 226 196, 197,2 01 ,2 05,2 10-2 12,224, Western Star, 11 7
M-10000, 186, 187 Pocahontas, 1 73 233,235,240,244,245 Western Un ion, 152
Mother H ubbard, 34 Porter and Davenport, 32 Southern Railway, 41, 60, 144, 172, Westinghouse, George, 39
SD-45X, 201 Porter Railroad, 118 184, 185 Wh ite Mou nta in Scenic Rai lroad, 168
Shay, 33, 120 Portland & Ogdensbu rg, 62 Spokane, Portland & Seattle, 11 6, 128, Wh ite Pass & Yukon, 65, 174
Moffat Ra ilroad, 77 Powhatan Arrow, 173 208 Whyte, Frederi c, 34
Mohawk & Hudson, 11 President Cleveland, 94 Sprague, F. J., 48, 49 Wild Goose Rai lroad, 65
Monon, 60, 61, 165 President Washington, 15, 50 St. Francois Railroad Club, 57 Wimberl ey, Blanco & Southern, 166
Montrea l Locomotive Work s (M LW), 32 Provi so Yard, 84 St. Lou is & San Francisco, 11 4, 11 5 Winfield, John, 20 1
Morgan, J. Pierpont, 38, 41, 60, 128 Pueb lo Un ion Station, 104 St. Louis, Arkansas & Texas, 150 Winnipeger, 234
Morrow, Buddy, 12 6, 12 7 Pul lman, George, 110, 111 , 176 St. Lou is, Iron Mounta in & Southern, Wisconsin Centra l, 206
Morse, Samuel, 30 Pullman-Standard Car Manufacturi ng 24 Witkowski, Bern ie, 12 6
Mou nt Roya l Station, 153 Company, 1 76-1 79 St. Lou is Southwestern, 150, 151 Yakutat & Southern, 156, 242
Mt. Lowe Rail way, 77 Rachell, Yank, 12 6 Stanford, Le land, 4 1, 72 Ye /lowstone Park Line, 2 16
Mt. Rai ni er Scenic Rai lroad, 120,121 Ragan, Leslie, 196 Stei nheimer, Richard, 226 Yuma Val ley Rai lway, 168
Narrow Gauge & Short Line Gazette, Ra i !Ameri ca, 192 Stephenson, George and Robert, 9 Zephyr, 186
205 RaiiCamp, 154 Stevens, John 10
National Transcontinenta l Railway, 43 Railroad Development Corporation, Stillwell, Arthur, 214
Nautilus, 156 192 Stockton & Darl ington, 9, 10
256 INDEX