On a cool, crisp morning on Donner Pass an UP eastbound stack train leaves the town of Truckee behind. Two days before there was possibly the last snow storm of the winter leaving a dusting of sn... (more)
Wooah! How do you move track panels? With front end tractors. During a grade crossing replacement, one of the tractors rear end up-ended suddenly.
An Erie commuter train strolls through the streets of Passaic in 1960.
This photo I've made from the roof of one of the dwelling houses of Hanoi. I've asked the owner whether I can lift for the last floor and he let me in. Later I've been sitting on the roof waiting ... (more)
The Newest Addition to the PIR's Collection of Moribund Rolling Stock - [Vernal Equinox 2016 +1 Series] - Congratulations are in order on a job well done for the Pacific Imperial Railroad'... (more)
DUH! An impatient driver runs around the gates at the Market St grade Xing right in front of an Operation Lifesaver Special geared at this specific offense! Yes that is an Amtrak PO in the nose do... (more)
SD70ACe UP 8430 sits outside the North Little Rock Jenks Shops, waiting to be taken back into the shops for more engine work.
The faint roar of giant diesel engines gain in decibels as they approach the summit of Sand Patch Grade, down to their hands and knees clawing at the icy snow covered rail only to manage 4 tenths ... (more)
In the late 1970s, railroads were experimenting with alternatives to having locals with cabooses, as on some runs the caboose was problematic – it would need to be switched to the other end of t... (more)
EMDX SD70ACe was part of the CATERPILLAR MUSEUM Grand Opening ceremonies on the morning of October 20, 2012. The Yellow/ Black/ Silver/ Gray SD70ACe was also on display in the CATERPILLAR section... (more)
Ten new GE locomotives (five 1200-series EFVM BB40-9WM and five 200-series EFC 5800 HP ES58ACi) make their way from Erie to an East Coast port, where they will continue their journey by ship to Br... (more)
Westbound #17 Rio Grande Zephyr slowly winds its way through Byers Canyon behind 5771 5762 253 5763
Eastbound BNSF garbage train exits a tunnel and crosses a causeway along the Columbia River.
Starlight, starbright, first train I saw that night... A trek several hundred feet from the photoline allowed this image to come to fruition. PM #1225 sits under a starry Michigan night. A 10 se... (more)
Due to a work window on Donner Pass, Amtrak's California Zephyr detoured over the old WP through Nevada and into California. Passing Keddie, #5 is heading out onto Spanish Creek Trestle.
The always versatile 89’4” flatcar can carry pretty much anything with only a few slight modifications. Whether it’s a Boeing ... (more)
Box cab electric helpers were not always placed mid-train in Milwaukee's eastbound freights climbing the 1.6% continental divide out of Butte up to Pipestone Pass, Montana. On April 10, 1970 E29... (more)
The Royal Air Force is decomissioning their fleet of Tornado jets and for three days this week selected aircraft flew over the various RAF sites in England and Wales. As there is an RAF base at Le... (more)
NS U85 spans Garwood trestle on a dreary September evening on the former Virginian Princeton-Deepwater District. The dismal weather conditions compliment the future of this line, as NS looks to a... (more)
No. 12 derailed at Mile 4 account sabotage (someone removed a rail) but no one was hurt...the lead engine stayed upright. 2 CPR hoists and the ACR hoist are moving the 182 in preparation for re-ra... (more)
It sure would be nice for this rotary to see some action before winter is through. Our last major snowfall a week and a half ago brought it out of Northtown to Willmar in anticipation of plowing ... (more)
This photo was taken in 2016. It shows the recently rebuilt line from Aus to LĂĽderitz, which was swamped by the ever moving sand dunes. So, I was amazed to see a youtube clip of a train arriving ... (more)
Two SEMTA geeps lead the "Elephant Express" out of Mackinaw City. Power and passenger cars were loaned by Detroit's SEMTA commuter agency. The railroad carferry "Chief Wawatam" is visible in the u... (more)
NS 4817 caught fire, Somerset FD attacking the blaze. No injuries.
After a full day of strong winds and challenging conditions, BNSF dispatched a set of 6 motors to clear drifts on the Jamestown Sub. They're seen here passing the DPU of a coal load that has been ... (more)
My one and only photo of an SP ALCO PA leading a train. SP's City of San Francisco passing thru Martinez. Little did I know that in just over two years, these locomotives would be retired and all... (more)
Western New York and Pennsylvania AC60's 6001 and 6002 greet each other during afternoon switching moves at the road's locomotive shop in Olean, NY.
Eastbound C&O passenger train George Washington rounding the curve at Quinnimont with a C&O 2-6-6-2 resting to the right. Photo by Bob Drake from the Tom Sink Collection
The first major winter storm of the season has decended upon the Blue Mountains of Eastern Oregon and the "Oregon Short Line" - UP's main line between the Pacific Northwest and the Midwest. Tr... (more)
Norfolk Southern intermodal train 21Q (Harrisburg, PA to Chicago, IL) led by recently rebuilt SD70ACu #7305 heads West up the steep grade through 2,375 foot long Horseshoe Curve with a set of help... (more)
Following the Colorado River through colorful Ruby Canyon, Union Pacific’s MRONY freight passes by Utaline, Colorado, on June 13, 2009.
Naked and UnafraidBessemer & Lake Erie Texas type #643 has had a rocky history over the past couple decades. Restored to operating condition in the mid/late 1980s, it was all dresse... (more)
As night settles over Avery, ID, one of the brakemen that will be working the train behind him looks over his car list. Behind him, other Milwaukee Road employees discuss tonight's operations. The... (more)
The Coney Island Yard is the largest rapid transit yard in the world. The complex covers nearly 75 acres and performs heavy maintenance and overhaul on many of the subway cars in New York City.
This is not a locomotive. It is movie prop for the new Christopher Nolan film, INCEPTION. If you look closely at the fake Blomberg trucks, you can see the tires of the three-axle Peterbilt that is... (more)
UP1996 on only it's 2nd run, runs around the curve near castelia with the majestic castle crags bringing up the backdrop, a place where Real Southern Pacific locomotives ran past for years, a spec... (more)
Southern Pacific Camera Car (aka Simulator Car) 8799 is a former Krauss-Maffei ML-4000 SP 9113 (nee-9010). The engine had it's prime mover removed and the front end was rebuilt to house movie cam... (more)
classic case of straight lining as engineer started pulling too soon with too much power before brakes fully released on rear of train putting eighteen cars on theirs sides on this sharp curve
Amtrak's second heritage unit to be released, AMTK 156 in Phase I paint, leads units AMTK 169 and AMTK 140 on the Lakeshore Limited. The train arrived into Cleveland 18 minutes early and allowed p... (more)
I think all of us at some point ask ourselves if what we are doing is worth it. In my case, driving for hours in awful road conditions for a long hood forward geep? After Montana was slammed with ... (more)
High tide at Winslow Junction from the weekend storm that hit the east coast.
My grandfather took this photo in 1950. It's the Grand Canyon Limited. I found it going through his old slides.
A nice line-up of first generation EMD diesels for a special photo shoot at the Wisconsin Great Northern. Lighting by Steve Smedley and Jeffy Terry.
WC 3015 was in a head on Collision with WC 1561 at Green Bay, WI. The 3015 was the trailing unit.
NS 212 crosses Amtrak's Northeast Corridor at CP VALLEY on the former Lehigh Valley mainline. Fitting for the occasion, NS heritage unit #8104 "Lehigh Valley" leads the way. An Amtrak Ac... (more)
MILW 164 leads three more SD40-2s and two SD10s up the grade to Snoqualmie Pass as it heads a dead freight east at Mine Creek trestle. The trestle shows evidence of Milwaukee's engineering efforts... (more)
Flamsbana
A quartet of Burlington Northern EMD SD40-2s and a cabless GE B30-7A B unit, power westbound unit grain train G05 across Two Medicine Bridge at East Glacier, Montana. The Cascade green train stand... (more)
Eastbound KJRY train of empty coal hoppers leaves Iowa for Illinois.
Santa Fe train #75 (the CALIFORNIA SPECIAL) speeds west near Muleshoe in the Texas South Plains. The train originated at Houston the previous evening and is en route to Clovis, New Mexico, and a c... (more)
Otter Tail Valley 194 has been stripped for parts. I would think the trip to the scrapper is not far off.
Drift busting! 2 SD40-2's clear the way after the recent western MN snowfall.
Anticipation Winter air is laden with moisture and a light fog swirls in the airy blue hour of dusk on January 25, 2013. Stillness of the moment is broken as a distant air horn blowing ... (more)
B&O "Davis" Camelback #305 (#217)
The "Camel" locomotives, which were named for their unique shape and cab location, became a trademark of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad (B&O) during the ... (more)
A mainline train apparently had some setouts or pickups along an industrial track here, and at least three units derailed. The RS-11 near the crane has been re-railed, and the C420 at left is next... (more)
The year is 1960; this Electra 225 is fresh off the line from Buick, it's GM cousin the F7 has been out of production for a few years now but is still one of the coolest rides on the road and will... (more)
Union Pacific Big Blow Turbine 6 and a GP30, westbound approaching Laramie.
On a clear night in the Potomac River Valley near Romney, the constant drone of an idling B&O F7(A) echos off the valley, in a photo illuminated by a combination of flash and ambient light. The st... (more)
The biggest storm since '95...That's what the locals are saying anyway... With more than 18" of fresh powder blanketing the C&O mainline, high priority CSX Q136 tunnels through snow drifts from Wi... (more)
Silhouette at Miller Wash
A silhouette, twice as nice, with both Grand Canyon 2-8-0 #29 and 2-8-2 #4960. Photo ops abound at Miller Wash in Coconino County, AZ, some 36 miles north of Wi... (more)
Chicago bound making a station stop.
Espee's train #98 the COAST DAYLIGHT being serviced and crew change at San Luis Obispo. Alco PA-1 #6063 former Texas & New Orleans (SP)#204 unit renumbered in 1959. Photo taken from my slide coll... (more)
Happy Birthday, Norfolk Southern! Thirty years ago today, NS was formed with the merger of the Norfolk and Western and Southern Railway. Later, on June 1, 1999, the Conrail acquisition led to an ... (more)
New York Central E7 A-B units exit Breakneck Tunnel with THE PACEMAKER from Chicago. The four track mainline along the Hudson River has recently become double-tracked.
A Reading & Northern passenger train thunders through the Lehigh Gorge, southbound over an s-curve on the former Lehigh Valley ROW. The track to the left is owned by NS, while the track #425 is o... (more)
Derailed coal wagons at Alcácer. Due to this damage (the track is still being reconstructed), the Alcácer Bypass was put to service, and trains are avoiding this location.
Night is falling, when the "once in a lifetime" common traction of the swiss crocodile and the swedish ore train "monster" Dm3 stopped in Storvik for some minutes. The Ce 6/8 I... (more)
HLS's newest rebuilds, GP40-3 #6500 and GP38-3 #2000 are seen here coupled to freshly painted GP38-2 #2507 at Huntington.
Back-to-back E7s #531 and #535 guide the 'South Wind' through the complex trackage at Chicago's Union Station on July 24, 1964. The every-other-day Chicago to Florida 'South Wind' drew power ... (more)
Central of Georgia passenger train with in the lead E7(A) #807 and E7(A) #804 as just left downtown Atlanta Terminal Station. The station was served by Central of Georgia, Seaboard, Nashville, C... (more)
The mainline rails here are rusty and silent where once Rio Grande trains thundered out of Minturn, Colorado, attacking the steep grade 3% grade over Tennessee Pass. On August 12, 2015, at the eas... (more)
This is a view of the derailment site facing west, you can see the end of the train and the majority of damage from this view.
It's time to say goodbye. Nightly 1950' scene at Loughborough Central station on the Great Central Railway (GCR). The station was opened by the Great Central Railway on 15 March 1899, built to the... (more)
An eastbound manifest led by Union Pacific SD70AH No. 8942 eases down the grade on Main 1 between Buford and Sherman Summit, Wyoming on November 28, 2015.
At the engine depot at Kumasi, the second largest city in Ghana (pop. 1.5m) and birthplace of Kofi Annan. There are no trains reaching here these days because the track to Accra and Takoradi is u... (more)
After Switching from BNSF rails to the UP Palmdale Cutoff at Silverwood, Union Pacific no.4014 slides westbound down grade to Colton in Southern California.The restored Locomotive looking good as ... (more)
A look deep inside the East Broad Top Graveyard at Mt. Union. The Kovalchick Salvage Corporation decided not to scrap the railroad and when they bought it in 1956. In 1961, it officially became a ... (more)
A photograph taken during the 1914-18 war in France showing a 4-6-4T that has fallen into a canal on the Western Front. It was one of 14 engines from an order for 40 built by Beyer, Peacock & Co.,... (more)
BNSF's Barstow, CA classification yard continues to serve as the railroad's principle freight classification point in southern California, a title the busy location has held since it was completed... (more)
The latest in Norfolk Southern’s DC to AC conversion program is SD70ACC 1800, seen here fresh out of the Juniata Paint Shop in Altoona, PA. Original built in 9/1994 as EMD SD70 #2537, 1800 was r... (more)
Steam still prevailed at Cheyenne in '57, it still is home to UP's steam fleet today. For more color views from that day, click heremore)
A set of Amtrak AEM-7's, led by #919, slithers under the night sky leaving the City of Brotherly Love in it's wake.
Night time cab view of BNSF 9183 after stopping to get an air hose to prepare for the shove back to the 6 Belt crossing to park the beast.
Yermo, north of Barstow, is where the UPRR stored most of the DD40Xs after they retired them. This one was still in service in 1972.
Denver had its largest February snowfall ever recorded between February 2nd and 4th 2012. After 48 hours of wind-whipped snow, the clouds finally broke around lunchtime on the 4th to reveal a glor... (more)
The CN was given a wreck this Christmas snarling traffic on their busy Chicago-Canada mainline. Credit to my wife Jen for taking the photo.
