Southern's famous fan trip queen (and the first 2-8-2 owned by the company) is getting watered and serviced during the layover at Middlesboro, KY, on a round trip from Knoxville for the Old Smoky ... (more)

An eastbound CSX coal train cruises downgrade into Jasper, VA and is greeted by a clear signal at the west end of the signaled siding. The geographic feature behind the train is known as Cliff Mou... (more)

Inside the UP roundhouse at Cheyenne, a few treasures await calls to duty--while others, such as 2-10-2 number 5511, slumber on.

N&W 1218 shows her articulation to full advantage as she slowly eases around the tight wye at Bulls Gap, TN. The engine is handling a Bristol-Morristown r/t, but had to turn here and be towed on t... (more)

In an abortive attempt to turn the engine on the wye at Kingsport, UP 3985--disguised as "Clinchfield 676" for the 50th running of the Santa train--eases back. Alas, the big centipede tender of th... (more)

The 50th running of the famed Clinchfield Santa train gallops along the McClure River behind UP 3985, temporarily disguised as "Clinchfield 676." The CRR operated some identical engines in the lat... (more)

A graduate of SP's memorable SD45 rebuild program at its Sacramento Shops is poised to lead an eastbound over Donner Pass in this scene from the strange days of the still-born SP-Santa Fe merger.

One of UP's (then) ubiquitous SD40-2s leads an eastbound APL (American President Line) stack train up the west slope of Sherman Hill late in the afternoon. Ahead lies the dual bores of Hermosa Tun... (more)

Illustrative of the power-short days on the L&N in 1975-1980 is this morning scene at the small coalfield terminal of Loyall, Kentucky. Leased/borrowed SCL and N&W SD45s congregate with L&N's own ... (more)

Prudent are the engineers who follow years of experience gained the hard way as they throttle back three or four notches when they pass through Jones' Cut at Irondale, VA. This vertical curve on t... (more)

At 47'7", Bee Rock Tunnel certainly ranked among the shortest railroad tunnels in the US. The old newspaper feature "Ripley's Believe It or Not" once featured Bee Rock as the "shortest railroad tu... (more)

The gentleman in the blue shirt wearing a moustache and standing (center) on the rear platform of Southern's "Lookout Mountain" is none other than NS CEO Wick Moorman. At the time, Wick was the di... (more)

Compared to the dearth of such rides now, the heyday of the Southern Steam Program brought some tremendous opportunities to ride behind main line steam over some very exotic routes. The "Independe... (more)

This photo of CSX 7909 South meeting Q690 at remote Rocky, NC (on the "Loops") was a double page spread in my article, "Men Against Mountains," in the October 2001 issue of Trains Magazine. Here's... (more)

The 1989 Santa Claus Special is stopped at Dante, VA to allow Santa his "elves" to throw out candy and gifts. The church on the left is the iconic Union Baptist Church--a photographic prop used by... (more)