Union Pacific 4-12-2 9514, Class UP-5, was built by ALCO in 1930, one of eighty-eight locomotives. As built, she was numbered 9077, later re-numbered to 9514. These three-cylinder locomotives had... (more)

In 1946 four 25 year old F-19 C&O Pacifics were converted by the C&O to class L-1 Hudsons (490-493). They were modernized with new cast frames, Poppet valves, roller bearings on all axles, the lat... (more)

Chesapeake & Ohio 2-6-6-6 No 1629 was built by the Lima Locomotive Company in 1944, one of 25 Alleghenies in the third order of these locomotives. These H-8 Class single-expansion articulateds had... (more)

Chesapeake & Ohio 2-6-6-6 No 1629 was built by the Lima Locomotive Company in 1944, one of 25 Alleghenies in the third order of these locomotives. These H-8 Class single-expansion articulateds had... (more)

Spokane Portland & Seattle 4-6-6-4 Class Z-6 900 was the first of six "Challengers" built by the American Locomotive Company in 1937. She had 69" drivers, four 23 x 32 inch cylinders, operated at ... (more)

My final trip to the C&NW 40th Street Shops was just before May 22, 1956, the last day for C&NW steam in Chicago. The only operational steam locomotives I saw on this visit were several 0-6-0s and... (more)

Burlington 4-6-4 4000 was built in 1930 as No. 3002, a member of class S-4, by the Baldwin Locomotive Works. This class had 78-inch drivers, boiler pressure of 250 pounds per square inch, and 25x2... (more)

The Orange Blossom Special operated Between New York and Miami (with a section that served Tampa/St. Petersburg) only during the winter vacation season. The classic heavyweight consist had been eq... (more)

My final trip to the C&NW 40th Street Shops was just before May 22, 1956, the last day for C&NW steam in Chicago. The only operational steam locomotives I saw on this visit were several 0-6-0s and... (more)

NYC J-3a Hudson 5414, with a long mail train and several rider coaches bringing up the rear, departs Chicago's La Salle Street Station on a cold winter day toward the end of New York Central steam... (more)

Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe 3450 was the first of ten 4-6-4s (road number 3450 through 3459) built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1927. As built they had 74 inch drivers, 25 x 28 inch cylinder... (more)

Atlantic Coast Line 4-8-2 Class J-1 1405 was one of five 4-8-2s built by ALCO in 1924 for the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad as their class P-1. They were sold to ACL in World War II for ... (more)

Calumet Yard, on Chicago's south side, was the home of the last roundhouse built in the United States, completed in 1952. By this late date, NKP 173 was used as protection power for the ALCO PAs o... (more)

Burlington's Denver Zephyr surprised me while I was waiting for the mail train in the background (shown in image 354169). It came out of nowhere and was by me in a flash. It had to be hitting at l... (more)

Lima Locomotive Works introduced the new concept of "Super Power" in the 1920s, thanks to Lima's mechanical engineer William E. Woodward. Woodard defined "Super Power" as "horsepower at speed". Pr... (more)