Anyone Else Fascinated By Old Locomotives?

[1st Vette]

These would feed my wood stove for three years if I could figure out how to cut it up lol.

 

[LE BARON]

The arrival of the first train in Beaufort, North Carolina, on June 8, 1907, was a moment of profound transformation and pure communal joy. As citizens gathered on the 200 block of Broad Street, their delight was palpable, marking the end of the town's relative isolation and its formal connection to the wider state and national economy. The sight of the locomotive, having just crossed the newly built railroad bridge from Morehead City, represented progress, opportunity, and a direct link to distant markets. The presence of dignitaries like Governor Robert Glenn and U.S. Senators underscored the event's significance, turning a local celebration into a matter of state pride. This was not merely a new transportation route; it was a lifeline that promised to boost the local fishing and maritime industries, facilitate travel, and usher Beaufort into the modern era. The photograph captures a singular, optimistic moment where an entire community witnesses its future pulling into the station, a future suddenly filled with far greater possibility.

 

[LE BARON]

In November 1936, a captivating photograph captured the grand scale of Cleveland's Union Station as it loomed over a New York Central Mercury train. The image contrasts the station's monumental architecture, symbolizing tradition, with the sleek, modern train, representing the future of fast rail travel. Completed in the early 20th century, Union Station was a bustling hub, showcasing the city's importance in the U.S. railway system. This photograph, by J. Baylor Roberts, highlights a pivotal moment when the past and future of American transportation intersected.

 

[LE BARON]

The establishment of the Rural Valley Railroad in 1899 from Echo to Rural Valley in Armstrong County was a vital infrastructural development driven by the booming coal industry of western Pennsylvania. As a branch of the larger Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh (B.R.&P.) Railroad, its primary purpose was to provide a dedicated transportation link for the extensive operations of the Cowanshannock Coal and Coke Company, servicing all five of its mines. This short line was the economic lifeblood of the area, efficiently moving vast quantities of bituminous coal from the mines to the main line for distribution across the nation. Beyond its industrial function, the railroad also operated passenger services, connecting the residents of these rural communities to the wider region and facilitating travel and commerce. The railroad's existence transformed the local landscape and economy, embodying the era of industrial expansion where small, specialized branch lines were crucial for unlocking the natural resources of the American hinterlands and fueling the nation's growth at the turn of the twentieth century.

 

[LE BARON]

The image of a steam locomotive being transported across the Rio Grande River via a cable system in 1915 is a dramatic testament to the immense challenges and ingenious solutions involved in building America's railroads. This precarious operation was likely part of constructing a new line or relocating equipment to a remote mining or logging site where building a permanent bridge was not yet feasible or economical. The method involved a cableway or aerial tram, where the disassembled locomotive would be carefully lifted and moved in sections across the chasm, a slow and perilous process requiring precise engineering. This photograph captures a fleeting moment in the expansion of the railroad network into the rugged terrain of the American West, illustrating the sheer determination and industrial grit required to conquer natural barriers. It is a powerful symbol of an era when no river or canyon could ultimately halt the progress of the rails, showcasing a remarkable, if temporary, feat of machinery and human will that paved the way for permanent infrastructure.

 

[LE BARON]

2102 gets serviced at Jim Thorpe before it's return trip to North Reading. An often-overlooked aspect of steam operated excursions is the maintenance involved on the locomotive(s). Many thanks to the dedicated efforts of the Reading and Northern's steam crew for making these outings trouble free.

 

[LE BARON]

Running through a foot of freshly fallen snow, Union Pacific Big Boy No. 4014 rolls northbound at milepost 7 between Adams and Dupont on the Greeley Subdivision on November 26, 2019. After departing Denver earlier that morning, the big locomotive heads home to Cheyenne on its last leg of a two month tour of the southwest amid a flurry of flakes.

R

 

[LE BARON]

The last roto-funby of the day. This was my first Union Pacific fan trip and it was special for two reasons 1) no aux tender in the consist yet and 2) my first cab ride in 3985.

 

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The Grand Trunk/Canadian National train station in Sherbrooke in the 1920s

 

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Must be AI enhanced for those colours

Grand Trunk Railway station in Southampton (ON) in 1912

 

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Canadian Pacific Railway depot in Wakefield in the 1930s

 

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A stereoscopic card of the Grand Trunk Railway Depot in Lévis, circa late 1870s-1880s

 

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Pretty good colours for 1918

Canadian Pacific freight train stopped at Campbell's Bay station in 1918

 

[LE BARON]

Never say "Never" when it comes to the age of steam railroading. Just when you thought you had seen everything, a new image like this pops up.

The date was January 10, 1953 and the Western Pacific has suffered a large rock slide 46 miles east of Oroville on their Feather River line. This has caused the highest priority train, the California Zephyr to be re-routed over Southern Pacific's Donner Pass line.

Fortunately for us, Alvon J. Thoman was trackside at Colfax, California as SP Cab-Ahead #4192 dropped downgrade with here unusual trailing consist.

 

[LE BARON]

Not all steam locomotives built in the steam era were built on the order of a certain railroad. There were times that the locomotive builders had time to build an engine purely on the speculation that they could sell it to a certain market. This appears to be such a locomotive, but it really isn't.

By November 1914 the Baldwin Locomotive Works had started to perfect the 70-ton 2-8-2 for the logging industry of the Pacific Northwest. They had made the first sales of 2-8-2's to the loggers of that region beginning in 1907. Sales picked up each year thereafter. Thus was born Baldwin 2-8-2 c/n 41710 seen here.

This engine appears to be built on spec because Baldwin lettered her for the factory itself. This engine had actually been ordered by a specific lumber company and Baldwin was simply using her in this lettering to use in future Baldwin advertising. This provided Baldwin with a good photo for use in future marketing ads for this popular design.

While this engine appears to be built on spec it really isn't. It was ordered by the Columbia & Nehalem River RR and shipped to that logging outfit in Northwest Oregon to be their #117. You can see the #117 in the headlight side boards and on the spot plate. Before she would finally leave the factory she will be re-painted and lettered for her true owner.

Baldwin knew how to sell locomotives

 

[LE BARON]

The date of his photo is June 20, 1942 and any photography of railroads (especially those on the West Coast) is frowned upon due to the fear of espionage with the onset of WW-2.

Mr. Lloyd took a risk when he traveled to San Luis Obisbo and caught the slow moving scrap train on the Pacific Coast Railway on this warm summer day. Time had run out for this narrow gauge line and even the war effort would not be able to generate enough new business to save the line. In fact, the war effort sadly needed the scrap iron from the line and it's rolling stock more than the railroad itself.

Within a short time after Mr. Lloyd captured this image, the line was gone and then the scrappers would finish their job by cutting up #105 herself. The materials she yielded along with that of the railroad itself would aid in the Country's ultimate victory in the War which is some comfort that the PCR did not die in vain.

 

[LE BARON]

The older the steam locomotive the more likely you are to see the features we see on this aging 4-4-0 beauty.

The Corvallis & Eastern certainly was getting their money's worth out of this engine. She sports the wood racks on her tender and diamond stack so common on wood-burning locomotives. Here fluted domes and wood cab are also signs of her 1886 build date by the Cooke Locomotive Works.

Next we see the wood pole hanging from her tender for use when "poling" cars on adjacent tracks into place. Of course her arch-bar tender trucks also date her as a product of 19th century.

Finally we see on her fireman's running board the unmistakable can that can only mean that her ancient oil burning headlight has been "up-graded" to a carbide lamp that now burns acetylene.