Electroliner

Electroliner, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

We looked at the Electroliner earlier this year, after the IRM had it on a rare day on display outdoors. I really like a lot of the details on this train-everything fits into the late 30's/early 40's design aesthetic, from the interior to the iconic Electroliner script on the outside.

Centennial

Centennial, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

Union Pacific's EMD DDA40X Centennial locomotive, parked at the Illinois Railway Museum. I wish I'd have been able to see it running-the only other Centennial I've seen is the IRM's own example, which is currently non-operational.

Eighty Six Forty Six

Chicago & North Western 8646, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

The Chicago and North Western was a midwestern rail icon, known for it's distinctive yellow and green locomotives and "400" series of passenger trains. This is particularly true around the Chicago area, which was the road's hub-after all, people still call Ogilvie Transportation Center "North Western Station", despite the fact that the distinctive station was demolished in the 80's.

Quite a few old CNW railcars are still running around the Union Pacific system, eighteen years after the two companies merged and the North Western's name phased out. There are even a few yellow and green locomotives in use, but only two still carry their original numbers and CNW logos. This is one of them, captured at rest at the LaFox Metra station.

Fox River Crossing

Fox River Crossing, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

This is the former Chicago Great Western railroad bridge over the Fox River, in St. Charles, Illinois. Originally part of CGW's mainline to Oelwein, Iowa, this line became a secondary route after the CGW was bought by the Chicago and North Western (another classic Midwestern road), which gradually cut the line shorter and shorter. Latterly part of the Union Pacific system, this line ended a few miles west of the bridge, dead ending just before a highway crossing. Today it's unused, the last customer on that side of the Fox having closed in 2009, and today the rails are cut off from the rest of the system by road construction on Route 64, which tore up the tracks at the grade crossing and which have not been reinstated.

Abandoned in place, the bridge and the tracks that are still there are some of the few remaining CGW structures in the area, which includes a few repurposed stations to the east and another bridge further west. One of the biggest legacies of the CGW is the Great Western Trail, a bike path that uses the former right of way, including that westernmost bridge in Elburn.

Zephyr!

Zephyr!, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

The west wind, known as the Zephyr, is considered to be the mildest and most favorable of the directional winds. In Greek mythology, Zephyrus was the personification of the west wind, bringer of spring and summer.

I've long thought this was an appropriate name for the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy's famed name trains, most of which typically ran in an east west direction. But, they were also the Burlington's top flight service, and pioneered fast diesels on passenger trains. Fleet, like the wind. This is the lone remaining operable Zephyr train set, the Nebraska Zephyr, currently resident at the Illinois Railway Museum. We've visited it before, but I always think it's worth another look.

Rapid Transit

Rapid Transit, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

Former CTA 5000 series cars. These are, I believe, the sole survivors of just four built.

Nebraska Zephyr

Nebraska Zephyr, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

We've looked at the Nebraska Zephyr a few times now, so I won't bore you with it's history. Suffice to say that this unique train is one of, if not the the, crown jewels of the Illinois Railway Museum's collection. They run it on the Museum's tracks regularly, but rarely off-campus. So it was a pleasant surprise to catch it in rural Somonauk, Illinois, as it passed through on an excursion trip from Chicago to Quincy, along one of the original Zephyr routes.

37A

37A, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

An old EMD E-9A, built in 1961. Electro-Motive's E series (and it's cousin, the F-series freight engine) is an icon of American railroading. Built between 1937 and 1963, these cab units (so named because of the car-like shape to their noses) were easy to use and maintain, and their ease of being run in tandem revolutionized railroading. They also proved to be long-lasting-E-series passenger units were still being used in commuter service into the early 1990's, and plenty of short lines continue to use them today, almost fifty years after production ceased.

This late example is a former Milwaukee Road unit, and is on display at the Illinois Railway Museum.

The North Western

The North Western, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

A former Chicago and North Western EMD GP-7R, originally delivered to the Rock Island, and dating from 1952. The GP-series of locomotives was originally designed to be a jack-of-all-trades sort of engine, capable of pulling freight or passengers, or doing some yard work as needed. General Purpose, as the designation goes, similar to a certain long-running off road vehicle. One wonders why nobody calls these "Jeeps" too!

I'm told that this particular example, which resides at the Illinois Railway Museum, was originally purchased for parts for the Museum's other GP-7 (the first one delivered, in fact!), but was discovered to be in good running shape. So the decision was to put it to use, and I've seen it pulling passenger coaches as well as moving stuff around the yards. I;m told that there is a plan afoot to restore it to it's original Rock Island livery.

Travel by Pullman

Pullman, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

Although the company made all types of rail cars-including freight cars and trolleys-Pullman is best known for it's luxurious passenger cars. Inspired by an uncomfortable overnight trip in which he tried to sleep in his seat, founder George Pullman decided to come up with a better solution. The earliest Pullman sleeper cars featured double berths-the upper ones folded down from the walls of the car, and the seats folded to become the lowers. Curtains provided privacy for occupants, there were washrooms for both men and women at each end of the car. In addition, the company provided staffing for their cars, and Pullman porters became fixtures at train stations all across the country . Pullman also hired black men as porters, offering better pay and opportunity for travel than most jobs open to them at the time. At one point, Pullman was the largest employer of black men in the U.S.

This car is a later, lightweight stainless car, and was used on the Northern Pacific. It's currently a display at the Illinois Railway Museum.

Leviathan

Leviathan, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

The Leviathan, locomotive number 63, was built for the Central Pacific Railroad in 1868, one of four purchased from the Schenectady Locomotive Works. A wood burning locomotive, the Leviathan was a sister to the famous Jupiter, which participated in the famous Golden Spike ceremony on the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad.

Like the Jupiter and their other sisters, the Leviathan was scrapped many years ago-as trains got longer these small, early locomotives could no longer keep up. This stunning recreation of number 63 was completed in 2009, and tours American railroad museums and other special events. It's beautiful, and offers an interesting glimpse to an important part of history.

Swift

Swift, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

A vintage refrigerated rail car, once owned by the Swift company.

The Action Road

The Action Road, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

Originally formed as a narrow-gauge road running south from Denver, the Denver and Rio Grande Western grew to be one of the major railroads of the western United States. The Rio Grande became known for it's mountainous routes, which were used to good effect on it's passenger trains. The Rio Grande was also one of the few railroads not to join Amtrak in 1971, continuing to run it's Rio Grande Zephyr between Denver and Ogden, Utah, until 1983. The Zephyr was the last private, intercity train in the United States.

Eventually, the Rio Grande was absorbed into the Union Pacific monolith, along with it's partner the Southern Pacific. DRGW stuff is rare in the system now-a few locomotives are still running around, as well as some old freight cars. This is an old coal hopper, one of a string I spotted parked up in rural Illinois.

North Western

North Western, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

Bi-level gallery cars first started to appear in the 1950's on Chicago's commuter lines. A double decker design, they featured an open space between both sides of the upper level, allowing conductors to collect tickets from the lower level. It's a pretty efficient design, and one that is still in use on Metra today.

This is a former Chicago and North Western car, and was made by the St. Louis Car company in 1955.

Travel and Sleep, In Safety and Comfort

Pacific Peak, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

Such was the motto of the Pullman Company, a name that would become synonymous with rail travel and luxury. Founder George Pullman was inspired to design a better rail car, after spending an overnight train journey trying to sleep in his seat. His design would go on to be built, in one form or another, until the 1970's.

This car, Pacific Peak, ran with the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy, and is currently on display at the Illinois Railway Museum.

Wye

Signal, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

In railroad terminology, a wye is a triangular arrangement of tracks, allowing three lines to connect. It's often used to turn trains around, allowing them to do a sort of three point turn. Usually there's a switch or signal at each corner as well.

This is one corner of such an arrangement, at the Illinois Railway Museum. It's guarded by this unusual, short position signal. The only other place I've seen similar signals is at Chicago's North Western Station...er, I mean Ogilvie Transportation Center. I don't think they're in use at Ogilvie, though, however I think they date back to CNW days.

The J

The Elgin, Joliet, and Eastern Railway is-or was-a popular Chicago area road. Formed in the late 1800's with the merging of several local railroads in Illinois and Indiana, and sought to serve the industries in the Gary-Hammond corridor. This paid off, and in 1900 U.S. Steel bought the EJ&E, and remained a steward of the road for the rest of it's existence. The J was a popular road with local railfans, mainly because of it's friendly (and fan-friendly) employees, and distinctive orange locomotives.

It was the EJ&E's route that avoided the congestion in Chicago that made the EJ&E attractive to other railroads, although none tried to merge or take over the J until Canadian National in 2007. The deal was closed in 2009, CN using the J's line to route freight around the busy rail hub in Chicago. This was met with controversy among residents in the Chicago suburbs, as they would now see up to six trains a day, rather than the two or so that the J would run, often at night.

I live near the J's line, north near the town of Wayne, which is where I took this shot. I seldom, if ever, saw a train on this line, as the J often ran at night or early in the day, but I've been stopped by a few Canadian National trains in the last few years. Most of the time they're pulled by CN's familiar black and red locomotives, but this one, back in March had one of the remaining EJ&E locomotives in the lead.

Santa Fe All The Way

The Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad is one of the classic American roads. Founded in the 1850's, the Santa Fe grew west from Topeka, eventually crossing the Rockies twenty years later. Through mergers and acquisitions the company grew rapidly, and by the mid twentieth century was just about the largest road in America. Famed for it's passenger service, Santa Fe's Chiefs were renowned for their top-tier service and dome cars to help passengers better enjoy the fabulous Western scenery. The iconic red-and-silver "Warbonnet" featured heavily in advertising, and was so famous that eventually the Santa Fe resurrected it for it's freight service.

This is a later ATSF passenger locomotive, an EMD FP45. Based on a freight engine, the 45 was designed to have a smoother "cowl" style body like the classic E units, rather than the more workmanlike freight trains. The Santa Fe was the major buyer of these units-nine of the fourteen build went to the road. When Amtrak took over passenger service the FP's went on freight duty. Six of the Santa Fe's old units still survive, including this one at the Illinois Railway Museum.

The Santa Fe name sort of lives on, as the "SF" part of BNSF, and even today you can still spot classic warbonnets plying the rails.

Oscar Mayer

Oscar Mayer, originally uploaded by William 74.

While not the most common rail cars (especially now), box cars are probably the most versatile, with the ability to carry just about anything that can be loaded into it. Originally they were hand loaded, but of course forklifts and other devices have sped up the process. However, box cars are still a good deal slower to load and unload than other types of car, which helps to explain the decline in their use since World War II. They've been largely supplanted by intermodal containers, which can be loaded once at the factory and unloaded once at their final destination.

This happens to be an old Oscar Mayer car. That's right, the hot dog and baloney people. A lot of companies had their own fleets of box cars, which sped up the shipping process a bit and also provided a nice rolling billboard.

Through the Viewfinder Tuesday!

Be Specific, originally uploaded by William 74.

I missed last week, so to make it up to you here's a brand new-ish image! This is the lead unit of a Union Pacific freight train, heading west towards Omaha. There's nothing really special about the subject-I've shot loads of similar photos of similar yellow UP locomotives, and a front threequarters view is pretty much the default for railroad photography. However, this is the very first time I've tried using my TtV setup to shoot a moving train-the awkwardness of a typical contraption, combined with the reversed view, has always put me off. But I seem to have gotten some good results with it, so I'll probably continue with it. Plus, I like the vintage feel.