Classic Trains Summer 2018

Road-Switcher for the Little Guys
By Russell Tedder
General Electric's nimble 70-ton diesel was a popular choice for short lines seeking to modernize in the post-World War II era

Magma Arizona: The Almost Last Day of Steam
By David Bell
A rumor-based trek from Colorado to Arizona in July 1968 pays off

What's in a Photograph? East Jordan & Southern Mixed Special
By Jerry A. Pinkepank
On March 25, 1961, this northern Michigan line put its Mogul and combine on the regular freight for railfans

Empire State Variety
By J. David Ingles
On a five-day auto trip from Detroit in August 1962, the nine little railroads we photographed differed widely

Photo Special
16 photos (13 in color) show us 14 short lines (5 in steam) in 12 states from Vermont to Mississippi to California

The Obscure Ohio & Morenci
By Doug Leffler
After succeeding the abandoned Toledo & Western interurban, this interstate freight-hauling short line lasted two decades

Southern Hospitality
By Frank Tatnall
Little Birmingham & Southeastern was short on business but long on courtesy

Last Steam Standing
By Karl Zimmermann
In 1970, a little railroad in Alabama was the last practitioner of an unbroken tradition that spanned nearly 150 years

Train Times at Pasadena
By Stan Kistler
For a budding teenage railfan in 1946, Santa Fe's depot was the classroom and its locomotive engineers the teachers

A Saturday Morning at Croxton
By William E. Botkin
Hungry for more than commuter trains and single-unit local freights, two friends seek out Erie Lackawanna big diesels and mainline action

Cinders: a Forgotten Commodity
By Borgon Tanner
One railroad found some creative ways to dispose of tons of steam-locomotive waste

The Best of Everything: Good Years in Providence
By Chris Burger
College in Rhode Island cemented my ties to the New Haven and laid a foundation for the future