TRAINS August 2004

Horseshoe Curve: 150 years
The hill, the shop town, the locomotives, the four-track main, the fascination — complete with incredible fold-outs.

Rio Grande commodities
What is inside those cars, anyway? Products of the earth hauled by the Rio Grande: Where it goes, what it's used for, and why it matters.

Map of the Month: Top intermodal lanes
A map of the largest intermodal lanes shows how railroads have capitalized on the trailer and container boom … and where they have fallen short.

Railroad Blueprint: Santa Fe's Surf Line, 1940
How's this for beach reading? Santa Fe's L.A.-San Diego line had it all: sun, sand and, in 1941, Warbonnets.

Plus expert analysis covering every aspect of railroading.

Railroad News & Photos UP still fighting to beat congestion, and Western Pacific's California Zephyr recreated for a day.

Don Phillips: When is Trains going to run out of steam? Its editors have always kept the fires burning, but the next person could dump the ashes.

Larry Kaufman:Shippers get real about competitive access, admitting they'd really just rather have more capacity.

Locomotives:EMD, GE churning out new units.

Passenger Rail:"Union station" now means train plus bus.

City Rail:What's old is new at a transit line near you: new and rebuilt cars and lines surface in New Orleans, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Minneapolis.

Preservation:Wicasset, Waterville & Farmington: Maine's two-foot empire gains new life.