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Posted on October 4, 2018October 11, 2018 by admin

A Tiny Rail Tale

Welcome to Tiny Town, Colorado. This wagon is one of the few things that is full size at the park.

The Colorado mountains are full of small towns that have seen their share of boom times and busts. Many of these towns sprang up due to mining, logging, or other industries, and many have turned into ghost towns. On our trip to Colorado in the summer of 2017, we visited a unique Colorado mountain town that has seen booms and busts, but thankfully, is still thriving today. This town however, is very different than any other town. So, what’s the big deal with this town? The big deal is that it is actually a very Tiny Town!

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Posted on September 27, 2018October 4, 2018 by admin

Brookhaven Out

Most of us remember graduating from a Train Watcher to a Railroad Enthusiast. Much like graduating from one school grade to the next, making that transition took education and a drive to learn. Sometimes, locations served as “schools,” helping us move forward. Frequently, those schools were filled with teachers in the form of friends or family who had an interest in railroads. However, there are times when railroad employees step into that teaching role. Such was the case with my “graduation” from Train Watcher to Railroad Enthusiast.

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Posted on September 20, 2018September 27, 2018 by admin

Tower Architecture

“CW Cabin” – Hinton, West Virginia – Chesapeake & Ohio – Robert Staples photo

Railroads today are very standardized in their operations and equipment. It is very difficult to distinguish one railroad from another other than by their paint scheme. Things were different in the golden age of railroading. The railroads were very different from each other in terms of operating practices, the equipment used to move freight, and even the structures used to support operations such as depots or interlocking towers.

I will cover just the general look and design that the railroads followed most of the time. Please keep in mind that there were always exceptions to the rules.

Each railroad’s towers had their distinctive look and most followed a standard design or plan, but even within the same railroad, the towers could differ in looks or style from line to line. Read more

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Posted on September 13, 2018September 20, 2018 by admin

The Ticket Agent’s Last Day

The former Santa Fe Depot at Topeka, KS. at 5:00 am. The lights are still on, but no one works here anymore. The last ticket agent at the depot saw his last train depart on May 19, 2018

By 1880, the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway had an operating depot in the City of Topeka, Kansas. For roughly the next 120 years, that depot was manned daily by a ticket agent until Amtrak went to a five day work week for the agent. During the days when the Santa Fe operated the depot, trains like the California Limited, Grand Canyon, Antelope, Kansas Cityan, and Scout all made stops at Topeka, along with many nameless trains known only by a number. The number of trains would decrease in the years leading up to the inception of Amtrak. When Amtrak began operating over the Santa Fe, trains like the Super Chief, El Capitan, and Texas Chief all made stops in Topeka during the early years of Amtrak Service.

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Posted on September 6, 2018September 13, 2018 by admin

“I photographed what I saw”

Jim Shaughnessy

Railroad Photographer
1933 – 2018

In 1959, a third grade boy borrowed a train book from the school library and sat down to enjoy it in the school cafeteria. Soon special pictures filled his imagination.

There was a nocturnal image of the 1852 train shed in St. Albans, Vermont, displaying a immense Central Vermont Mountain locomotive . . . Read more

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Railroad Photographer 1933 – 2018

Railroad Photographer
1933 – 2018