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Thurston Lee: 1943
... into a dormitory at the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad yard." Medium-format safety negative by Jack Delano for the Office of War ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/26/2012 - 9:56pm -

March 1943. Barstow, California. "Brakeman Thurston H. Lee (whose home is in Chicago) going to bed at the reading room in Barstow, California. This room has been converted from a billiard room into a dormitory at the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad yard." Medium-format safety negative by Jack Delano for the Office of War Information. View full size. ConvertedYes, but the scoring system left in place... I *love* that 16 foot ceiling! Trying to figure out what Thurston is doing in Barstow. His apparel suggests he’s in passenger service, perhaps braking on the Chief or Super Chief out of Chicago. But if so, what‘s he doing in a bunk house---er, sorry, I mean “dormitory”---in Barstow, some 100 miles east of the westward terminus of Los Angeles? Is he in freight service, thousands of miles from home? I doubt it. Not just the scoring system...They also left the high chairs along the wall. The folding chair could sure use a little work though. Harvey House leftoversThis dormitory area was made out of part of a converted Harvey House. If you can imagine it, the outside of this building looked like this: (The Gallery, Jack Delano, Railroads)
Industrial Omaha: 1938
November 1938. "Nebraska Power Co. plant and railroad yard at Omaha." Medium format negative by John Vachon for the Farm Security ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/08/2019 - 4:02pm -

November 1938. "Nebraska Power Co. plant and railroad yard at Omaha." Medium format negative by John Vachon for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Okay, here's your train geek comment She's a Chicago & North Western class E 4-6-2, built in Schenectady by ALCO in 1909-10. Most of this class lasted until the early post WW2 years, by then relegated to commuter work. Lovely engine, hard to go wrong looks-wise with any American passenger loco of the early 20th century. And she's near the far southwestern corner of the CNW route map, working Omaha. Ice plantI notice the proximity of the Omaha Ice & Cold Storage Co. to the power plant. I don't know about Nebraska, but in the early 20th century, electric utilities in Texas were required by their state charters to also provide ice for household refrigeration. The cultural impact of this outlasted the domestic demand for block ice by several decades. Pacific Type LocomotiveMe too, me too! Built for fast passenger service. Very successful design. Was the predominant express passenger motive power for nearly the entire the steam era. K, that felt good. (The Gallery, John Vachon, Omaha, Railroads)
Illinois Central: 1942
... Illinois. Engine taking on coal at an Illinois Central Railroad yard." Medium-format negative by Jack Delano. View full size. Parts ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/21/2014 - 12:40pm -

November 1942. "Chicago, Illinois. Engine taking on coal at an Illinois Central Railroad yard." Medium-format negative by Jack Delano. View full size. PartsThis is apparently a switching locomotive, as indicated by the sandbox (sometimes called a dome) atop the boiler in front of the cab, with it's sand delivery pipe running down the side of the firebox to deliver dry sand to the top of the rail behind the rear driving wheels for additional traction when starting to move a heavy cut of cars. Illinois Central locomotives, such as this one, had very commodious cabs. Small windows in the front wall of the cab, directly behind the sandbox, are to allow the engineer, and fireman, to see the color of the smoke as it is expelled out the stack - information important to maintaining the proper, efficient operation of the locomotive. The three parallel pipes running out of the picture to the right, from below the engineers position in the cab, are air brake control lines. The "broken grate" firebox (the bottom of which is indicated by the double row of rivets just below the air brake lines) is above the driving wheels, indicating that this engine was designed about two decades before this portrait. The gadget on the side of the boiler, directly below the sandbox is the injector. A simple, inexpensive, reliable, and miraculous device under the control of the engineer, that has been applied to every steam locomotive since the Civil War. With no moving parts, it takes steam from the boiler (the pipe connection at the top), sucks water from the tender (the connection below, that runs diagonally below the cab), and forces that water forward (the pipe to the right) into the boiler! This locomotive also has been equipped with a canvas awning above the engineers window (now, rolled up). This enables the engineer to stick his head out and look back, during inclement weather, to see signals during switching movements. Recently rebuilt 3600 class 2-10-0 locomotiveThe IC constructed 15 2-10-0 locomotives which were numbered from 3610 to 3624 over a period from 1939 to 1941. These were big engines that were pieced together from salvaged 2-8-2 and 2-10-2 locomotives. The lack of a trailing truck under the cab makes this an engine unsuited for much switching work as the trailing truck helps guide the drivers thru curves and switches. (The Gallery, Chicago, Jack Delano, Railroads)
Domeliner: 1940
September 1940. Washington, D.C. "Railroad tracks with view of the U.S. Capitol in background." Photo by Edwin ... was completed on this stretch of track to Potomac Yard near Alexandria, VA in early 1935. (The Gallery, D.C., Edwin Rosskam, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/21/2013 - 1:10pm -

September 1940. Washington, D.C. "Railroad tracks with view of the U.S. Capitol in background." Photo by Edwin Rosskam. View full size. No CoincidenceThat the Capitol dome appears to be straight down the track at this point, since the rails follow the alignment of Maryland Avenue, SW, one of the avenues radiating from the Capitol. Just below the catenary they curve to follow the alignment of Virginia Avenue, SW, then turn into a tunnel to Union Station. Behind the photographer, they cross the Long Bridge into Virginia. [Here's a Google Street View. -tterrace] View Larger Map 23 Years before...Seen here on Shorpy. This must have been a favorite vantage point! The PRR's electrification was completed on this stretch of track to Potomac Yard near Alexandria, VA in early 1935. (The Gallery, D.C., Edwin Rosskam, Railroads)
Field of Wheels: 1942
... axles outside the locomotive shops at an Illinois Central Railroad yard." Medium-format nitrate negative by Jack Delano for the Office of War ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/04/2016 - 9:54pm -

November 1942. Chicago. "Wheels and axles outside the locomotive shops at an Illinois Central Railroad yard." Medium-format nitrate negative by Jack Delano for the Office of War Information. View full size. Round and round she goesThese wheels show a mix of eras. The wheels with a "pie plate" backing are steel, as all railroad wheels are today (in the US, at least). The wheels with the ribbed backing are made of iron. Those ribs are actually cooling fins to assist in cooling wheels heated by braking action. Iron wheels date back to the earliest days of railroading. They had a bad tendency to develop cracks that, if left unresolved, would cause the wheel to break up. The railroads were constantly replacing such wheels. Old photos of shop facilities always show wheelsets all around that have been removed from cars. Iron wheels caused many wrecks and killed more than a few people over the years. It's a wonder why they weren't banned from interchange until the early 1950's. Visible on the ends of the axles are the large brass bearings. These turned in journals filled with lubricating oil. The so-called friction bearings are now banned from interchange also. They have been replaced by roller bearings; much less maintenance needed. (The Gallery, Jack Delano, Railroads)
Rio Grande: 1940
September 1940. "Railroad yards. Durango, Colorado." Medium format negative by Russell Lee for ... is currently parked “out back” at the Chama yard with an uncertain future. 485, though, was the hard-luck kid of the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/05/2018 - 3:03pm -

September 1940. "Railroad yards. Durango, Colorado." Medium format negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. The non-survivorThe D&RGW’s K-36 class of locos may be one of the best preserved anyplace. Eight of the ten from this order are still operational, either on the Durango & Silverton or the Cumbres & Toltec. A ninth, #483, underwent partial cosmetic restoration and stabilization by the C&TS but is currently parked “out back” at the Chama yard with an uncertain future. 485, though, was the hard-luck kid of the bunch. She crashed into the turntable pit at Salida in 1954 and was too badly damaged to be worth repairing; she was scrapped the next year. (The Gallery, Railroads, Russell Lee)
Heroes' Welcome: 1919
... At the time of this parade, there would have been a railroad switch yard between Michigan Avenue and a much smaller Grant Park. The tracks were ... 
 
Posted by Christoph Traugott - 11/12/2018 - 4:08pm -

Chicago, May 12, 1919. "Return Parade for the 13th Railway Engineers, Michigan Boulevard." View full size. For another view, click here.         Thirteenth Engineers Returns to Chicago. The greatest reception given to any organization of returning soldiers at Chicago was given to the 13th Railway Engineers on May 12. Its welcome to its home town was unequaled in point of enthusiasm and spectacular expression in the after war history of the city. Approximately 100,000 people banked Michigan Boulevard on both sides and maintained a bedlam of noise as the regiment paraded in platoon formation. Employees of the six railroads centering in Chicago from which the 13th Engineers was mainly recruited were organized in groups along Michigan Boulevard to welcome the men. -— Railway Age and Railway Review, 1919 During World War I, the regiment known as the 13th Engineers consisted of personnel from the six largest railroads that ran through Chicago; it operated about 142 kilometers of French railways, serving the Verdun-St. Mihiel, Champagne-Marne, and Meuse Argonne sections. The scan is from a family photo album titled "My Vacation Days," with dates ranging from 1914 to 1922. Delayed ReturnI wonder if they really took this long from the end of the war to get back or if their skills were so sorely needed post-armistice that they had much work to do getting European railroads back into action again. [It's the parade that was delayed. Because Chicago winters. - Dave] Marching OrdersThe Michigan Avenue marchers are rapidly approaching the intersection of Michigan and E. Van Buren Street which would have crossed right in front of the tallest building in the picture to the left. Except for the gabled building (4th from left-front) which has been replaced with a building which respects the design of the other two buildings to the left, all those buildings exist today, including the small 5-story building which now has a remodeled facade. At the time of this parade, there would have been a railroad switch yard between Michigan Avenue and a much smaller Grant Park. The tracks were subsequently lowered and covered over to make a much larger Grant Park which now borders Michigan Avenue. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery)
Industrial Strength: 1901
... to the west of the Great Lakes Towing Company (G Tug) yard. The concrete framed drydock entrance is still there, visited it a few ... westward from the old lakefront depot. Beyond the railroad is where the Lakefront Ore Docks are now. The breakwall is apparently ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/28/2019 - 7:29pm -

Lake Erie circa 1901. "Ore docks and harbor -- Cleveland, O." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Photographic Company. View full size. Whiskey IslandSince nobody has commented yet on this wonderful scene, here is my attempt to get things started. There is much more unexplained than what I can surmise, especially those odd disconnected trestles. The boat (not called a ship on the Great Lakes) is in the "old river bed", with Whiskey Island in the background. The twisty Cuyahoga River originally emptied into Lake Erie west of its current mouth, near where the Westerly Wastewater Treatment Plant is now. A new direct river entrance was cut east of this scene, unsure of when. The boat appears to be at the Cleveland Shipyard, either being completed or under repair under the sheerlegs. The boat's stern is sitting very high in the water, with work platforms around the rudder. There is a vertical boilered steam pile driver across the river, just left of the boat's mizzenmast, building a grid of pilings for some new construction. The round white object in the foreground looks like a ship's boiler, fat and stubby. None of these wooden buildings survive. The shipyard's abandoned drydock is still visible on satellite, to the west of the Great Lakes Towing Company (G Tug) yard. The concrete framed drydock entrance is still there, visited it a few years ago. Some time on the Bowling Green site might turn up the name of the boat, assuming it was being built at this time. The 'P' is probably Pittsburgh Steamship Company, but uncertain. The Cargill salt mine now occupies the area where the more distant disconnected trestle stands. The nearest trestlework appears to be the shipbuilding ways. Those crossed timbers would be light duty cranes for hoisting pieces of plating and small fittings. The disconnected trestle with the 4 hopper cars is a puzzle, unless there was an elevator to hoist the cars from ground level, not uncommon with lighter cars of the era, or it might be a curved ramp from the background. Seems like a long lens was used, the perspective is confusing. The embankment in the background is the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern, later New York Central, Penn Central, Conrail, now Norfolk Southern, climbing westward from the old lakefront depot. Beyond the railroad is where the Lakefront Ore Docks are now. The breakwall is apparently being built or expanded, a pretty constant process to this day. Now I hope somebody comments on the equally wonderful "Along the Ohio: 1940". (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, Cleveland, DPC, Railroads)
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