Nickel Plate Road-High Speed Service for Sure.

Nickel Plate Road was famous for its high speed freight trains that connected the Midwest with the North Central United States. Fast freights rolled across rails that were allegedly plated in nickel due to superior quality of the roads superior maintenance and insistence on quality. Nickel Plate Road is a railroad to be remembered.

The Caboose

The caboose brings up the rear of the train. It is the conductor's office where the train's paperwork is done and where he looks out to make sure there are no defects with the train. The venerable caboose punctuates the train as it runs safely down the tracks.

East River Mountain Tunnel

East River Mountain Tunnel seems rather long while driving through it, however it is not more than two miles or so. I drove through it today headed back to Virginia on I-77 at the West Virginia state line just south of Bluefield, just as the coal cut mountains begin to lend themselves to easing valleys.

611, 614, 1218 Poster Available at Virginia Museum of Transportation

Thanks to the Virginia Museum of Transportation for making my drawings of the N&W 611, 1218 and the C&O 614 into a 11"x17" poster and available on your online store. I love these 3 beauties and it was an honor to draw them and to see them in a poster.

The Railroad of Today

The trains head down the tracks. Laden with coal, carrying double-stacked containers. America on their backs. Carrying the goods of today on the modern railroad. The tunnels and bridges they pass through head to cities and towns where the goods they carry are needed for today and a better tomorrow in America.

Clinton, OK and Farmrail

I was lucky enough to drive through Clinton, OK on former Route 66 and see the headquarters of Farmrail. Unfortunately it was on a Sunday, however, I got to see some of the local tracks that where served by this vital shortline.

New Haven RS3 Moves Freight at Hartford, CT

This New Haven RS3 gets a local underway at Hartford, CT. Just the usual cars on this Monday heading empty to online industry, ready to pick up the loads and bring them back to send on their way to the Northeast from New England.

Clinchfield FP7 and SD40 at Kingsport, TN

This Clinchfield FP7 and SD40 get ready to haul another load of black diamonds out of Kingsport, TN. The Clinchfield is a short-fast route that kept black ink on the books in the heart of Appalachian coal country.

Thank You to America's Railroads.

When I stand next to a train, I see a solutions to tomorrow's traffic problems today. Containers move double-stacked on the steel superhighway of today's railroads and are a promise of a greener future and less congestion for tomorrow. I see highways that are easier to drive on thanks to railroads and goods that can move faster and more efficiently. Thank you to America's railroads.

West Virginia Through the Eyes of the Norfolk & Western

The Norfolk and Western once rolled through the town of Nitro, West Virginia on the Pocahontas Division. Historic names punctuate this region, towns that I have strolled through the last few days. I ate breakfast this morning in Dunbar, WV, where a quiet Norfolk Southern track sees about four or so trains a day. On my drive up from Roanoke, I passed through the town of Bluefield, where coal trains roll to this day, bringing the wealth of this region to the shoals at Norfolk. This is West Virginia, as seen through the eyes of a fan of the Norfolk & Western.

The History in Chessie Country

When I see the history in Chessie country, I often think of the Kitty Cat and wish I had seen the yellow locomotives. Now and then a hopper or box car still roam the rails of America, but as I stand by the tracks in Charleston or St. Albans this week and see the Chevy dealer C&O motors, I think of the Kitty and all sh...e means to America and the history of railroading.

Norfolk & Western 611 Class J 1218 Class A and Chesapeake & Ohio 614 at Virginia Museum of Transportation

The Virginia Museum of Transportation is truly positioned in history as the home of the Class J 611 and Class A 1218, and, we all enjoy special visitor Chesapeake & Ohio Greenbrier 614. As I stand in the museum, which was once Norfolk & Western's freight station on Norfolk Avenue in Roanoke, I truly feel connected to the past, yet watch the present go by as today's Norfolk Southern trains head up the Heartland Corri