Nickel Plate Road Locomotives at St. Louis

These Nickel Plate Road locomotives move trains at St. Louis.  The RS11 locomotive leads a train to Cleveland.  The GP9 gets ready to depart with a local train.  Coffee is percolating in the yard office to take off the chill as trains depart.

 

Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Iron Ore Train at Proctor, Minnesota

This Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range train carries iron ore at Proctor, Minnesota.  The DM and IR played an important role as a US Steel railroad carrying iron ore from the mines to Lake Superior where iron ore was transloaded to ships to be hauled across the lakes.

See my Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range artwork at customtrains.org

 

Bangor and Aroostook F3 and BL2 Train in Northern Maine

This Bangor and Aroostook train carries pulpwood and wood chips.  Bangor and Aroostook played a key role in transporting the forest products from Northern Maine by rail.  

This train is led by F3 and BL2 locomotives.  The BL2 was an attempt by EMD to give better visibility to crews when operating local trains such as this on branch lines, such its "BL" designation.  

See my Bangor and Aroostook artwork at customtrains.org

 

An Arkansas and Missouri Train at Springdale, Arkansas

This Arkansas and Missouri train carries carloads from the BNSF at Springdale, Arkansas.  Arkansas & Missouri provides first mile/last mile rail service in Arkansas and Missouri.  We give a wave to the crew as the train passes by.

 

Happy Birthday to My Mom, Lynda Fletcher 9/14/2023

Happy Birthday to my mom, Lynda Fletcher.  My mom encouraged me to become a railroad artist many years ago and is my greatest mentor and supporter to this day.  Thank you so much, mom.

 

New Haven Locomotives Move Trains at Hartford

These New Haven locomotives move trains at Hartford.  The RS11 leads a manifest train to Springfield and the GP9 heads to New Haven with a train of its own.  At the yard office, coffee is percolating and a few donuts are left for the nightshift who are just coming on to move trains on this crisp evening.

See my New Haven artwork at customtrains.org

 

Texas and Pacific Locomotives at Fort Worth

These Texas and Pacific locomotives move trains at Fort Worth. The GP9s move a train to El Paso. Meanwhile, the SW8 builds a train that will be headed east. 

See my Texas and Pacific artwork at customtrains.org

 

Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Train Carries Coil Steel at Flat Rock Yard

 This Detroit, Toledo and Ironton train carries coil steel at Flat Rock Yard.  Coil steel carried by railroads such as DT and I is important in the manufacturing of automobiles as well as appliances.

See my Detroit, Toledo and Ironton artwork at customtrains.org

Norfolk and Western Drawing Demonstration by Andy Fletcher

In this drawing demonstration, I draw the 1970's version of the Norfolk and Western Railway logo.  This drawing demonstration illustrates how you begin to see that the many angles in lettering are similar to the various angles in railroad equipment.  As you can see, the angles in "N" and the "W" are different, which are great practice for your eye.

 

Bangor and Aroostook Train at Northern Maine Junction

 This Bangor and Aroostook train carries carloads from of freight at Northern Maine Junction.  Today's train has its usual loads of freight from the Maine Central and Boston and Maine headed to destinations throughout Northern Maine.

See my Bangor and Aroostook, Maine Central and Boston and Maine artwork at customtrains.org

Atlantic Coast Line- Thanks For Using Coast Line

 Atlantic Coast Line was known for its streamlined train The Champion.  Its box cars were adorned with the slogan "Thanks For Using Coast Line."  

Here we see Atlantic Coast Line locomotives from from the steam era, the a wide variety of first generation diesels including many streamliners and into the era of second generation diesels with a GP30 locomotive, as well.

See my Atlantic Coast Line artwork at customtrains.org