See what it took to bring victory during World War II and how the postwar economic boom led the railroads to look ahead with confidence.
A decade like no other
More Trains of the 1940s
All-American beauty • WHEN ALCO NEEDED A PASSENGER DIESEL WITH SIZZLE, IT TURNED TO GE DESIGNER RAYMOND PATTEN
Milwaukee railroad town • TRAINS, SHOPS, ROUNDHOUSES, INTERURBANS — THEY’RE ALL EASY TO SEE IN THE CITY WHERE THE ORANGEAND-MAROON PASSENGER CARS ARE BUILT
Heroes of the home front • RAILROADERS ARE JUST AS VITAL TO THE WAR EFFORT AS FRONT-LINE TROOPS
Philly’s personality trains • DIFFERENT PEOPLE USE DIFFERENT TRAINS, AND THEY LEAVE A BIT OF THEMSELVES BEHIND THEM TO IMPART PERSONALITY TO THE TRAINS THEY RIDE
Midwestern time freight • A CAB-AND-CABOOSE RIDE ON THE MINNEAPOLIS & ST. LOUIS’ FASTEST SCHEDULED TRAIN EXPLAINS WHY SHIPPERS LIKE THE PEORIA GATEWAY LINE
NYC’s New England portal • NEW YORK CENTRAL’S BOSTON-BOUND TRAFFIC MUST HURDLE THE BERKSHIRES ON A SHREWD CARRIER THAT COSTS ITS PARENT A FULL 8 PERCENT PER ANNUM
Rapid Exhaust • TAKE A FAST RIDE OUT OF OAKLAND IN THE CAB OF ONE OF SOUTHERN PACIFIC’S NEW “WAR BABY” 4460-SERIES LOCOMOTIVES
Wartime railfan trip • 2,500 MILES OFF THE BEATEN TRACK, WHERE PASSENGERS ARE RARE EVEN IN THESE YEARS OF WAR
The ’40s IN PHOTOS
GOTHAM GOES WEST • OLD NEW YORK RAPID TRANSIT CARS JOIN THE WAR EFFORT CARRYING CALIFORNIA SHIPYARD WORKERS
ACF’s first postwar streamliners • LOUISVILLE & NASHVILLE’S NEW GEORGIAN AND HUMMING BIRD STREAMLINERS ARE THE LAST WORD IN DESIGN AND LUXURIOUS APPOINTMENTS
Vermont Short Line • ROOTED DEEP IN THE HEARTS OF ITS USERS, THE MEANDERING ST. JOHNSBURY & LAKE CHAMPLAIN SERVES DAIRYLANDS AND FORESTS OF “UNSPOILED VERMONT”
The locomotive in 1949 • WEAKENED BY REDUCED TRAFFIC, RAILROADS CUT BACK DIESEL ORDERS, ALMOST FORGOT STEAM, AND ADMIRED THE GAS TURBINE
EMD’s big three of 1949
Wartime Memories • FROM BUCYRUS TO BELGIUM, A MILITARY RAILWAY SERVICE VET REMEMBERS 1944
