Kevin EuDaly - The Complete Book of North American Railroading

Kevin EuDaly, Mike Schafer, Jim Boyd,
Steve Jessup, Andrew McBride, and Steve Glischinski

First published in 2009 by Voyageur Press, an imprint of MBI Publishing Company, 400 First Avenue North, Suite 300, Minneapolis, MN 55401 USA

Copyright 2009 by White River Productions

All rights reserved. With the exception of quoting brief passages for the purposes of review, no part of this publication may be reproduced without prior written permission from the Publisher.

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Digital edtion: 978-1-61673-118-2
Hardcover edition: 978-0-7603-2848-2

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

The complete book of North American railroading / Kevin EuDaly...[et al.].
p. cm.
Includes index.
IcSBN 978-0-7603-2848-4 (hb w/ jkt)
1. RailroadsUnited StatesHistory. I. EuDaly, Kevin, 1960
TF23.C654 2009
385.0973dc22
2008048599

Acquisitions Editor: Dennis Pernu
Designer: Val Escher
Jacket Designer: Matthew Simmons

Printed in China

Front cover: Acclaimed photographer Jim Shaughnessy captured Boston & Maine No. 3713, named The Constitution, at speed at Haverhill, Massachusetts, on April 22, 1956. The locomotive was designed and built by Lima Locomotive Works in 1934 at the cost of $100,000 and served as a mainline passenger locomotive into the 1950s. The 4-6-2 Pacific type is being restored at Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Jim Shaughnessy

Frontispiece: Chris Lambert is busy keeping Western Maryland Shay 6 hot on June 26, 2008, as the three-truck, 162-ton monster climbs the rugged trackage between Cass and Bald Knob, West Virginia. Few things in railroading can compare to hand-firing a steam locomotive, and few operations in North America can compare to Cass for old-time appeal. Kevin EuDaly photo

Title pages: On the former Norfolk & Western Pocahontas Division coal is king. This eastbound train of coal loads is making about 15 miles per hour grinding up the grade at Powhatan, West Virginia, on February 28, 2008, during early-morning winds that have the overnight snowfall showering down out of the trees along the right-of-way. This train is destined for Bluefield and eventually Norfolk, Virginia, where this export coal will be loaded into transatlantic ships. Kevin EuDaly photo

by Kevin EuDaly

by Mike Schafer with Kevin J. Holland

by Steve Jessup

by Steve Glischinski

by Jim Boyd

by Jim Boyd

by Jim Boyd

by Steve Jessup

by Mike Schafer with Kevin J. Holland

by Andrew McBride

by Steve Jessup

What started out to be an effort solely by Mike Schafer and me metamorphosed into an effort where many hands were set upon the throttle.

A very special and hearty thanks to Jim Boyd, editor emeritus of Railfan & Railroad magazine, who lived in the White River Productions Kansas City office for over three weeks while writing captions, editing text, and helping with photos. This book would not be as it is without Jims help, and were sincerely grateful for the many hours he put in. The fact that he wrote the three locomotive chapters almost pales compared to his contribution to the overall finished product.

Several chapters were written by others, who were called upon to help as deadlines took their toll. White River Productions Steve Jessup wrote the Golden Age and Freight chapters, and WRPs Andy McBride contributed significantly to the Infrastructure chapter. Longtime friend and colleague Steve Glischinski handled the Railroading Comes of Age chapter. To all three, sincere thanks are in order. Thanks also to Ron and Deb Goldfeder, who helped at several stages.

An effort as all-encompassing as this one includes photographic resources from many locations, and our friends in various railroad historical societies with their associated archives helped fill in numerous illustrations. Specifically, wed like to thank the following archives folks in organizations that made images available:

Joe Oates and Larry GoolsbyAtlantic Coast Line & Seaboard Air Line Historical Society

Joe PiersenChicago & North Western Historical Society

Larry DeYoungErie Lackawanna Historical Society

Dave Oroszi and Ron FlanaryLouisville & Nashville Historical Society

The Milwaukee Road Historical Association

Dave SchauerMissabe Railroad Historical Society

Jim Gillum and Harold DavenportNorfolk & Western Historical Society

Paul Schuch and Dick HutchinsRock Island Technical Society

The credit lines beneath each photo recognize the individual photographers and collections that contributed. Our thanks to each and every person who took the time to document the history of railroading in North America, and especially those who have sent material in for use in projects like this one. In this modern digital age, a scan of a photo is as valuable as the original for publishing purposes, and our scanned archive was one of the primary resources for this book.

Kevin EuDaly

One of the biggest diesel locomotives to ever ply North American rails was EMDs DDA40X, built exclusively for the Union Pacific. The twin-engine monsters were nicknamed the Centennial because delivery began in 1969, the one-hundredth anniversary of the golden spike ceremony at Promontory, Utah. They delivered 6,600 horsepower in two 16-cylinder engines and rode on rigid four-motor FlexiCoil trucks, the largest truck built for railroad service. Here, the sole operable survivor swings through Lees Summit, Missouri, with an engineering passenger special on April 15, 2008. Kevin EuDaly photo

Using link-and-pin couplers, this tiny train and equally tiny locomotive spent decades running back and forth from quarry to plant on Arkansas Limes 3-foot gauge railroad in Limedale, Arkansas. The railroad hauled agricultural lime in much the same way as some of the earliest mining railroads until just after the turn of the twenty-first century. This westbound has empties for the quarry on August 29, 1992. Today, the locomotive survives in tourist train service in Hawaii.