The Erie-Lackawanna offered commuters an on-time ride. Shippers received excellent service. And, until 1970, long distance passengers were afforded views of some of the best scenery east of the Rockies.

The photographer O. Winston Link (1914-2001) earned praise both in railroad and photographic history for his amazing portraits of N&W steam. Fifty years after Mr. Link made his famous portraits of steam in the night, we revisit many of these places to see what has changed and, surprisingly, what has not.

Don’t miss the Soo Line Laker with NYC, PRR Pullmans, and more – including a furious 70 MPH pace of a NYC freight which eluded the auto when the photographer’s wife decided the train had won

Ride ALCO RS-2 #900 on the “Steel King” through the street at Warren – Visit the Cleveland Docks – Watch Bloomsburg Branch Fs and Patriotic SDs in the snow at Olean.

See authentic narrow gauge action in the 1950s by Colorado Railroad Museum founder Bob Richardson. You will see wedge plows in action on the Sapinero Branch during the “Big Snow” year of 1953, along with the drifted-in Crested Butte Station.

Using the Offical Guide as a 90 minute study of passenger runs before Amtrak. An invaluable work for modelers, as the entire consist of most trains is shown

There are other surprises as well, but mostly just good train watching: “20th Century Limited”, “Empire State Express”‘ and other Limiteds alongside freights with pacemaker box cars, flexi-vans, and tri-level auto racks.

Horsepower was the main thing – just get the tonnage over the road but for the observer, B&O’s mixed bag of external and internal combustion power made for a show full of suspense and variety

Both regular operation and charters are part of our North American tour, which spans the late 1930s to 1970 along with a few postscript items bridging the new century. This was truly a different time in America, a time when you grabbed your lunch pail and caught the street car a block or two from your home and rode to work with ease and style. Some of America’s largest cities continue to operate trolley lines, trams or light rail. A few are even using PCC cars! You can still see these proud old cars running in Boston (Mattapan Line), Kenosha, Philadelphia, San Diego and San Francisco (the F Line, or Market Line). If you live in, or go to, one of those cities, you can ride the past – today!

Remarkable new vistas greeted rail passengers in 1885 when the “National Dream” of the link between British Columbia and eastern Canada was hammered into reality with a final spike. The Coast, Selkirk and Rocky Mountains still beckon visitors – and the best way to see it all is the Rocky Mountaineer.

MoPac Fs grinding up Kirkwood Hill … Illinois Terminal freight curving through Peoria streets… An extra-long “California Zephyr”… 4-8-4s hauling strings of G.T.W. heavy-weight varnish and so much more from the Midwest.

More trains than ever before roll though this central Nebraska city. Union Pacific’s transcontinental mainline passes beneath BNSF close to downtown.

“The Hub City” seems a pretentious claim for this place of under 10,000 persons. But, it has the Lincoln Highway, two interstates, and two double track railroads to back up that title. For us, we concentrate on the many trains, and varied motive power, of the two big railroads.

There have been big changes in the 25 years that Crossroads Park has welcomed railfans to Deshler, Ohio. In 2017, the station, tower, and a few color position light (CPL) signals remained.