Extra Board
Welcome to Railfan & Railroad Extra Board, a monthly exploration of the passion for trains from many perspectives. Extra Board welcomes your submissions. We’re looking for about 1500 words accompanied by two or three photos. Each photo should be no smaller than 14 inches (or 1024 pixels) across at 72 dpi (no verticals, please). Brief caption information must accompany each photo. Please send your inquiries to the Webmaster for consideration.
June 9, 2014
Cotton Belt No. 819
Cotton Belt 4-8-4 No. 819 is the classic example of a steam locomotive all dressed up with no place to go. Thanks to a combined effort of historical society volunteers and railroad employees, the 819 was slowly brought back to life and returned to excursion service in 1986.
May 15, 2014
Death of an FL9
The 1950s were the era of the streamlined diesel, with the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors producing perhaps the most famous face of the era — the bulldog nose found on its E- and F-series units. Though many have been saved, it’s a bit noteworthy when one of these survivors succumbs to the scrapper’s torch.
April 10, 2014
A Dozen Miles in a Decade
My overall aim for this exhibit is to show the beauty of the twelve miles of track the Valley Railroad operates in Connecticut. I’d also like to show my appreciation for one of the railroads that brings me back to my youth – depicting not only the trains that ply the rails between Saybrook and Haddam, but also some of the people who make these rides possible.
March 15, 2014
Interpreting Jack Delano
In 1942, photographer Jack Delano was tasked by the federal government to capture images of the rail community to rally support for the war effort. The result was three thousand images, many of which highlight Chicago’s primacy to the North American rail network.
February 15, 2014
The Same Genesee & Wyoming
The original salt-hauling railroad continues to perform the job it was first built for way back in 1891. Despite the worldwide growth of Genesee & Wyoming over the last 30 years, it is sometimes hard to believe that it all began in a hole in the ground in Livingston County more than 100 years ago.
January 10, 2014
Changing Times on the Maryland Midland
I headed down to the Maryland Midland with my brother Bruce Barry, and we met up with Bill Kalkman there. Rumors of new paint were in the air, and we wanted to get one last hurrah of the old blue and orange.
December 1, 2013
Christmastime in the City
Grand Central Terminal celebrated its 100th birthday in 2013 with a special Centennial Holiday Light Show at Christmastime.
July 10, 2013
A Brief Encounter with Susquehanna Steam
The summer of 2002 was a whirlwind of activity for me as I returned home to find a number of main line excursions operating not far from home, including trips with Susquehanna 142.
May 14, 2013
Consider the Commuter
Consider the commuter on your next railfan journey. America’s secondary commuter trains are a great alternative to the sameness and uniformity of Amtrak.
January 5, 2013
Has it Really Been 30 Years?
Conrail was a reluctant custodian of the commuter trains operating out of Grand Central Terminal and wanted to desperately get out of the passenger business altogether. Though the MTA provided a subsidy for the service, broken trains continued to limp through a decaying infrastructure.
