Prototype News

When Hollywood makes films that prominently feature railways, the results can be quite mixed. Consider disaster-genre films, such as “Unstoppable” (2010) or “Runaway Train” (1985), that depict fictional dangers (such as locomotives that seem to run on jet fuel), when the actual disasters of railroading are likely to stem from a shifted load, track defect, or unset handbrake. Other films, ranging from the many adaptations of Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express to the regrettable Steven Seagal vehicle “Under Siege 2: Dark Territory” (1995), mostly use trains as a way to confine a set of characters together, but otherwise offer little window into the real world of railroading.

One film that stands out is “Emperor of the North” (Robert Aldrich, 1973). Currently unavailable on streaming media, it can be found on DVD. Set during the Great Depression on an unnamed western railway, “Emperor” focuses directly on railway employees and hobo culture. The cast is all-star — Ernest Borgnine, Lee Marvin, and Keith Carradine. The plot, meanwhile, is simple — the conductor, Shack (Borgnine), is strict about keeping free-riding hobos off his train, to the point of murder. Two hobos, A No. 1 (Marvin) and Cigaret (Carradine), spend the movie trying to outwit Shack and ride his train from one end of the railway to the other. The movie contains 1930s social commentary, with a smattering of cartoonish but brutal violence along the way.

Production took place primarily on Oregon, Pacific & Eastern, a short line that had a roster of steam locomotives and an active tourist business. It was also a railroad with a Hollywood pedigree, being the line used in Buster Keaton’s 1926 slapstick comedy “The General.” The railroad’s 19, a 1915, Baldwin-built 2-8-2, gets as much screen time as any of the human stars, with numerous loving close-ups and more than a few cinematic wide views in the idyllic, forested, mountainous landscape. (Today, the 19 is in the care of the Age of Steam Roundhouse Museum in Sugarcreek, Ohio.)

Is “Emperor” an accurate film about railroading or hobo culture? Absolutely not. Anachronisms abound, most notably the appearance of brand-new Evergreen plug-door boxcars in the background of a film meant to be set in 1933. The hand signals given by the fictional crew, meanwhile, are casual at best and wildly vague at worst. In one scene, the conductor pulls the whistle cord and, later, grabs the throttle away from the engineer, taboo actions in the real world that would likely have been met with anger if not physical altercation. Borgnine’s Shack does manage, at times, to look at home swinging up onto the side of a boxcar or walking purposefully down the rooftop running boards of a moving train, but this is no picture of railroading as craft.

Despite this, the film is something of a cult classic for those involved in American heritage steam operations, a group to which I once belonged. It was common to hear quotes from the film, usually for comic effect. How many times did I hear someone crack, “He’s gonna highball in the yard,” or the paraphrase of “No ’bos ride my train!” or Marvin’s crack, “I was tellin’ you, there was a day a dump had quality.”

There’s something of the texture of the film that rings true, even past the distorted accuracy and the comic opera violence — think red paint and ketchup for blood. To those of us who were close to the breathing machines that were preserved steam, “Emperor” got something fundamental right even as the details were wrong — and for that, it remains a touchstone.

—Alexander Benjamin Craghead is a transportation historian, photographer, artist, and author.

The post Hollywood Railroading appeared first on Railfan & Railroad Magazine.

By David Silver/photos as noted

The clattering of steel wheels against raised rails, the metallic shoonk of heavy mechanical levers being thrown, and the low hum and click of electrical relays and resistors — these are all sounds that can be heard at a diamond interlocking. More specifically, these are the sounds that were heard at Metra’s busy 16th Street Tower in Chicago, which controlled the interlocking switches and the immediate signals around the 16th Street diamond. Metra’s Rock Island District between LaSalle Street Station and Joliet crosses here from the north and south (railroad east and west). Amtrak’s Saluki and City of New Orleans, as well as various Canadian National freights, cross from the east and west. On an average weekday, there are around 120 moves taking place among the three carriers, with the majority being made by Metra. The morning and evening rush hours see approximately 75 moves. Nights are a bit slower with around 50 to 60 moves. In the early to mid-afternoon, there are also a number of light engine moves and wash moves made by Metra to and from its 47th Street Yard for cleaning and repairs between the rush hours.

An excerpt from the Electric Interlocking Handbook produced in 1913 by General Railway Signal and edited by Henry M. Sperry and Paul E. Carter states, “Not a single lever was in use in the United States, the first experimental installation having been made in this country by Messrs. Toucey and Buchanan at Spuyten Duyvil Junction (in what is now The Bronx in New York City), in 1874, and the first important installations on a commercial basis having been made by the Manhattan Elevated Lines of New York City with machines of the Saxby-Farmer type, built by the Jackson Manufacturing Co. of Harrisburg, Pa., in 1877–78.” This span of three or four years brought the advent of interlocking control towers as we know them today.

ABOVE: During the morning rush on April 11, Metra Train 611 crosses the diamond with a double-headed train with F40PH-3 111 in the lead. Metra movements to and from LaSalle Street Station account for more than 120 moves across the diamond each day. —David Silver photo

16th Street Tower was built in 1901 and placed into service in 1902, operated by New York Central at the time. The tower survived into the Penn Central era, but after the last former NYC passenger trains were moved to Union Station in 1968, control was handed over to the Rock Island. Here, the former Rock Island’s Joliet Subdivision crosses the St. Charles Air Line and Canadian National’s Chicago/Freeport subdivisions. In a single day, more than 120 Metra movements take place through the junction, compared to 10 CN moves and a handful of Amtrak trains.

The switch machine was custom-made by the Taylor Signal Company. Since its beginning, it has had pistol-grip switches, with General Railway Signal relays located in the ground level. The ground level of the tower also houses the signal maintainers. Some of the relays have maintainer stickers on them with writing dating back to the 1930s and 1940s, a testament to the good engineering of the time.

ABOVE: The massive pistol-grip-style machine was custom-built by Taylor Signal Company in 1901. Coupled with General Railway Signal relays housed on the first floor, this elegant machine has reliably controlled movements through 16th Street for nearly 125 years. The two silver cups and one red cup on top of the pistol grips are serve as a visual reminder to the operator that those tracks circuits are out of service that day. —Mark Llanuza photo

The Cutover
On the evening of April 11, 2025, decommissioning of the tower commenced, with control taken over by Metra’s Consolidated Control Facility (CCF) at 1501 Canal Street, which is located just across the St. Charles Air Line Bridge at BNSF’s 14th Street Yard, about a half-mile west of 16th Street Tower. During the morning shift on the final day, tower operator Sergio Matthews was working the levers. Matthews had been at 16th Street for nearly 13 years, having started with Metra in January 2012 and entering towers just five months later. After the changeover, he made the move a half-mile west to CCF.

In his time in the tower, the most complicated issues for Matthews were malfunctions and switch failures, as well as weather. “As long as I can move a train, it’s not difficult,” Matthews said. “When I move to CCF, there will be more territory and, therefore, more responsibility.” His move to CCF will expand to controlling the entire Rock Island District. Another thing mentioned — there are no real breaks, especially during the morning and evening rush hours. The tower operators are on their feet a lot, so time management and order of operation are key. With the move to CCF, the tower operators will be retrained to make the transition to dispatcher. They will be able to manage movements while sitting at a desk, all with the click of a mouse and the push of a button.

ABOVE: The signal engineers from Modern Railway Signal pose for a class photo. From left to right are Signal Engineer Jason Nates, Chief Signal Engineer Tom Hunter, and Signal Engineer Mike Weber. —David Silver photo

At approximately 7:30pm, a three-person crew from Modern Railway Systems — the company that installed the new signal bungalows at the interlocking —arrived to start the cutover process. The bungalows were built and assembled in nearby Mokena, Ill., by Metra employees. The crew consisted of signal engineers Jason Nates and Mike Weber, as well as Chief Signal Engineer Tom Hunter. Before work started, Hunter commented, “This changeover marks the end of operation of a structure that has been in service for more than half of the history of American railroading.”

At 8:00pm sharp, an entire crew of Metra signal employees, as well as the MRS crew, came together at the base of the tower to hold their safety briefing. Their authority to work ran from 8:02pm on April 11 to 4:00am the next day. Shortly after the safety meeting, work commenced in full. At 8:25, Metra Train 511 to Joliet became the last train to cross the diamond under a tower-operated signal. Moments later, the signals at 18th Street and at 15th Street displayed red “stop” indications in both directions. The signal crew immediately went to work on the switches, getting things ready in the signal bungalows, rewiring relays and welding new equipment into place…

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by David Gray/photos by the author

With more than 1.3 million people, Calgary is Canada’s fourth-largest city and the economic heart of one of its most prosperous provinces. Located in the southern part of Alberta, Calgary sits at the edge of the Canadian Prairies and the foot of the famed Canadian Rockies. It also sits at the confluence of six different rail lines. Four of those routes are owned by hometown railroad Canadian Pacific Kansas City, which hosts a majority of the traffic in and out of the city. However, Canadian National also has a presence here, coming into the city from the north.

At the heart of the rail scene is CPKC’s Calgary Terminal, a beehive of round-the-clock activity. In 1996, the CP headquarters relocated from Montreal to Calgary, and for a time was located downtown at Gulf Canada Square. In 2013, CP moved its offices to Ogden Yard southeast of downtown, renaming it the E. Hunter Harrison Campus. Besides the corporate offices for the railroad, this is also where CPKC stores its fleet of historic equipment, including Canadian Pacific 4-6-4 2816 (off limits to the public). The campus is also home to CPKC’s Canadian dispatch center (Rail Traffic Control in local parlance).

ABOVE: CPKC Train 602 emerges from the East Departure Track at Shepard on August 3, 2024. The train is using the departure track to run around trains 118 and 149, which had both main tracks blocked. SD70ACU 7018 wears the classic CP gray and maroon.

The four subdivisions that make up the CPKC Calgary Terminal are the Aldersyde, Brooks, Laggan, and Red Deer. The Brooks Subdivision enters the Calgary Terminal from the east at milepost 164 near Wildrose, the Laggan from the west at milepost 12 near Keith, the Aldersyde from the south at mile 116.9, and the Red Deer from the north at milepost 4 near Titian. The Brooks and Laggan subdivisions make up the majority of traffic through the terminal as the east/west main lines, while the Red Deer and Aldersyde subdivisions (north/south) also feed traffic into and out of Calgary.

CPKC Brooks Subdivision
Let’s start our tour of CPKC in Calgary on the main line. Located at mile 163.2 on the Brooks Subdivision, the control point Wildrose is technically not within the Calgary Terminal, but it does play an important role. This control point is the entry and exit point for trains coming and going to the east. Westbound trains will often hold here waiting on another to finish working the east end of the Calgary Intermodal Facility (CIF) out of Shepard. There is a level crossing right between the signals at Wildrose, an easy spot to sit and watch the trains.

ABOVE: A pair of trains sits stored in Keith Yard on February 19, 2024. On the left is the Gang Train used for housing workers in remote areas. In the middle and on the right, autorack Train 701 is split across two tracks, with the mid-train remote unit visible on the middle track.

Moving west, Shepard is the next control point and, as mentioned above, is an access point into CIF, the main intermodal facility for CPKC in Calgary. Shepard itself is a small community on the eastern edge of Calgary but will likely soon see the city grow around it as new communities are popping up in the area. This control point is also the eastern end of double track that begins at Glenmore. The Stoney Trail, which is Calgary’s ring road, passes over the Brooks Subdivision at Shepard. There are a few photo locations at Shepard, as well as to the east toward Wildrose on 114 Avenue SE.

The bustling Calgary Intermodal Facility is located between Murdoch and Shepard on the south side of the double-track main line. Most of CPKC’s intermodal trains stop here to drop and lift traffic. The switcher based out of CIF is known as the Shepard Job. The main customer at CIF is Canadian Tire, which is evident when passing by. Canadian Tire operates the largest supply chain network in Canada representing Canadian brands such as Sportchek, Mark’s Work Warehouse, Part Source, and many others. There are also many other warehouses and businesses in the area; Amazon recently opened a new warehouse on the north side of the tracks, as has Home Depot.

ABOVE: A Calgary Transit Blue Line train has just departed the Shaganappi Point station as it heads into downtown on February 9, 2025.

Murdoch, at the western end of CIF, is a crossover between the north and south tracks and serves as an access point into CIF and the Shepard East Departure Track. This track stretches from Murdoch to Shepard on the north side of the double track, and is often used for storage of well cars for CIF or lower-priority trains. The Murdoch end is a switch controlled by CTC, while the eastern end at Shepard is a hand-thrown switch. Between Shepard and Murdoch there aren’t many photo opportunities as the industrial and warehouse/commercial land that surrounds CIF clogs up any possible photo locations; the exception is 52nd Street SE passing directly overhead at Murdoch.

Barlow is the next control point of note and is another access point into and out of CIF via the Barlow Lead. The lead track also provides CPKC access into the Shell Calgary Terminal via the Shell Spur. From Murdoch to Barlow, there again aren’t many photo locations due to industrial properties along the south side of the tracks. On the north side, 98 Avenue SE parallels the Brooks Subdivision and the Western Irrigation District Canal for a short distance.

ABOVE: Viewed from Emerald Bay Drive, CP AC44CW 9588 leads a westbound potash train as it curves along the edge of the Bearspaw Reservoir leaving Keith West on January 24, 2019.

West of Barlow we find two more short spurs that service businesses from the south track. The first is a spur into Nutrien AG Solutions where CPKC will drop covered hoppers. Looking at satellite imagery, it is easy to see that this site was far more active in the past — there is a relatively clear outline of what once was a loop track. The second spur in the area is the Burnco Industrial Spur which accesses the Burnco Rock Products – Shepard Ready Mix operation. As is evident from the name, this location handles ready-mix for cement which CPKC spots in two-bay covered hoppers. The Burnco Job, which switches Burnco, Nutrien, and Shell, comes out of Ogden Park Yard multiple times per week. This job will usually shove east onto the Barlow Lead to spot Shell and then work back westward from there. Railfan locations are mostly along Shepard Road which parallels the south side of the tracks from Barlow to Glenmore. Both the Nutrien and Burnco spurs cross this road for easy shooting…

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In May, Seattle’s Sound Transit opened its latest light rail line extension to downtown Redmond. The new service is an extension of Sound Transit’s 2 Line, a 3.4-mile line serving stations at Marymoor Village and Downtown Redmond. The project also adds 1,400 new parking spaces at the Marymoor Village station. A grand opening ceremony took place on May 10 at the Downtown Redmond station, complete with a ribbon cutting and other community events. 

The new line serves Marymoor Park, a 640-acre entertainment complex featuring an outdoor park, a music venue, sports fields, a dog park, and hiking trails. It is a very popular local attraction that is now more accessible thanks to the light rail line. The Downtown Redmond station offers convenient access to parks, as well as residential and commercial venues. It is also a popular shopping destination. 

Sound Transit’s 2 Line, which serves Redmond, makes commuting to the area convenient. Trains operate every 10 minutes from 5:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., seven days a week. The 2 Line is part of Sound Transit’s expansive 46-mile system that connects Seattle with surrounding communities. —Bob Gallegos

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Passenger service along the former Denver & Rio Grande Western is expected to grow after the State of Colorado and Union Pacific signed a new 25-year lease for the 6.2-mile Moffat Tunnel, which was opened in 1928 and is owned by the state.

The 25-year lease establishes Colorado’s ability to operate three daily round-trip passenger trains over the line, in addition to existing services (Amtrak’s California Zephyr, Winter Park Express and Canyon Spirit, formerly Rocky Mountaineer). The state plans to start a daily round-trip year-round to Granby by 2026 and eventually extend service to Steamboat Springs, Craig, and Hayden. It is unclear who will operate the service. Also included in the deal was the sale of Denver’s Burnham Yard, which officials hope to transform into a transit-oriented development. 

“Moffat Tunnel represents an important part of Colorado’s history, as well as a bright part of our future,” said Gov. Jared Polis. “With this work, we are showing the country a new model for pursuing passenger rail through collaboration with the railroad. I am thrilled with the three new agreements and look forward to seeing the positive benefits to our state.”

Demand for passenger service through Colorado has only grown in recent years. During the 2024-25 ski season, passengers booked more than 44,000 trips on the Winter Park Express compared to 17,500 the previous season, a 153 percent increase. —Justin Franz

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Amtrak has released two ACS-64 locomotives in a special Crayola crayon wrap, which will operate in the Northeast. The locomotives were unveiled on May 8 as part of a new promotion with the crayon company. 

One locomotive is draped in Violet Blue and showcases a collection of eight retired crayon colors that Crayola recently reintroduced for a limited time. The second locomotive is wrapped in Dandelion – a golden yellow and one of the fan-favorite, “unretired” crayon colors. The locomotive also features crayon character “Dan D,” the Crayola Ambassador of Creativity. 

“We’re thrilled about our newly minted partnership with Crayola, arriving just in time for the summer travel season. Both Amtrak and Crayola are iconic brands, which together can unlock unique, memorable experiences for children and adults alike,” said Jessica Davidson, Amtrak Vice President of Digital and Brand Marketing. “Between special savings and imaginative locomotive designs, we are excited to foster extraordinary journeys and inspire creativity across America.” —Railfan & Railroad Staff

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New Hampshire’s Mount Washington Cog Railway announced this week that it will delay steam operations on the Northeast’s tallest peak until repairs can be made to its two 0-2-2-0 locomotives. However, General Manager Ryan Presby said the historic cog railway remains dedicated to steam power. 

From 1869 until 2008, steam ruled the west slope of Mount Washington. Constructed in the 1860s, the Mount Washington Cog Railway was the world’s first mountain-climbing cog railroad. However, in the late 2000s, diesel locomotives began to replace most steam locomotives. For a few years, only the first run of the day up the hill featured steam. In recent years, the railroad has offered a handful of trips to the summit behind steam, as well as a Mid Mountain Steam Special that travels about halfway up the hill. 

Two steam locomotives are currently in service: Locomotive 2 Ammonoosuc, built in 1875, and 9 Waumbek, built in 1908. Both locomotives were constructed by the Manchester Locomotive Works, which later became part of the American Locomotive Company. However, pre-season preparations revealed that the two locomotives could not operate at full pressure until additional repairs are made. Those repairs are underway, but Presby said it remains unclear when they might be completed. While the engines are still safe to run at the lower boiler pressure, they will not be able to maintain the railroad’s schedule. Presby stated that once one of the engines is repaired, they will resume excursions to Waumbek siding, hopefully by fall. 

Presby also stated that the railroad has ordered two new boilers for the locomotives, which are expected to arrive late this year and early next. He said the boilers will ensure steam continues to operate on Mount Washington for decades to come.  —Justin Franz 

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Trinity Railway Express and Amtrak are looking to lease locomotives and cars from Minnesota’s Northstar commuter rail operation. 

Trinity Railway Express, which operates between Dallas and Fort Worth, Tex., has requested at least one locomotive, two cab cars, and three coaches from June 2025 until August 2026. The agency is preparing for an influx of riders ahead of the FIFA World Cup next year. Amtrak is looking to lease one locomotive, three coaches, and one cab car for use between Chicago and Milwaukee to fill gaps left after it had to pull its Horizon fleet from service. 

The Metropolitan Council, which oversees the Northstar commuter service, is expected to consider the proposal this week. The decision to lease some Northstar equipment comes as the agency looks into replacing most trains with buses due to declining ridership. —Justin Franz 

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J. Parker Lamb, a masterful black & white image maker long considered “one of the deans of post-World War II railroad photography,” died at his home in Austin, Texas, on Friday. He was 91 years old. 

Lamb was a son of the South, and he captured its railroads like few others before or after. Born in Boligee, Alabama, in 1933, Lamb moved with his family to Meridian, Mississippi, in 1938 when he was four years old. In Meridian, he found his passion for railroading, watching trains on the city’s three Class I railroads (plus a short line). A friendly operator took Lamb under his wing and taught him how railroads worked. Lamb used that knowledge to start taking photos in 1949 when he was in the 11th grade. 

While attending Auburn University in the early 1950s, he began submitting photos to Trains Magazine and other publications. After two years in the military, he earned a graduate degree from the University of Illinois before starting a teaching career. Eventually, he landed in Austin. 

In 1991, he received the Fred A. and Jane R. Stindt Photography Award from the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society. In nominating Lamb, the organization wrote that, “While other well-known photographers provided most of the imagery of the passing of steam, it was Parker who provided the best contextual images of the conquering diesels.” A portfolio of his work was published by Boston Mills Press in 2001, titled “Steel Wheels Rolling.” Lamb also wrote a handful of features for Railfan & Railroad, including “Remembering the Katy” in July 1989 and “Streaking Across Texas” in December 1992. In 2015, Lamb donated a curated selection of his photo collection to the Center for Railroad Photography & Art. —Justin Franz 

A friendly diesel maintainer in the Southern Railway’s yard at Meridian, Mississippi, invited the photographer to take a portrait and send him a copy in August 1954. Photo by J. Parker Lamb, Collection of the Center for Railroad Photography & Art. 

A northbound Kansas City Southern Railway freight train heads downgrade on the west side of the Mississippi River bridge on a foggy morning in April 1969. Photo by J. Parker Lamb, Collection of the Center for Railroad Photography & Art. 

An Illinois Central Railroad southbound freight train passing the tower at Tuscola, Illinois, on May 23, 1958. The IC crosses the Baltimore & Ohio and the Chicago & Eastern Illinois here. Photo by J. Parker Lamb, Collection of the Center for Railroad Photography & Art. 

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A former Reading FP7 will make its debut at the Woodstown Central in New Jersey this weekend. SMS Rail Service, which operates the Woodstown Central, recently completed the restoration of Reading 902, one of two acquired from the Reading Company Technical & Historical Society and the Philadelphia Chapter of the NRHS in 2023.

The two units were built in 1950 as part of a six-unit order. The locomotives later ended up on SEPTA. In the 1990s, they were used in excursion service and eventually made their way to Scranton, Pa. A few years ago, they went to SMS Rail for use on the Woodstown Central. Woodstown Central began operations on county-owned tracks between its namesake town and Swedesboro and Salem, NJ, in November 2022.

Reading 902 will lead the “Scenic Rambler” on May 10. The 32-mile, 2-hour trip will run between Swedesboro and Mannington, N.J. The engine will likely be leading excursions throughout the spring as Woodstown Central 0-6-0 9, wrahich was restored to service last year, is presently down for repairs. —Railfan & Railroad Staff

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