Monday, October 12, 2026

Nickel Plate Road 0-6-0 steam switcher


The Nickel Plate Road was officially the New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad.  In 1964, the Nickel Plate Road and several other midwestern carriers were merged into the Norfolk and Western Railway (N&W).

This is a NKP class B-11a built by Alco-Brooks in October 1916. The 9 members of the class featured 57-inch (1.45-meter) driving wheels and were specifically designed to navigate tight industrial curves ranging from 18 to 30 degrees. They had 21x28-inch cylinders and a boiler operating at 180 psi.  All were retired by March 1953 and eventually scrapped.

(colorized)

A Nice to Digne, France, meter-gauge Renault autorail on a masonry viaduct, 1962

 See earlier posts.

South African Railways (SAR) Class 5E1, Bo-Bo type electric locomotive, early 1960s


Despite the name of the train being blue, the loco at this time was painted in green with yellow stripes. Developed by Metropolitan-Vickers (Metrovick), a total of 690 units of the 3 kV DC class were built across five distinct series between 1959 and 1969.

The Blue Train (Bloutrein) between Johannesburg and Cape Town adopted the name in 1946. It has been South Africa's luxury passenger train service with blue-and-silver cars since then. 

See earlier posts.

Sunday, October 11, 2026

Santa Fe 2-6-2 built by Baldwin in 1903

This is now on display in Boot Hill Park, Dodge City, Kansas with "Boot Hill Special" on the tender. Initially a Vauclain compound, in 1918 it was simplified during a rebuild in the ATSF Topeka Shops. It received a new boiler around 1940. Upon retirement in 1954 it was donated to Dodge City, which at one time was a notorious outlaw town.

Saturday, October 10, 2026

Friday, October 9, 2026

1940 Twin Coach bus used by Pacific Electric, greater L.A.

Model 35-RL with 37 seats, in the Macy St. Yards, probably a pic taken when new. (colorized)

Lastochka (Swallow) electric multiple unit at Vyborg, Russia


In 2009, Russian Railways commissioned Siemens to develop a dual-system commuter electric train adapted to Russian conditions. The new trains were planned to be used in Sochi for commuter passenger service during the 2014 Winter Olympics , and then partially transferred to other lines for direct service on routes with sections using both AC and DC current. Siemens had previously produced EVS1/EVS2 "Sapsan" (Velaro RUS) electric trains for high-speed service on Russian Railways. 

The design of the new train was based on the five-car Siemens Desiro ML electric train . On December 29, 2009, Russian Railways signed a contract with the German company Siemens for the supply of 54 Siemens Desiro RUS electric trains worth €410 million. These electric trains were designated the ES1 series (Siemens electric train, type 1). The entire line of Siemens Desiro RUS trains localized for Russia received the commercial name "Lastochka"

Specifications

Maximum Design Speed 160 km/h (99 mph)
Track Gauge 1,520 mm (Russian broad gauge)
Car Body Material Lightweight Aluminium Alloy
Standard Formation 5 cars per standard trainset (can operate in multiple traction up to 10 or 20 cars)
Total 5-Car Length ~126.4 meters to 130 meters
Car Dimensions Width: 3.48 m | Height: 4.4 m to 4.85 m
Total Weight (Tare) ~260,200 kg to 264,000 kg (5-car configuration)
Acceleration 0.64 m/s²
Traction Motor Type: Asynchronous electric motors

1951 Pegaso Z102/103 sports car