The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway (AT&SF) was chartered on February 11, 1859 to join Atchison and Topeka, Kansas with Santa Fe, New Mexico.
At its largest the AT&SF routes ran over 13,000 miles. Because long stretches of its main line traverse areas without water Santa Fe was one of the
first buyers of diesel locomotives for freight service. The railroad officially ceased operations on December 31, 1996, when it merged with the
Burlington Northern Railroad.
Santa Fe FT ABBA in cigar band freight scheme rounding the
Mounds curve.
The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad (B&O) was the first common carrier railroad and the first to offer
scheduled freight and passenger service. B&O holds many "firsts." It was quick to adopt diesel power in
1930s and was the first to include air-conditioning in its passenger fleet. In 1973 B&O was made a
subsidiary of the newly created Chessie System and merged in CSX in 1987.
Alco ABBAs pull a coal train around the bend at
Stallions.
BC Rail / British Columbia Railway operated in the Canadian province of British Columbia between 1912
and 2004. It ran "from nowhere, to nowhere" for over 30 years, neither passing through any major city
nor interchanging with any other railway. It expanded significantly between 1949 and 1984.
An Alco RS3 pulls a load of logs across
Newton Ravine.
The Burlington Northern Railroad was the product of a March 2, 1970, merger that involved four major
railroads: the Great Northern Railway, Northern Pacific Railway, Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway
and the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad as well as a few small jointly owned subsidiaries owned
by the four.
A Burlington Northern coal train passing through
Crymea River before rounding the curve at
Willya B Mine..
The Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railway is the second-largest freight railroad network in
North America. It has three transcontinental routes providing high-speed links between the western
and eastern United States. The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railways formally merged on
December 31, 1996 to create the BNSF.
BNSF frieght rolling through
Peterson Chemical
right after the 1996 merger. Not all BN and ATSF engines have been re-painted.
The Chicago and North Western Railway was chartered on June 7, 1859. The railroad once operated over
12,000 miles of track in seven states. The company was purchased by Union Pacific Railroad in April 1995.
A pair of C&NW GP50's picking up a consist from the
H20 cold storage plant.
The Consolidated Rail Corporation, commonly known as Conrail, began operations in April 1976
(although its origins go back to the Granite Railway Co., built in 1826). The U.S. federal government
created Conrail to take over the potentially profitable lines of multiple bankrupt carriers. In 1997
CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern Railway jointly acquired Conrail and split most of its assets
between them.
Conrail coal train rounds the curve at
Stallions
as it pulls into
Peterson Chemical.
The D&RGW started as a narrow gauge line running south from Denver. It served mainly as a
transcontinental bridge line between Denver and Salt Lake City. The D&RGW operated the highest mainline
rail line in the United States, over the 10,240 feet Tennessee Pass in Colorado, and the famed routes
through the Moffat Tunnel and the Royal Gorge.
D&RGW articulated steam engine rounding the bend at
Stallions.
The Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway operated between Waukegan, Illinois and Gary, Indiana.
It contained characteristics of a line-haul system with a 175-mile corridor.
The "J" had direct connections with every railroad entering Chicago.
It was acquired by Canadian National in 2009 and
its corporate name dissolved a few years later.
GP-38's lead a small consist through
Gateway
after working the yard at
Warehouse Row.
The Frisco, also known as the St. Louis–San Francisco Railway, operated in the Midwest and South Central
U.S. from 1876 to 1980. In 1970 it operated 6,574 miles of track. The Frisco had two main lines:
St. Louis–Tulsa–Oklahoma City and Kansas City–Memphis–Birmingham. The junction of the two lines was in Springfield, Missouri.
The Frisco merged into the Burlington Northern Railroad on November 21, 1980. Despite its name, it never came close to San Francisco.
1980 era Frisco freight train pulling into the yard at
National Meat.
The Illinois Central Railroad was chartered in 1851 to build a railroad from Cairo to Galena, Illinois.
It's primary routes connected Chicago, Illinois with New Orleans, Louisiana and Mobile, Alabama. In 1998
the Illinois Central was purchased by the Canadian National Railway and operations integrated July 1, 1999.
Illinois Central GP-7s pulling a long freight through
Peterson Chemical in 1972.
GO Transit began regular passenger service on May 23, 1967. It has since expanded to serve the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area with operations extending to several communities
in the Greater Golden Horseshoe.
Government of Ontario Transit Commuter makes a quick stop at
Hermanville before ending its run at the Allandale Waterfront.
Grand Trunk Western began when the Chicago, Detroit & Canada Grand Trunk Junction Railroad was formed in 1858. At its peak the Grand Trunk ran an 800-mile corridor from Portland, Maine to Sarnia, Ontario and Chicago.
It was an essential hauler of automotive parts and automobiles.
A Grand Trunk Western freight rounds the curve at
Mounds.
The Lehigh Valley Railroad was originally built for the purpose of transporting anthracite coal. It was
sometimes known as the Route of the Black Diamond. The Lehigh Valley Railroad grew into a major carrier of
both freight and passengers between Jersey City and Buffalo.
On April 1, 1976, the Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail) took over the railroad's operations.
A Lehigh Valley mixed freight passes through
Bevel Farm.
The Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad was incorporated in 1870. The original goal of the company was to build a supply railroad
connecting the frontier military bases of Fort Riley, Fort Gibson and Fort Scott. In 1989 the system became part of Union Pacific.
An long MKT freight thunders past
Gateway.
The Missouri Pacific Railroad, also known as MoPac, was one of the first railroads in the United States west
of the Mississippi River. MoPac grew from dozens of predecessors and mergers which included the Texas and
Pacific Railway (TP), Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad (C&EI) and Midland Valley Railroad (MV).
On December 22, 1982 the Missouri Pacific Railroad merged with the Union Pacific Railroad.
A Missouri Pacific consolidated runs a local freight throurgh
Railway Express.
The Chicago, Indianapolis & Louisville Railroad (CIL) existed only within the state of Indiana. Their route was
an "X" with one leg from Hammond, IN to Indianapolis and the other from Michigan City, IN to New Albany, IN.
The "X" crossed in Monon, Indiana.
A Monon freight consist pulls through
Hermanville in 1972.
The New Haven operated in northeastern United States from 1872 to 1968. By 1912, the New Haven operated
more than 2,000 miles of track in a wide swath from Boston to New York City. The New Haven was merged into
Penn Central on December 31, 1968.
New Haven local freight leaving the
National Meat yard.
On July 6, 1853, ten railroads stretching 298 miles from Buffalo to Albany were consolidated as the
New York Central Railroad. The New York Central was once the second-largest railroad in the United States,
with 11,000 route miles of track in eleven states and two Canadian provinces. The railroad primarily
connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the midwest. In 1968 the
NYC merged with the Pennsylvania Railroad to form Penn Central.
A set of Alco ABBAs pull the 20th Century Limited into
Hermanville,
a quick stop on it's way to the
Micropolis Yard.
Norfolk Southern operates 21,500 route miles in 22 eastern states, District of Columbia and Canada. The railroad is a major transporter of
coal and offers the largest intermodal network in eastern North America. In 1982 Norfolk Southern was formed through
the consolidation of the Norfolk Southern and Western Railways.
Norfolk Southern intermodal rounds the corner at
Baseball.
The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad was a prominent railroad in the midwestern United States,
commonly known as the "Rock Island." The 7,000-mile Rock Island connected cities like Chicago, Denver,
Minneapolis, Houston, and Kansas City. Rock Island ceased operation March 31, 1980.
A long Rock Island freight speeds through
Peterson Chemical.
The Toronto Hamilton & Buffalo was a railway based in Hamilton that ran in Southern Ontario from
1894 to 1987. It never reached the other two cities in its name, although it did have branch lines
extending to Dunnville and Port Maitland. CP Rail merged the TH&B into its system in 1987.
A GP7 pulls a load of box cars through the underpass on
Dead Man's Junction.
The Wabash Railroad, an arterial line in the mid-west stretching from Buffalo through Detroit,
Toledo, Chicago, St. Louis, Kansas City, Des Moines and Omaha. It was known as a high-speed freight
line hauling everything from auto parts to produce.
A pair of Fairbanks Morse Trainmasters pulls a mixed freight across the
Cimarron River.
