Thursday, December 23, 2010

Speed, Power, Versatility


From the February, 1954 issued of Trains Magazine.

Archive # 26,050.

Sunday, December 05, 2010

American Locomotive and General Electric



From Trains, May 1951.

Archive # 25,322.

Thursday, December 02, 2010

America's most powerful single-engine locomotive



From the November, 1963 issue of Trains Magazine.

Archive # 25,223.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

September, 1951 Trains Magazine Advertisement



The Erie was a 6 foot gauge railroad from its founding 100 years ago until 1871. In that year standard gauge was adopted, and the first engine to be delivered was the "Waverly," a proud ancestor of today’s Alco-GE line.

174 Alco-GE diesel-electrics-the largest fleet of any builder-maintain Alco-GE’s reputation for the best in motive power. On them falls the burden of work, such as hauling this fast "Flying Saucer" freight, with its second morning delivery on the New York-Chicago run. Alco-GE locomotives are helping to keep the Erie progressive as it enters its second hundred years.

Archive # 24,838.

Friday, October 08, 2010

Built for the Green Bay & Western




From the American Locomotive Company Light Locomotive Parts & General Products Catalog No. 10057.

Thursday, October 07, 2010

Built for the United States Gypsum Company



From the American Locomotive Company Light Locomotive Parts & General Products Catalog No. 10057.

Wednesday, October 06, 2010

Built for the Michigan Limestone & Chemical Company




From the American Locomotive Company Light Locomotive Parts & General Products Catalog No. 10057.

Joseph A. Smith (1895-1978) was an avid collector of railroad photos, sharing many of them with fellow collectors in the Northeast. A former plumbing contractor, Smith presumably developed his interest in railroads through his father – a trolley motorman in Troy, NY.

His extensive collection focused on the lines that once served Troy: Delaware & Hudson, Rutland, Boston & Maine and New York Central. Many of his children – especially his sons Joseph Jr., James and Paul -- developed a similar interest and added to his collection with photos of their own. Maintaining the collection is now in the hands of his grandson, Kenneth Bradford. Coincidentally, Ken’s other grandfather worked as a manager at the Schenectady plant of the American Locomotive Company.

Smith was a life member of the Capital District Railroad Club of Schenectady. He was also a member of the Mohawk-Hudson Chapter Railway Historical Society and its parent organization, the National Railway Historical Society.