american-railroading

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St. Joseph Swing Bridge

Here's a shot of the swing bridge at St. Joseph, Michigan. This is the third railroad bridge in this location, built in 1904 (source).

As mentioned in my previous post, the rail line here was the Chicago and West Michigan, then the Pere Marquette Railway, before being folded into the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway, and finally CSX.

When taking the shot of the bridge I noticed the two brick buildings beyond. The letters thereon tell us they're now used by the St. Joseph River Yacht Club, but that didn't seem to tell the whole story (as they look too old and too substantial for this purpose).

It turns out they were built between 1891 and 1893 as the Ninth District Lighthouse Depot. One hundred years after its completion, in 1993, the buildings were listed on the National Register of Historic Places (source). The next time I'm in the area I will go out of my way to get a closer look at these structures.

Two images by Richard Koenig; taken June 19th 2025.

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1964 railroad safety posters

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Oh my GOD I love the pics of the locomotives in water so much can you explain

train trying to cosplay a boat gives you seretonin

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Sunset Holiday Express

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Leslie Ragan - New York Central System / For The Public Service. 1945.

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SOUTHERN PACIFIC'S NEW DAYLIGHT. 1937. Sam H. Harris.

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Joliet with Texas Eagle, Part One

Here we see a northbound Amtrak Number 22, the Texas Eagle, rolling into Joliet, Illinois. In the middle of this four-shot sequence, I've inserted a shot of the same location I took back in 1975, one of my earliest railroad images.

The tower is now a railroad museum with a new transportation center attached. Not sure what is happening with Union Station, but it's good to see it well taken care of (apparently).

The Amtrak train is on the former GM&O, now Union Pacific. The other double track main is the former ATSF, now BNSF. My vintage shot shows a French Turbo, perhaps a regional train down to St. Louis. The Rock Island Railroad crossed the two other lines here.

Five images by Richard Koenig; taken 1975 (1) and May 2nd 2024.

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Joliet with Texas Eagle, Part Two

Following up on my previous post on Joliet: only twenty minutes later we see another Texas Eagle, this time the southbound Number 21. I had a quick, friendly chat with Fortier who was working the train.

And I've included a vintage shot here as well: the Santa Fe Super-C, seen in 1975. This is the only train (back then) I had images of going in a southerly direction.

As stated before, the tower is now a railroad museum with a new transportation center attached. Not sure what is happening with Union Station, but it's good to see it well taken care of.

Once again, the Amtrak train is on the former GM&O, now Union Pacific. And now we have evidence of the other double track main beging that of the former ATSF. The Rock Island Railroad crossed the two other lines here (see next post).

Five images by Richard Koenig; taken 1975 (1) and May 2nd 2024.

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Marley Road, Yet Again

This is the second time I re-visited Marley Road. This spot is along the former Rock Island, just east of New Lenox, Illinois.

I first took photographs there as a teenager (top photo); I went back in 2018 (not pictured) and again today, in 2025.

Two images by Richard Koenig; taken September 5th 1976 and May 2nd 2025.

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Marley Road, Yet Again

Following up on the previous post, here's another couple of shots from Marley Road east of New Lenox, Illinois. Again, this is the former Rock Island Railroad.

I took the top photograph—of either the Quad Cities or Peoria Rocket—here as a teenager; I went back in 2018 (not pictured) and again today, in 2025.

Two images by Richard Koenig; taken September 5th 1976 and May 2nd 2025.

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Could I get some train facts?

I also had one about how the longest train ever was also the fastest because it reached all the way from its point of origin to its destination, thus making the journey in 0 seconds, but tumblr's search feature denies that it exists.

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