President Abraham Lincoln's private rail car is shown at the Alexandria, Va., train station in January 1865. The car was used later to carry Lincoln's body in his funeral train.







Library of Congress photo. Some pictures here are by the courtesy of The Einhorn Press  http://einhornpress.com/steam.aspx

In Steel Trails, The Epic of the Railroads, Martin D. Stevers explained in 1933 the locomotive wheel arrangements and their classifications illustrated in his illustration above as follows:

“The Whyte or wheel plan classification is not only convenient but it reveals much of locomotive history, purpose, and use with its simple numbers.  First comes the number of leading truck wheels (both sides); then the drivers; then trailing wheels.  Thus, a six-wheel switcher, without leading or trailing wheels, is a 0-6-0.  Originally, the firebox was carried between the last drivers, as in the long used ‘American’ 4-4-0.  Later, to get more power, additional drivers supported a longer boiler.  But when even the ‘Decapod’ 2-10-0 was not strong enough, wider fireboxes were supported on two trailing wheels.  Now four often are used.  The names usually are for the regions where the type was first used.  The electric locomotive ‘C’ denotes a motor unit, while the Mallet designation is self-explanatory.  Many types have been omitted, only these being shown which illustrate the development.”

Used with permission; Mr. Larry Radka. Some pictures here are by the courtesy of The Einhorn Press http://einhornpress.com/steam.aspx

These photos demonstrate the massive coupling and size of locomotive wheels.

The huge passenger locomotive illustrated in the lower photograph is of type 4-8-4.  This means that it has four "idler" wheels in front (two pairs), followed by four pairs of driving wheels, then two pairs of small idlers in the rear.  The small wheels are nceessary to distribute the weight of the locomotive.  The big wheels (70 to 80 inches in diameter) are drawn by a rod connected to the shaft of the steam piston.  The cylinder in which the piston moves is located between the small forward wheels in this type of locomotive.

Mr. Larry Radka collection.

The command of cold weather over hot locomotives is exemplified as seen here.  These snow and ice covered engines were photographed just after their long wintry runs in New York State.









Mr. Larry Radka collection.

Rio Grande Southern's "Galloping Goose" railcars that was used to keep the wintry tracks open.  "Recently," wrote Lucius Beebe, "a 'Galloping Goose,' left mementarily unattended by its operator, coasted wildly down the east slope of Dallas Divide for a distance of fourteen miles and around a number of sharp reverse curves without jumping the track.  No. 7 is shown here in the house track at Ridgeway, Colorado, where the Southern connects with the Montrose-Ouray line of the Denver & Rio Grande Western.


Mr. Larry Radka collection

The observation car above was provided with bookcases, a writing desk, and even a stenographer.  The Pennsylvania Railroad Company's Broadway Limited was a twenty-four-hour train that ran between New York and Chicago.  Before the railroads were built, it took a week to go from New York to Buffalo, nearly three weeks from New York to Chicago; and trips from New York to the Pacific coast were never thought of, except by hardy pioneers, who expected their good-bye to be forever.  The busy man in 1917, after his noonday lunch and final instructions from his superintendent, could depart from Chicago on the limited and arrive in New York twenty-one hours later.  It took, however, four days in 1917 to travel from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean.

Mr. Larry Radka collection