Extra Board
Welcome to Trains & Railroad of the Past’s Extra Board! We explore a different perspective of classic late era railroading every month. Extra Board welcomes your submissions. We’re looking for about 1500 words accompanied by two or three photos. Each photo should be no smaller than 14 inches (or 1024 pixels) across at 72 dpi (no verticals, please). Brief caption information must accompany each photo. Please send your inquiries to the Webmaster for consideration.
November 20, 2024
Union Pacific in Cheyenne, Wyoming
For nearly a decade, I had the privilege of living within 125 yards of Union Pacific’s Overland Route in my hometown of Cheyenne, Wyoming.
November 20, 2024
Steamtown in the 1960s
F. Nelson Blount used the money from his seafood processing business to help fund his private collection of steam locomotives that found a home on the Vermont-New Hampshire border.
November 20, 2024
The Allentown Triangle
It’s hard to believe that the city of Allentown, Pa., once had a rail system that supported the operation of four signal towers as late as 1968.
May 16, 2024
Reflecting Back Fifty Years
Mike Bednar reflects on hard times for the anthracite railroads in 1974, including Erie Lackawanna, Lehigh Valley, Reading, Jersey Central, and others.
May 16, 2024
Tower Memories on Pennsylvania Railroad’s Middle Division
Inside and outside Conrail towers on the former Pennsylvania Railroad Middle Division from Marysville to Altoona.
February 15, 2024
New England Nostalgia
A fond look back at the colorful railroads, regionals, and short lines that once served New England in the late 20th century.
December 12, 2023
In A Few Backyards in Baltimore
Exploring the railroads around Baltimore during a visit with family in the spring of 1964, as illustrated through photographs by Gale E. Treiber.
December 12, 2023
Bill Kalkman’s Baltimore
Colorful railroad action in and around Baltimore, including main lines and short lines of the 1970s and 1980s, through the lens of Bill Kalkman.
December 11, 2023
“The Brothers”
Looking back at a career in railroading spanning Lehigh Valley, Conrail, and Reading & Northern, and how great co-workers help get the job done.
July 14, 2023
St. Louis Blues: Derailment Aftermath
A railfan comes upon the aftermath of a derailment in a St. Louis switching district involving Missouri Pacific and a Soo Line boxcar.
