"All Aboard" at the Union Station in Bristol, Virginia. Bristol station (locally known as Union Station and Bristol Train Station) is a historic railroad station just north of the Tennessee state line. Built in 1902, the station was served by passenger trains until 1971. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Bristol Railroad Station in 1980.
The last "shovel-nosed" diesel made in 1939 for Zephyr passenger service from St. Louis to Kansas City, MO, and last in service. Named "General Pershing Zephyr" after Missouri native, General John J. Pershing of WWI fame. Streamlined design of earlier "Zephyr Units." Sitting next to the Zephyr is a Baldwin decapod (2-10-0) steam locomotive built in 1918. These engines were originally built for the Imperial Russian State Railways as allied military aid during WWI. After the Bolshevik Revolution took Russia out of the war, #1621 was one of 200 undelivered Decapods. It was later used by the St. Louis / San Fransisco railroad.
The "dashboard" in the cab of the Greenbrier 614, a Chesapeake and Ohio 4-8-4 steam locomotive that is on display at the C & O Heritage Center in Clifton Forge, Virginia. For the laymen, this looks like a confusing array of gauges, levers, and valves.... none of which are labeled. Undoubtedly, the engineer knew the function of all of these controls to drive this steel behemouth in all types of weather and across diverse topography. The Greenbrier 614 was built by the Lima Locomotive works in 1948 and retired from active service in the late 1950s. It was later used for extensive mainline excursion service in the early 1980s until the late 1990s.
