•April 19, 2017•

By Jerry L. Ginther
NP Columnist

This was the iconic name for the old steam locomotive. When they first came on the scene of American history, horses still powered nearly all machinery and were the primary mode of transportation. “The Great Iron Horse,” and the steel rail could move more passengers and freight over long distances at higher speeds than a twenty-mule team. The steam engine became as much of an icon in the early days of America and the unsettled west as the horse and cowboy.

In previous articles, I’ve written about the romance of railroading as it pertained to the various jobs performed by both men and women in the daily operation of a railroad. However, the trains themselves contributed much to this nostalgia. In the not too distant past, trains had identities and personality, if you will. When streamliners were eloquent, schedules were frequent, and fares were less expensive than for airliners, America traveled coast-to-coast and border-to-border on passenger trains. The names of those trains became as familiar as the names of family members. Some will remember, The Panama Limited and The City of New Orleans, two famous trains operated by the Illinois Central Railroad.     Login or Subscribe to read the rest of this story.