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Trains

This past June, photographer Russ Juskalian made a 170-mile trip by norry and wrote about it for his first Smithsonian feature story.

Russ Juskalian on “Catching the Bamboo Train”

One of the most ingenious escapes from slavery was that of a married couple from Georgia, Ellen and William Craft.

The Great Escape From Slavery of Ellen and William Craft

Passing as a white man traveling with his servant, two slaves fled their masters in a thrilling tale of deception and intrigue

trans-siberian railway

A World on Rails

A journey on the Trans-Siberian Railway offers inspiring sights, from snowscapes to wildlife

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Full Speed Ahead

A railroad, finally, crosses Australia’s vast interior—linking not only the continent’s south with its north, but also its past to its future

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Subway Spy

Walker Evans’ underground-breaking photographs resurface for the centennial of New York City’s rapid transit system

Easy Riders

For whistle-stop campaigning or just rolling down memory lane, nothing could be finer than your own railroad car

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Moving Down the Line

It’s pulled and jimmied, tied and lifted —but the 20-ton Jupiter engine finally reaches its new home

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The Steam Locomotive

Even in the computer age, a thousand-ton train driven by fire and water inspires awe

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Little Engines That Still Can!

Across America, short-line freight trains are pulling their weight

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Steam Locomotives Steal the Spotlight

Photographer O. Winston Link documented the final days of steam engines on the Norfolk and Western Railway, the last main line to use them

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With Computers and New Equipment, Our Once-struggling Freight Railroads Are Now the World’s Best and Busiest

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