Napa Valley Wine Train Rolls through ... John Alves 24x18 Photograph...	20th Century Limited Larry Grossman 24x18 Fine Art Print
Railway Bridge in a Forest, Central B... Panoramic Images 24x8 Photographi...

The first trains were rope-hauled, gravity powered or pulled by horses, but from the early 19th century
almost all were powered by steam locomotives. From the 1920s onwards they began to be replaced by less labor intensive and cleaner (but more complex and expensive) diesel locomotives and electric locomotives, while at about the same time self-propelled multiple unit vehicles of either power system became much more common in passenger service.

New Empire State Express 22x28 Fine ...	Malay Golden Chersonese R... 18x24 Gicl...	New York, Central Railroa... 18x24 Gicl...
Storm King, New York Cent... Walter Greene 24x36 Gicl...	Nice-Coni Cassard 24x36 Fine ...	Chamonix-Martigny Roger Broders 24x36 Fine ...
Wonderful Califonia Kerne Erickson 13x9 Fine Art Print	Georgetown Loop Railroad on Bridge Ron Ruhoff 40x30 Photograph...	Steam Locomotive of Heber Valley Rail... Scott Smith 24x18 Photograph...

In American railway terminology, the term “consist” is used to describe the group of rail vehicles which make up a train. When referring to motive power, consist refers to the group of locomotives powering the train. Similarly, the term “trainset” refers to a group of rolling stock that is permanently or semi-permanently coupled together to form a unified set of equipment (the term is most often applied to passenger train configurations).

Canadian Pacific Train 21x28 Pre-...	Montreux Oberland Elzingre 18x24 Gicl...	Le Train Fantome Paul Colin 17x24 Pre-...
Locomotive FogStock 30x40 Phot...	Locomotive FogStock 24x32 Phot...	Locomotive FogStock 24x32 Phot...
Locomotive FogStock 30x40 Phot...	Pacific Northwest Railroa... 18x24 Gicl...	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, S... Silvestre Machado 24x32 Phot...

The caboose provided the train crew with a shelter at the rear of the train. From here they could exit the train for switching or to protect the rear of the train when stopped. The conductor kept records and otherwise conducted business from a table or desk in the caboose. For longer trips the caboose provided minimal living quarters, and was very frequently personalized and decorated with pictures and posters. The most common caboose form in American railroad practice has a small windowed projection on the roof, called the cupola. The crew sat in elevated seats in order to inspect the train from this perch.

Autumn Leaf on railroad trussel James Davidson 10x8 Reprint Poster	Railroad Tracks Between A... Don Grall 12x16 Phot...	Railroad Tracks in Fall, Livingston, MT Larry Stanley 24x18 Photograph...
Cathedrals Express Terence Cuneo 33x24 Fine Art Print	Moon over Train on Bridge, North Plat... 17x11 Fine Art Print	Tracks Stephen Gentry 10x8 Wall Poster

The invention of the cupola is generally attributed to T. B. Watson, a freight conductor on the Chicago and North Western Railway. In 1898 he wrote:

“ During the '60s I was a conductor on the C&NW. One day late in the summer of 1863 I received orders to give my caboose to the conductor of a construction train and take an empty boxcar to use as a caboose. This car happened to have a hole in the roof about two feet square. I stacked the lamp and tool boxes under the perforation end and sat with my head and shoulders above the roof... (Later) I suggested putting a box around the hole with glass in, so I could have a pilot house to sit in and watch the train. ”

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