Welcome to the Observation Platform! One of the most satisfying experiences in our pursuit of trains is bagging that elusive cab unit, classic steam locomotive, or other unique piece of rolling stock.

However, the U.S. is a big place. I can visit the WES commuter line any time, but going to Cajon Pass or the Northeast Corridor takes a bit more effort. Thanks to this feature, we can all get a look at that elusive "big game".

Due to server space limitations, I must limit the number of photos available at any time, but I will change categories and add new photographs periodically. I have a collection of several thousand photos, so please bear with me. All that I ask from you is this: if you use one of these photographs in a website or make a hard copy of it, please credit me for it (Photograph by Thomas McCann) or credit the person who was kind enough to provide the photo.

It's rusty, it's ragged, it hasn't operated in 45 years and it's spent all that time stored away in the rainy woods of western Washington. Yet, in 2009, Rayonier Lumber #8 survives.

The rare, 1924-vintage Baldwin 2-6-6-2T Mallet last ran in 1964 on a Rayonier line near Shelton, Wash., and remained in storage until earlier this year, when it was loaded aboard a flatcar and transported by the Puget Sound & Pacific to Chehalis, Wash., where it is currently parked on a siding at the Chehalis-Centralia Railroad Association's yard.

The CCRA operates another vintage steam locomotive -- former Cowlitz, Chehalis & Cascade 2-8-2 #15 -- on seasonal excursion and dinner trains along a former Milwaukee Road branch southwest of Chehalis, about 85 miles north of Portland, Ore. The group has begun restoration on another former CC&C steam locomotive, 2-8-0 #25, which it recently retrieved from years of display at Fort Borst Park in Centralia.