Canadian Pacific Kansas City Holiday Train in Minneapolis on December 11, 2023. The rail company says they’ve raised more than $22.5 million dollars and 5 million pounds of food for local food banks since the tradition began 25 years ago.

Canadian Pacific Kansas City Holiday Train in Minneapolis on December 11, 2023. The rail company says they’ve raised more than $22.5 million dollars and 5 million pounds of food for local food banks since the tradition began 25 years ago.

Canadian Pacific Kansas City Holiday Train in Minneapolis on December 11, 2023. The rail company says they’ve raised more than $22.5 million dollars and 5 million pounds of food for local food banks since the tradition began 25 years ago.

Canadian Pacific Kansas City Holiday Train in St. Louis Park, Minnesota on December 11, 2023. The rail company says they’ve raised more than $22.5 million dollars and 5 million pounds of food for local food banks since the tradition began 25 years ago.

Seen inside the Green Bay Railroad Museum, an exhibit of historic railroad drumhead signs, once mounted on the observation cars of famous American passenger trains. These illuminated signs served both as branding and a wayfinding tool for travelers during the golden age of rail.

• 20th Century Limited – The legendary New York Central luxury express between New York and Chicago, famous for its red carpet treatment.
• Broadway Limited – The Pennsylvania Railroad’s flagship train, symbolized by its keystone-shaped sign.
•The Cardinal – Still in operation today as an Amtrak route between New York and Chicago via Washington, D.C. and Cincinnati.
•The Abraham Lincoln – Operated by the Alton Railroad between Chicago and St. Louis.
•The Blue Bird – Another Alton Railroad streamliner that connected Chicago and St. Louis.
•Erie Limited – A long-distance train operated by the Erie Railroad.
•Night Diamond (Illinois Central) – A named overnight passenger service.
•Merchants Limited – A New Haven Railroad luxury train between Boston and New York, a favorite among business travelers.

•20th Century Limited – The legendary New York Central luxury express between New York and Chicago, famous for its red carpet treatment.
•Broadway Limited – The Pennsylvania Railroad’s flagship train, symbolized by its keystone-shaped sign.
•The Cardinal – Still in operation today as an Amtrak route between New York and Chicago via Washington, D.C. and Cincinnati.
•The Abraham Lincoln – Operated by the Alton Railroad between Chicago and St. Louis.
•The Blue Bird – Another Alton Railroad streamliner that connected Chicago and St. Louis.
•Erie Limited – A long-distance train operated by the Erie Railroad.
•Night Diamond (Illinois Central) – A named overnight passenger service.
•Merchants Limited – A New Haven Railroad luxury train between Boston and New York, a favorite among business travelers.

Weathered and monumental, these grain elevators in Kansas City, Missouri stand as relics of the city’s early 20th-century agricultural dominance. The concrete silos and headhouses—once vital for storing and shipping grain along the Missouri River—still loom over the industrial district near the rail corridors. Layers of peeling paint and rusted conveyor housings reveal decades of exposure to the Midwestern climate, while their towering form recalls the scale of regional commerce that helped define Kansas City’s role as a national freight and grain hub.

Beneath the skeletal lattice of steel girders, the Riverfront Heritage Trail in Kansas City, Missouri, cuts through a corridor of industrial history. The repeating truss framework belongs to the remnants of the elevated rail infrastructure that once powered the city’s commerce along the Missouri River. Today, the pathway carries cyclists and walkers under the same towering beams that supported freight trains a century ago, blending the legacy of industry with modern urban renewal. The evening light reveals the quiet symmetry and endurance of this monumental structure, a relic turned passageway through time.