Cowcatcher Collection

Central Pacific Railraod in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Train cheered by railroad workers
530390 Central Pacific Railraod in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Train cheered by railroad workers, including Chinese labourers. Wood engraving c1875.; Universal History Archive/UIG.

Train in station on Illinois Central Railroad. Background, a map of ICRR lines in US, c1882
528323 Train in station on Illinois Central Railroad. Background, a map of ICRR lines in US, c1882. Transport Steam Locomotive Cowcatcher Headlight Passenger Ship Canal Barge Stagecoach Horse

Express train at full speed on Pennsylvania Railroad, USA
New York to Chicago express train at full speed on the Pennsylvania Railroad. Date: circa 1910

The Express Train, USA, 1870. Artist: Currier and Ives
The Express Train, USA, 1870. A locomotive with a cowcatcher hauls a train through a cutting

The Express Train. Locomotive with cowcatcher hauls train through cutting
538875 The Express Train. Locomotive with cowcatcher hauls train through cutting. Print published by Currier & Ives, New York 1870. Lithograph. by Currier, N. (1813-88) and Ives, J.M

Prairie Fires of the Great West. Print published by Currier & Ives, New York 1871
538872 Prairie Fires of the Great West. Print published by Currier & Ives, New York 1871. Locomotive with cowcatcher and headlamp hauls passenger train across prairie while buffalo stampede in face

The Dallas Morning News special (b / w photo)
DHS212204 The Dallas Morning News special (b/w photo) by American School, (19th century); Dallas Historical Society, Texas, USA; eDallas Historical Society; American, out of copyright

Railroad station, St Leonards, New Brunswick, Canada
Canadian Pacific Railroad station, St Leonards, New Brunswick, Canada, with a horse-drawn carriage belonging to the Van Buren Hotel in the foreground. Date: circa 1910s

Train over Houston and Texas Central (b / w photo)
DHS212265 Train over Houston and Texas Central (b/w photo) by American Photographer, (19th century); Dallas Historical Society, Texas, USA; eDallas Historical Society; American, out of copyright

Train of the Canadian Railways

CPR engine 1074, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
CPR engine 1074, Ten Wheeler Class, Windsor (Street) Station, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Date: circa 1915

Steam Locomotive, c. 1875 (b / w photo)
498538 Steam Locomotive, c.1875 (b/w photo) by American Photographer, (19th century); Private Collection; American, out of copyright

The Route To California, Truckee River, Sierra-Nevada, pub
3471086 The Route To California, Truckee River, Sierra-Nevada, pub. 1871, Currier & Ives (colour litho) by American School, (19th century); Private Collection; The Stapleton Collection; American

Steam locomotive of the Michigan Central Railroad (colour litho)
5234370 Steam locomotive of the Michigan Central Railroad (colour litho) by American School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info)

Desperate Desmond, cartoon strip, c1955. Creator: Shirley Markham
Desperate Desmond, cartoon strip, c1955. The dastardly Desmond plots a dreadful end for the heroine, but she is saved by Handsome Harry

The Route To California, Truckee River, Sierra-Nevada, pub. 1871, Currier & Ives (Colour Lithograph)

The first regular trans-continental train at Fernie, British Columbia, Canada, 1886 (1951). The Canadian Pacific Railway, which connects eastern Canada with British Columbia

Countess of Dufferin, Canada, c1920s. The first steam locomotive to operate in the Canadian prairie provinces. Cigarette card produced by the Westminster Tobacco Co Ltd, Canada 1st series

American inventor Thomas Alva Edison on board an electric railroad, 1892. Edison constructed a three-mile-long trial electric railroad at his Menlo Park laboratory in New Jersey

Central Pacific Railraod in the Sierra Nevada mountains, c1875
Central Pacific Railraod in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Train cheered by railroad workers, including Chinese labourers. Wood engraving c1875

Cow riding on a train
A Deadhead Passenger. How an intelligent animal refused to be butted off the track by the cowcatcher, and stole a free ride on the railroad. Date: 1883

First locomotive engine in Sacramento, California, USA
First locomotive engine, C P Huntington, operated over the Central Pacific Railroad out of Sacramento, California, USA. Date: circa 1910

Train in street, Syracuse, New York State, USA
New York Central train making its was through a street, Syracuse, New York State, USA, with a tram on the left. Date: circa 1908

RAILROAD YARD, 1943. Easternbound train about to leave the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad yard on the return trip to Vaughn, New Mexico. Photograph by Jack Delano, March 1943

BALDWIN LOCOMOTIVE. The Baldwin number 60, 000 locomotive, built at the Philadelphia plant, c1927

LOCOMOTIVE, 1883. The conductor, crew and canine mascot of a Central Pacific Railroad train posing by the locomotive during a station stop at Mill City, Nevada. Oil over a photograph, 1883

CARTOON: ANTI-TRUST, 1902. The railroad trust satirized in a cartoon from An Alphabet of Joyous Trusts. Cartoon by Frederick Burr Opper, 1902

RAILROADING STANDARD, 1886. Thomas Nasts celebration of the adoption of a standard gauge by all railroads in the United States, 1886

The Route to California. Truckee River, Sierra Nevada. Central Pacific railway
BAL32907 The Route to California. Truckee River, Sierra Nevada. Central Pacific railway, 1871 (litho) by Currier, N. (1813-88) and Ives, J.M. (1824-95); Private Collection; American, out of copyright

The Lightning Express Trains, 1863 (litho)
BAL32906 The Lightning Express Trains, 1863 (litho) by Currier, N. (1813-88) and Ives, J.M. (1824-95); Private Collection; American, out of copyright

MEXICAN REVOLUTION, c1915. Soldiers on a locomotive during the Mexican Revolution: photographed by the Casasola studio, c1915

RAILROAD ENGINE, c1874. Lithograph, American, c1874

100th MERIDIAN, 1866. Directors of the Union Pacific Railroad celebrate that the tracks have reached the 100th Meridian. Stereographic view, October 1866

TRAIN, 19th CENTURY. Printers cut, American, 19th century

RAILROAD BRIDGE, c1870. A railroad bridge in the American west. Stereograph, c1870

0022362
TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILROAD. A lithograph poster, 1869, for the Transcontinental Railroad, depicting Chinese laborers and snow sheds on the Central Pacific Railroad

VANDERBILT & FISK, c1870. Vanderbilt (left): Now then Jim - No Jockeying You Know! Fisk (right): Let Em Rip Commodore! But don t stop to water or you ll be beat

MINERS WAR, 1874. Fight between two factions of miners, near Macdonald Station on the Panhandle Railroad in Pennsylvania, October 1874. Contemporary American engraving

The Worlds Railroad Scene (Illinois Central Railroad): lithograph poster, 1882
WORLDs RAILROAD SCENE. The Worlds Railroad Scene (Illinois Central Railroad): lithograph poster, 1882

The Express Train. Locomotive with cowcatcher hauls train through cutting. Print published by Currier & Ives, New York 1870. Lithograph

Train in station on Illinois Central Railroad. Background, a map of ICRR lines in US, c1882. Transport Steam Locomotive Cowcatcher Headlight Passenger Ship Canal Barge Stagecoach Horse Carriage

Central Pacific Railraod in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Train cheered by railroad workers, including Chinese labourers. Wood engraving c1875

Reno steam locomotive in Arizona C013 / 5295
Historic Reno steam locomotive at Old Tucson Studios, Tucson, Arizona. It was built in 1872 for the Virginia and Truckee Railroad and worked at the Comstock Lode in Nevada

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"Cowcatcher: A Symbol of the Wild West and Progress" Step back in time to the USA, 1870. The Express Train roars through the vast landscape, with a locomotive proudly displaying its cowcatcher at the front. This iconic image captured by Currier and Ives showcases the fusion of technology and nature. In another lithograph titled "Prairie Fires of the Great West, " a brave locomotive equipped with both a cowcatcher and headlamp fearlessly leads a passenger train across the prairie amidst a buffalo stampede and raging fire. It symbolizes man's triumph over adversity during this era. The cowcatcher was not only an essential part of trains but also represented progress and civilization. As seen in black-and-white photographs like "The Dallas Morning News special" or "Train over Houston and Texas Central, " these powerful machines dominated railway stations across North America, including St Leonards in New Brunswick, Canada. Even Canadian railways embraced this innovation, as depicted in images like "Train of the Canadian Railways" or CPR engine 1074 in Montreal, Quebec. These steam locomotives from c. 1875 were marvels of engineering that connected communities far apart. One cannot forget their impact on California's development either; as shown in "The Route To California" print capturing Truckee River flowing beneath Sierra-Nevada mountains, steam engines propelled pioneers towards new opportunities. Lastly, let us admire a color lithograph showcasing a magnificent steam locomotive belonging to Michigan Central Railroad - an epitome of power and elegance combined. From transporting goods to connecting people across vast distances, these images remind us how cowcatchers became symbols representing progress during this transformative period for transportation history.