WASHINGTON — Amtrak’s fiscal 2021 results saw ticket revenue and ridership both off 63% from 2019, the last year when the October-September fiscal calendar was not impacted by COVID-19 travel restrictions and massive service cuts. Long-distance trains, however, suffered less of a setback than state-supported and Northeast Corridor operations. For the fiscal year ending Sept. […]
HOPKINSVILLE, Ky. — Brightline’s newest equipment is making its way to Florida. On Friday, Oct. 8, Union Pacific ET44AH No. 2603 leads a new trainset, operating as CSX train CSX W989 on the Henderson Subdivision at CSX Casky yard in Hopkinsville, Ky. The new equipment — to be used as service is expanded to Orlando, […]
CORVALLIS, Ore. — After two years of COVID-19 disruptions, Winterail is set to return in March 2022 at Corvallis High School with a two-day event featuring shows for 2020, 2021, and 2022. The 2020 show will be held on Saturday, March 19, with digital presentations from noon to 10 p.m. and a collectables sale from […]
CALGARY, Alberta — Canadian Pacific’s Holiday Train will again be sidelined by COVID-19 considerations in 2021, but the railroad will continue with the actions it took in 2020, donating to food banks and holding an online benefit concert. “The spirit of the Holiday Train is about giving generously and inspiring those around us to give […]
BOSTON — Membership for the new Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority board of directors is complete after Gov. Charlie Baker appointed five members to the seven-member board. State House News Service reports Betsy Taylor, a veteran of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation board, will chair the new board, which replaces the Fiscal and Management Control Board. […]
Highest rails in New York Having just crossed the 1,017-foot Hell Gate Bridge, Penn Central GG1 4913 begins the long descent to ground level with a Boston-bound Amtrak train in February 1973. Diesels will take over at New Haven. Victor Hand […]
FREDERICKSBURG, Va. — The last of Amtrak’s 50th anniversary heritage-paint locomotives is now in service. P42DC No. 160 wears the “Phase III” scheme — popularly dubbed the “Pepsi Can” — that was unique to the passenger carrier’s P32-8BWH locomotives when delivered in 1991. It was photographed Saturday morning; photographer Nathan Richters said his understanding was […]
Traffic on the big six Class I railroads was a mixed bag in the third quarter, as three systems saw gains versus a year ago and three experienced volume declines. For the third quarter, which ended Sept. 30, total volume on the big six systems was up an average of 0.5%, according to a Trains […]
STRASBURG, Pa. — Norfolk & Western Class J locomotive No. 611 will remain at the Strasburg Rail Road this winter, undergoing an annual inspection and maintenance, following the conclusion of its operations on the Pennsylvania short line. The Virginia Museum of Transportation’s 4-8-4 had operated at Strasburg since May, wrapping up its schedule of excursions, […]
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — Milwaukee Road locomotive No. 261 is back on the road after a two-year absence from mainline operation. The S-3 Class Northern 4-8-4, built in 1944 by the American Locomotive Co. at Schenectady, N.Y., was in action Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 2-3, on the Twin Cities & Western Railroad between Chanhassen and Bongards, […]
OTTAWA, Ontario — The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has documented track and ballast damage resulting from the derailment of an O-Train Confederation Line light rail train on Sept. 19, providing additional indications that the train had derailed prior to leaving the Tremblay Station. The derailment has led to closure of the Confederation Line, while […]
TUCSON, Ariz. — The shooter in the incident aboard the Sunset Limited that killed a Drug Enforcement Administration agent and injured two other law officers has been identified. The Arizona Republic reports the Pima County Medical Office has identified the man as Darrion Taylor, 26. Taylor, who exchanged gunfire with officers while the train was […]
