UPDATE: Amtrak CEO says passenger trains will not run over track without PTC or PTC waiver NEWSWIRE

RichardAnderson

Amtrak CEO Richard Anderson Amtrak WASHINGTON — If railroads that host Amtrak passenger trains fail to meet Congress’ statutory requirement to have positive train control installed Dec. 31, 2018, Amtrak’s president says the company will drop service on lines that don’t comply. The move would significantly disrupt passenger service on virtually every Amtrak route in […]

Read More…

Helper locomotive crews

TRNAT0116_03

On Aug. 6, 2012, a single Illinois Central manned helper locomotive brings up the rear of a southbound Canadian National intermodal train working up Byron Hill on the Waukesha Subdivision near Byron, Wis. Tom Danneman Q How do locomotive engineers know they are doing equal work on trains equipped with manned helpers? – Robert A. […]

Read More…

SEPTA begins ACS-64 locomotive testing NEWSWIRE

SEPTAtestsnewACS64locomotives

Siemens-made SEPTA ACS-64 No. 901 moves through Roslyn, Pa., on Feb. 10. Gary Pancavage PHILADELPHIA — Watch for sleek new power on lines in and around the City of Brotherly Love as the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority begins testing their first copy of Siemens’ ACS-64 electric locomotive. Railfans spotted SEPTA No. 901 at the intersection […]

Read More…

Book Review: Guide to North American Diesel Locomotives

DieselLocomotives

Guide to North American Diesel Locomotives By Jeff Wilson Kalmbach Books; 350 pages, 400+ photos, softcover, 8.25 x 10.75 inches; $27.99. www.kalmbachhobbystore.com Back in the late 1950s/early 1960s, many “old guard” railfans held the opinion that the hobby of train watching would gradually die out concurrently with the demise of steam. In 1963, Lucius Beebe, […]

Read More…

BNSF upgrades to help clear the air in Montana tunnel NEWSWIRE

bnsflogo

WHITEFISH, Mont. — BNSF Railway is spending $135 million on its Montana rail network in 2018, part of which will go toward upgrading the ventilation system at Flathead Tunnel, the second longest railroad portal in the United States. About 50 trains a day use the 7-mile long tunnel located 28 miles west of Whitefish, including […]

Read More…

Pan Am paints second GE locomotive NEWSWIRE

newMEC7635

Freshly painted Pan Am Railway C40-8 No. 7635 rolls west in the consist of Waterville-to-Portland train WAPO on Feb. 10, 2018, near New Gloucester, Maine. Chris Guss WATERVILLE, Maine — Pan Am Railways’ second C40-8 rolled out of the paint booth last week. MEC No. 7635, formerly a CSX Transportation locomotive of the same road […]

Read More…

Senate confirms Batory as FRA head NEWSWIRE

WASHINGTON — Media outlets report that Ron Batory is now confirmed as the Federal Railroad Administration’s administrator. Washington media outlets Politico and the Hill report that the U.S. Senate confirmed Batory, the former Conrail Shared Assets head, along with two other nominees. U.S. Sens. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Cory Booker, D-N.J., had held Batory’s nomination as […]

Read More…