From a “back-in-the-day” perspective, I think the most exotic locomotive Lionel fielded during the postwar era was the GG1 electric. Before you counter with the scale Hudson, F3, or even the GP7, I would suggest that for many years in the late 1940s and ’50s any kid could go down to the local depot and […]
With the real thing in the background, New York Central President Alfred Perlman accepts a model of an RS11 from Alco Products Vice President W. A. Callison in June 1957. NYC bought nine of the 1,800 h.p. road-switchers. Alco […]
Dallas City Council approves $1.7 billion ‘D2’ subway project The Dallas City Council has approved building a new light rail route through downtown including a subway section with three underground stations. WFAA-TV reports the council also said it would support Dallas Area Rapid Transit’s effort to obtain an $800 million Federal Transit Administration grant to […]
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Anticipating rail travel demand comes with dual challenges: incur costs running trains with initial low patronage, or risk not providing enough options to build revenue and transportation relevance. Amtrak will begin restoring daily departures for its long-distance trains in late May, after receiving directives and $1.7 billion from Congress [see “As Amtrak […]
Judge grants Cascades train 501 engineer partial summary judgment in suit against Amtrak A judge in Washington state has ruled that Amtrak is strictly liable for the fatal 2017 derailment of an Amtrak Cascades train in DuPont, Wash., meaning a trial later this year over a claim by the train’s engineer will only be to […]
NEW YORK — The Long Island Rail Road has posted new timetables effective March 29, as well as improved technology to help riders know about seat availability on trains. The timetables announced Wednesday restore the weekday levels of service that had been in place Jan. 25 through March 5. The railroad reduced weekday service as […]
WASHINGTON — The weekly U.S. rail traffic figures from the Association of American Railroad are entering a period where year-to-year comparisons will be skewed because, at this point a year ago, the U.S. economy began to deal with widespread pandemic-related shutdowns, triggering significant reductions in rail traffic. With that in mind, the figures for the […]
Fires disrupt service on Northeast Corridor, Hartford Line Amtrak service on the Northeast Corridor between New York and Boston has been disrupted this morning by fire department activity earlier this morning in Providence, R.I., that has affected overhead power lines. WJAR-TV reports a locomotive fire on an MBTA train in one of the underground approaches […]
Rio Grande Alco PA 6013 revs up out of Littleton, Colo., with the Denver-bound Royal Gorge on May 18, 1967. David Ingles […]
Car weight may be a factor in derailments by new MBTA subway cars The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s new Orange Line subway cars have derailed six times near Wellington Station in Medford, Mass., since the first new cars entered service, and their weight may be a factor. New England Cable News reports five of those […]
MG Tower, a landmark on the former Pennsylvania Railroad Pittsburgh Line through the Allegheny Mountains, is reportedly facing demolition by current owner Norfolk Southern 27 years after its closure. The tower was built to help the Pennsylvania deal with the increased demand to transport war materials, troops, civilian passenger trains, and regular freight shipments. In […]
Tank car of molasses explodes in Minnesota, damaging building An explosion of a tank car full of molasses on Tuesday morning in Cannon Falls, Minn., spewed the sticky substance as far as a mile and a half from the site of the incident. RiverTowns.net reports the Cannon Falls Fire Department received a call about an […]
