Amtrak suggests Adirondack passengers take the bus: Analysis

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — After more than a month with no mention in the “Passenger Advisories” section of Amtrak’s website that the New York-Montreal Adirondack wasn’t running north of Saratoga Springs, N.Y., the passenger operator has acknowledged that the summertime hiatus will extend until Sept. 9. The “Modified Adirondack Service” notice appeared a week after […]

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Railfan Road: Chicago’s Cicero Avenue

Roosevelt Road used to be ‘the’ Chicago railfan road. On less than a mile of viaducts just south of downtown, fans could catch passenger trains to and from many of the great Chicago passenger stations and associated coach yards. But intercity trains now only call at Union Station, and while commuters still roll, several iconic […]

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Lawmakers spar over Amtrak profitability and transparency at House Rail Subcommittee hearing

WASHINGTON — Aside from the revelation that Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner was granted $620,000 in bonuses on top of a $500,000 salary last year, very little new ground was covered at today’s House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Rail Subcommittee hearing. The hearing, “Amtrak and Intercity Passenger Rail Oversight: Promoting Performance, Safety and Accountability,” was abruptly […]

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Memorable train rides: Summerville Steam Special

Trains Video Producer Kevin’s pick: Summerville Steam Special Name of Train: Summerville Steam Special The route: Chattanooga, Tenn. to Summerville, Ga, roundtrip excursion Duration: 9 hours and about 100 miles round trip The adventure: Departing from the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum’s Grand Junction depot in Chattanooga, Tenn., this all-day steam excursion takes passengers over a […]

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The first of many Kodachrome slides

  Like many other railfans back in the mid-1960s, I was shooting using black & white negative film essentially on an exclusive basis. Reasons for this included budget (color slide film and processing were more expensive than monochrome), camera quality issues (it turned out that my Argus C-3 could do a reasonably good job with […]

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Chicago & Eastern Illinois history remembered

Chicago & Eastern Illinois history was special to those to watched the railroad firsthand.     In the pantheon of great railroad names, “Chicago” was so often the magic word. Think of all the carriers with Chicago on their letterhead, railroads with thousands of miles on their system maps, railroads whose names imply vast, continental […]

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Pacific Surfliner adds service for X Games in Ventura

VENTURA, Calif. — For the second straight year, Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner is adding service to Ventura while the city hosts the X Games sporting competition. The additional trains will run June 28-30; during the same period, reservations will be required on the Surfliners because of anticipated additional ridership, and the Rail 2 Rail and Metrolink […]

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