Connecticut Southern Railroad was created by short line holding company RailTex in 1996, assuming Conrail’s freight operations over 55 miles of Amtrak’s Springfield Line between Springfield, Mass., and North Haven, Conn., as well as branches the new railroad purchased from Conrail. Four years later, RailTex was purchased by RailAmerica, which in turn was acquired by […]
Great Circus Train In January 2017, the Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey circus announced it was closing down after more than 100 years in operation. For many, the transportation of the “Greatest Show on Earth” — its performers, animals and equipment — has been just as fascinating as the show itself. Circus trains became an […]
Irish Rail It was the early 1990s and I was an Electro-Motive Division export locomotive district sales manager in the International Locomotive Business Group, based at EMD’s headquarters in LaGrange, Ill. At the time, I was responsible for our locomotive and spare parts sales in Europe, and one of my customers was Irish Rail. During […]
What was your first byline in Trains? Thomas Danneman: My first byline was in the March 2006 issue. I had photos published before then, including a few covers, but “New Muscle for Montana,” which was about Montana Rail Link’s new SD70ACe locomotives, included my first published words. What’s your favorite locomotive and why? Thomas Danneman: […]
SD70-series locomotives EMD’s SD70-series is the longest-running locomotive series in railroading, spanning over three decades. There have been nine domestic new-build models. There are also many more export and remanufactured models that use the “70-series” designation. First introduced in 1992 as the successor to EMD’s “60-series” locomotives, the “70-series” locomotives were the builder’s first to […]
Trains take a detour The whir of an electric switch motor fills the air as a dwarf signal flashes from red to green. Beneath a blinding headlight, four locomotives advance stiffly along a tight connecting track as the rails squeal in protest. A dark figure emerges from a pickup truck waiting in the gathering darkness, […]
This story originally appeared in the May 2012 issue of Trains Magazine. Train wreck Two very similar passenger trains approach a standing locomotive at slow speed in an over-under video produced by the John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center in Cambridge, Mass. On impact, one train crumples with the lead car, but stays in […]
The Rail Diesel Car (RDC) was the Budd Co.’s answer to declining passenger traffic during the post war. The demonstrator was introduced on Sept. 19, 1949, at Chicago Union Station. As described by Trains’ then-Associate Editor David P. Morgan in the November 1949 issue, this new rail-motor car was a combination of prior self-propelled technology, […]
Amtrak Toledo services have seen changes consistent with the rest of the national network in its 50-year history. Throughout its history, Amtrak trains have called upon the former New York Central station on Emerald Avenue at the south end of downtown. NYC opened the station, built with cream brick and copious amounts of glass block, […]
EMD may be the most famous locomotive manufacturer in the history of railroading. Despite that success, there are models in the the EMD history books which arrived to little fanfare and few orders. The following are six notable examples of EMD locomotives that, for one reason or another, no one wanted. EMD Model 40 The […]
Storing locomotives Changing traffic levels affect the amount of equipment in operation, from freight cars to locomotives. When events occur such as a softening of the economy, losing a major contract to haul goods, or the end of a cyclical demand such as a grain harvest, a railroad will occasionally have to store equipment when […]
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom The view from the Library module of Abobe’s powerful digital image organization and editing software, Photoshop Lightroom. Recognizing the popularity of digital photography and the need to keep collections organized, Adobe released Photoshop Lightroom in early 2007. This software offers a user-friendly interface that lets you store, locate, sort, and edit your […]
