Welcome aboard the Trains–Special Interest Tours 2024 Alaska by Rail holiday. Please join us as we travel on the Alaska Railroad for 9 days from Sept. 8 to 17, heading south from Fairbanks to Anchorage, Alaska. Today is a travel day. Our group dined together last evening to wrap up the trip. Today we are […]
Type of Train: Passenger/Transit
Amtrak passenger train names: A legacy unfolds
Amtrak has honored past passenger trains over the years by inheriting their names. How many are in service today and how close — or far — do they follow the original routes? Auto Train Eugene K. Garfield’s Auto-Train carried passengers and their automobiles over the former Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac and Seaboard Coast Line railroads […]
Report shows link between manifest train length and derailments caused by train makeup and handling issues
WASHINGTON – Long manifest trains are more likely to derail than their shorter counterparts due to excessive in-train forces – and the number of wrecks related to train makeup and handling issues has increased sharply since U.S. railroads adopted Precision Scheduled Railroading operating models that rely on ever-longer trains, according to a National Academies of […]
Alaska by Rail outing Day 9 — The Alaska Railroad shops
Welcome aboard the Trains–Special Interest Tours 2024 Alaska by Rail outing. Please join us as we travel on the Alaska Railroad for 9 days from Sept. 8 to 17, heading south from Fairbanks to Anchorage, Alaska. No train travel today, just our bus Pendleton with driver John for a 45 minute run from Girdwood back […]
Alaska by Rail Day 8 — Seeking sunshine, sea lions
Welcome aboard the Trains–Special Interest Tours 2024 Alaska by Rail adventure. Please join us as we travel on the Alaska Railroad for 9 days from Sept. 8 to 17, heading south from Fairbanks to Anchorage, Alaska. There was a beautiful sunrise in southern Alaska this morning — and we got to see it! Yes, after […]
Take Amtrak to see a model railroad
If you’re like me and enjoy riding Amtrak, but also enjoy model railroading, you’ve likely asked yourself “can I take Amtrak to see a model railroad?” The answer is yes! Four model railroads call Amtrak stations their home Durand Union Station Model Railroad Engineers Inc. Durand Union Station 200 Railroad Street Durand, Mich. 48429 […]
Alaska by Rail tour Day 7 — Glaciers, ghosts, tunnels
Welcome aboard the Trains–Special Interest Tours 2024 Alaska by Rail adventure. Please join us as we travel on the Alaska Railroad for 9 days from Sept. 8 to 17, heading south from Fairbanks to Anchorage, Alaska. This morning Anchorage experienced a sunrise as colorful as last evening’s sunset. The colors lasted for only a short […]
Detroit commuter trains remembered
Detroit once had a robust passenger-train network that included two commuter routes that survived into the early 1980s. But when public funding of those trains ended, so did the Detroit commuter trains. Grand Trunk Western began Detroit-Pontiac commuter service on Aug. 1, 1931. Steam locomotives pulled some of the three daily roundtrips until […]
Alaska by Rail expedition Day 6 — An Alaskan sunset
Welcome aboard the Trains–Special Interest Tours 2024 Alaska by Rail expedition. Please join us as we travel on the Alaska Railroad for 9 days from Sept. 8 to 17, heading south from Fairbanks to Anchorage, Alaska. Today we start with breaking Alaskan wilderness news! There has been a Denali sighting. The morning in Talkeetna began […]
Montreal commuter rail lines threatened
MONTREAL — There are Montreal commuter rail lines threatened with closure. A report by Autorité Régionale de Transport Métropolitain suggests that closing three commuter rail lines could save up to C$21 million annually, CBC News reports. Commuters would be served by bus connection to adjacent rail lines instead. They are the three least-traveled EXO commuter […]
Alaska by Rail Day 5 — Riding the ‘Turn’
Welcome aboard the Trains–Special Interest Tours 2024 Alaska by Rail adventure. Please join us as we travel on the Alaska Railroad for 9 days from Sept. 8 to 17, heading south from Fairbanks to Anchorage, Alaska. We begin with an Alaskan vocabulary lesson. Today’s term: termination snow. Dial back to the Day 4 entry when […]
Alaska by Rail trek Day 4 — Traveling from winter to fall
Welcome aboard the Trains–Special Interest Tours 2024 Alaska by Rail adventure. Please join us as we travel on the Alaska Railroad for 9 days from Sept. 8 to 17, heading south from Fairbanks to Anchorage, Alaska. Jump back to yesterday when we were bounding along Park Road inside Denali National Park and Preserve observing wildlife […]