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ELKO, Nev. — Sixteen railcars of corn from a Union Pacific train derailed near the Amtrak station in Elko early today (Wednesday, Feb. 28), striking the support of a street overpass and raising question about the bridge’s structural integrity. No injuries were reported and no hazardous materials were involved. The Associated Press reports the derailment […]
WASHINGTON — Coaches where half of the seats face backwards have been standard for years on Amtrak services ranging from many regional state-supported corridors to Acela First Class. Beginning March 2, that configuration is being extended to all Northeast Regional Amfleet-equipped trains. Acela Business Class will transition to permanent “fixed forward and backward” seating later […]
The evolution of model railroad scenery products has been fun to watch. In prior generations, molded-Styrofoam mountains and scenery mats with dyed green sawdust were considered the norm. Today, we’re blessed with a variety of tools and products that make our layouts look more like what we see when we’re standing trackside. In this article, […]
LOS ANGELES — Metrolink will receive funding from the South Coast Air Quality Management District to purchase two zero-emission rail vehicles, and to replace a dozen older locomotives with Tier 4-complient lower-emission locomotives, the commuter rail agency has announced. South Coast AQMD has approved up to $59.3 million for the zero-emission vehicles — likely to […]
SELLERS, S.C. — Seventeen cars of a CSX train derailed early today (Saturday, Feb. 17) in South Carolina’s Marion County, blocking a highway and disrupting Amtrak operations. WBTW-TV reports the derailment occurred about 5 a.m., blocking a portion of U.S. Route 301, which will remain closed at least through the weekend, according to the South […]
PORTLAND, Ore. — Amtrak Cascades and Coast Starlight service has been halted between Portland and Seattle for 48 hours because of a landslide earlier today, Amtrak announced shortly before noon PT today (Friday, Feb. 16). It is the fourth slide disruption on the route in less than a month. For both today and Saturday, Feb. […]
I was promoted to conductor on May 19, 1981. This was rare at my age — I had just turned 21 at the end of 1980. In those days you had to have two years on the road as a brakeman to even qualify to get a promotion. The test I had to take had […]
TAFT, Fla. – The James E. Strates Shows carnival train – which has hauled midway attractions to fairs up and down the East Coast since 1934 – may have unceremoniously made its last trip. When the 45-car train was spotted on the two spurs adjacent to the Strates headquarters outside of Orlando, Fla., on Nov. […]
NEW YORK — Amtrak and transit agencies in the Northeast have begun making schedule adjustments for Tuesday, Feb. 13, based on forecasts of a major winter storm expected to hit the area. As of 5:10 p.m. Eastern Time, Amtrak has announced these changes for Tuesday: — Acela trains Nos. 2163 and 2167 will not operate […]
More former British High Speed Train, or HST, trainsets are now on their way to Mexico. An initial shipment of HST equipment arrived last year for passenger service on the Tehuantepec Isthmus Railway/Ferrocarril del Istmo de Tehuantepec rail line in the south of the country [see “Passenger equipment from Britain, US heads to Mexico,” Trains […]
WASHINGTON — Drivers in two fatal January collisions at the same grade crossing in Melbourne, Fla., drove around lowered crossing gates before being struck by Brightline trains, the National Transportation Safety Board said in its preliminary report issued Thursday, Feb. 8, confirming earlier news reports. Officially, the NTSB is investigating a Jan. 12 collision at […]
A railroad study in snow On Jan. 15, 1885, Wilson “Snowflake” Bentley, a farmer from Jericho, Vt., became the first person to successfully photograph a single snow crystal — a snowflake. Bentley, in his study of snow, went on to capture images of more than 5,000 individual snowflakes, finding that, in fact, no two were […]
