Trains’ Top 10 railroad stories of 2014 NEWSWIRE

Once known for mainline steam excursions, the NRHS has struggled to find relevance in the Internet age. David Honan 10. The once-mighty National Railway Historical Society appears to be running out of steam. A hotly contested election and a failed reorganization plan brought attention to the venerable organization, but in the end the status quo […]

Read More…

Broadway Limited Imports HO scale EMD SW1500 diesel locomotive

Broadway Limited Imports HO scale EMD SW1500 switcher With its striking color scheme and flashing lights, Broadway Limited Imports’ Southern Pacific “Kodachrome” scheme SW1500 makes a splash. Even in one of the 11 more sedate schemes offered, this highly detailed, sound-equipped model will attract a lot of attention. The model features BLI’s Paragon2 dual-mode sound […]

Read More…

Former Illinois Terminal Bloomington station razed NEWSWIRE

A Norfolk Southern freight passes the structure just before its demolition on Thursday. Steve Smedley BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Like so many others before it, a former Interurban station has bit the dust, literally, as the former Illinois Traction System station and warehouse complex, located in the warehouse district south of downtown Bloomington, Illinois was razed […]

Read More…

MTH RailKing ES44AC Heritage unit

O gauge RailKing ES44AC diesel from MTH Price: $329.95 (no. 30-20170-1 Features: Two can-style motors, smoke unit, coil couplers, ProtoSound 3.0 command and sound system Current road names: BNSF, General Electric Evolution De-monstrator, Pennsylvania RR Heritage unit, Southern Ry. Heritage unit, Union Pacific Announced by MTH in 2013, the RailKing General Electric ES44AC diesels have […]

Read More…

Riding Amtrak’s new electrics

On June 2, 2014, Trains Passenger correspondent Bob Johnston was in the cab of Amtrak ACS-64 electric locomotive 600, joining engineer Darren Avila, road foreman T.C. Williamson Jr., and signal supervisor Joe DiGiacomo aboard Northeast Regional train No. 184 from Washington D.C., to Wilmington, Del. His cover story in the January 2015 issue, “Amtrak’s new […]

Read More…

A month in the life of 4 freight cars

This map shows how four freight cars, threading their way through the North American railroad network, can take about two weeks to cross half the continent. The shippers using these four cars enjoyed tremendous efficiencies by sharing the costs of train crews and locomotives, track and signaling, classification yards, and overhead expenses with the other […]

Read More…

Trainfest 2014 show report

Athearn Trains HO scale Electro-Motive Division FP45 diesel locomotive HO scale locomotives Electro-Motive Division F45 and FP45 diesel locomotives. F45: Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe (pinstripe scheme); BNSF Ry. (ex-Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe yellow bonnet), Burlington Northern, and Montana Rail Link. FP45: Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe (Super Fleet warbonnet) and Milwaukee Road. Railroad-specific […]

Read More…

Former NJT U34CH takes first steps to restoration NEWSWIRE

U34CH No. 3372 in transit in late October. Michael William Sullivan BOONTON, N.J. – For the first time in more than a decade, a General Electric U34CH rolled along the NJ Transit main line. Last week, the United Railroad Historical Society of New Jersey moved the world’s last surviving U34CH, No. 3372, from the New […]

Read More…

Chicago’s new Englewood Flyover opens NEWSWIRE

A banner on the bridge marks the opening. Bob Johnston CHICAGO – The westbound Lake Shore Limited was just a little more than an hour late when it charged past the crowd of politicians and railroad officials lining up to cut the ribbon Thursday. The ceremony would officially open a $142 million grade separation of […]

Read More…

‘Capitol Limited’ slimmed as Amtrak timekeeping improves NEWSWIRE

Running four hours late, the westbound ‘Capitol Limited’ passes Whiting, Ind., on Oct 2, 2014. Bob Johnston CHICAGO – The hours-long delays have begun to disappear not only from Norfolk Southern’s Chicago-Toledo segment of the Capitol Limited, but also on the Empire Builder route. The improvements follow an Oct. 6 letter from Surface Transportation Board […]

Read More…

Canadian Pacific’s predecessors

Some men go to war for their country. Others build railroads. In both ventures, there is sacrifice, struggle, and honor. The driving of the Canadian Pacific’s final spike at Craigellachie, B.C., in 1885 marked a defining moment in Canada’s transformation from a vast swath of land into a nation — a political and economic engine […]

Read More…