Northern Pacific’s last batch of 2-8-2s came from Alco in 1923. One member of the class, No. 1843, blasts through Thompson Falls, Mont., with a 73-car freight train on September 22, 1940. J. W. Maxwell The first true North American 2-8-2s were built by Alco for the Northern Pacific in 1904. (Experimental locomotives with the […]
Sandra Grausso and her pal Eeyore take some time to enjoy the scenery from a Viewliner standard bedroom on the Lake Shore Limited, during her move from Los Angeles to New York. Bob Johnston Sandra Grausso, a music business professional, was relocating from Los Angeles to New York. She had just spent two nights on […]
Two electric multiple-unit New Jersey Transit trains pause at Elizabeth, N.J., during an evening rush hour along the four-track Northeast Corridor. Matt Van Hattem NJ Transit Rail Operations is the subsidiary of New Jersey Transit Corporation charged with managing and operating commuter rail service in the Garden State. Commuter service that had been provided by […]
AMT F59PHI 1325 coasts through the Montreal West, Quebec, station with a train from Blainville bound for Windsor Station in downtown Montreal on November 24, 2000. John Godfrey AMT, an acronym for Agence Métropolitaine de Transport (Metropolitan Transportation Agency), coordinates Montreal’s commuter rail service, a 112-mile system comprised of five lines and 45 stations. The […]
Passenger service on the 200-mile MARC system is distinguished by the need to serve commuters working in two different metropolitan areas. Rush-hour trains operate both ways on two separate routes between Baltimore and Washington: Amtrak’s electrified Northeast Corridor via New Carrollton (the Penn Line), and CSX’s Capital Subdivision via Jessup and College Park (the Camden […]
Scenic highlight of a ride on the Panama Canal Railway is the Montelino Causeway across Gatun Lake. Bob Johnston The Panama Canal Railway Company is like a steel chameleon. It runs a successful passenger operation serving different types of travelers. Then, with the issuance of a simple track warrant, the railroad changes in an instant […]
Coupled to the front of the Pretoria-Cape Town Trans Karoo are three Premier Classe cars – a new service providing comfortable accommodations at a reasonable price. The Trans Karoo is seen pulling into Hermon. Karl Zimmermann Luxurious cruise trains often turn up on public television specials, as do trips to such remote places as Mexico’s […]
Two SEPTA MU trainsets are seen laying over between runs near Powelton yard, just west of 30th Street Station Philadelphia, on March 4, 2000. Matt Van Hattem SEPTA, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, operates a network of commuter trains, buses, trolleys, subways, and trackless trolleys that serve Philadelphia and surrounding areas. SEPTA’s commuter rail service […]
Altamont Commuter Express train 06 has just left San Jose, Calif., on its late-evening run to Stockton on April 23, 2001. Elrond Lawrence Altamont Commuter Express trains operate on an 82-mile route between Stockton and San Jose, Calif., through the San Joaquin, Central, and Silicon Valleys. ACE trains use a combination of Caltrain and Union […]
Twenty minutes out of Portland, Downeaster train 682 crosses Scarborough Marsh. Bob Johnston The return of passenger rail service to Maine was a story 13 years in the making, as Bob Johnston explained in the June 2002 issue of TRAINS Magazine. The passenger corridor, which launched in December 2001, could be a model for future […]
Coaster trains operate on a 42-mile route between the Oceanside Transit Center and the Santa Fe depot in downtown San Diego, serving 8 stations. The tracks, once part of Santa Fe’s Surf Line, have long hosted intercity passenger trains between San Diego and Los Angeles. Today, Amtrak runs Pacific Surfliners on the route, linking San […]
Slant-nosed Metra F40PH-2Ms are seen powering Rock Island district trains, approaching Chicago’s LaSalle St. Station on December 15, 1997. Howard Ande Chicago has been North America’s railroad capital for 150 years, and Trains Magazine showed you why in special issues devoted to the city in July 2003 and July 1993. But while Chicago is a […]
