Pacific Surfliner service resumes to San Luis Obispo

GOLETA, Calif. — Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner resumed service between Goleta and San Luis Obispo on Monday, Jan. 30, following a two-week suspension. The updated schedule of service to and from San Luis Obispo is available here. Operations north of Goleta had been suspended while Union Pacific repaired a storm-damaged trestle on the grounds of Vandenberg […]

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Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad profile

Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad summary The Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad (DL) is a short line railroad that operates in northeast Pennsylvania. The line is owned by the Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Railroad Authority and leased to the Genesee Valley Transportation Company. Headquartered out of Scranton, the railroad diverges into multiple lines totaling more than 90 miles of standard-gauge track, one […]

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Clarendon and Pittsford Railroad profile

Clarendon and Pittsford Railroad summary The Clarendon and Pittsford Railroad (CLP) is a short line railroad that operates in Vermont and New York. It’s a subsidiary to Vermont Rail System, a privately held firm that is owned by the Wulfson family for more than 50 years. Heading west from Rutland, Vt., to Whitehall, N.Y., the […]

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Amtrak suffers more long-distance cancellations, delays: Analysis

CHICAGO — None of the individual delays that befell numerous cross-country Amtrak trains during the last week were as lengthy or dramatic as the 37-hour ordeal experienced by more than 500 Auto Train passengers on Jan. 12. But recurring tardiness on several routes, coupled with reduced equipment availability triggering sellouts and high fares, has posed […]

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News photos: Long-distance Charger goes to Florida

Tucked into Amtrak’s locomotive consist for southbound train No. 91, the Silver Star, on Friday, Jan. 20, was Siemens ALC42 Charger No. 316, shown as the train passed through Fredericksburg, Va. Photographer Nathan Richters reports it is believed to be the first revenue trip for a Charger in Florida service. The long-distance Chargers are gradually […]

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Aberdeen Carolina and Western Railway Company profile

Aberdeen Carolina and Western Railway Company Summary Aberdeen Carolina and Western Railway Company (ACWR) is a regional railroad that operates in North Carolina. It’s owned by Robert Menzies who also serves as chairman. A total of 150 miles of standard-gauge track runs from Charlotte to Raleigh as the main line with a branch extending south […]

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The Milwaukee Road Hiawatha passenger trains

Milwaukee Road Hiawatha passenger trains are the long-lasting legacy of a Midwestern railroad plagued with underperformance and mismanagement — right up until its merger with the much smaller Soo Line in 1986. Rather than recount the bad times, join us for a look back at the Hiawatha trains over the years. Only from Trains.com. Twin […]

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Railroading and the 1967 Chicago snow storm

Railroading and the 1967 Chicago snow storm: My week off, and a visit home to the Detroit area, had been planned. That its timing, at the end of January 1967, turned out to allow me to view the aftermath of Chicago’s heaviest 24-hour snowfall ever, and ride one special train and photograph another, was coincidental. […]

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Portland day-trip rail experience

Portland day-trip rail experience: In the coastal Pacific Northwest, a Portland day-trip rail experience is easy enough that you can leave your vehicle at your local train station, and not think about automobiles for the rest of the day. With all Amtrak corridor and long-distance trains calling on Portland, Oregon one can usually find a […]

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My dream 4-by-8 model railroad layout

What’s in my dream 4-by-8 model railroad? A yard, continuous operation, and lots of places to switch. Just because you don’t have a lot of room for your model railroad doesn’t necessarily mean you need to give up on your dream layout. You might just need to scale your dreams back a bit. While that […]

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