STRASBURG, Pa. – Personnel from the Strasburg Rail Road, Virginia Museum of Transportation, and Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania moved famed Norfolk & Western Railway 4-8-4 No. 611 from the Strasburg’s track across Pennsylvania Route 741 to the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania for winter storage on January 31. The move was made to free up track […]
PORTER, Ind. — Work on the South Shore’s Double Track project remains on schedule, the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District was told at its Monday board meeting, with a full resumption of revenue service likely in about 16 months. The Times of Northwest Indiana reports that NICTD President Michael Noland told the board that trains […]
NEW YORK — The Metropolitan Transportation Authority project to bring Metro-North commuter rail service to Penn Station via Amtrak’s Hell Gate Line, while building four new stations in the Bronx, has barely begun — but is already facing notable delays. Bloomberg reports Jamie Torres-Springer, president of MTA Construction and Development, told an MTA board committee […]
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 […]
SALT LAKE CITY — The Arizona Spike, one of four created for ceremonies marking the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869, sold for $2.22 million in an auction that concluded last week, far more than had been anticipated. KSL-TV reports Christie’s had set a pre-auction estimate of $300,000 to $500,000 for the spike, with […]
POCATELLO, Idaho — Cleanup continued Monday after 25 railcars derailed at Union Pacific’s yard in Pocatello Sunday night, the Idaho State Journal reports. The accident occurred about 11 p.m. No injuries were reported and mainline operations were not affected. No hazardous materials were involved. The railroad said the cause of the derailment was under investigation. […]
BALTIMORE — President Joe Biden today announced that the project to replace the Baltimore & Potomac Tunnel, a Northeast Corridor bottleneck dating to 1873, will receive more than $4 billion in federal infrastructure funding. “The structure is deteriorating. The roof is leaking. The floor is sinking. This is the United States of America, for God’s […]
The Lionel trains in The Fabelmans movie will enthrall postwar O gauge enthusiasts, if only for a little while. The motion picture, released in November 2022, provides a partially autobiographical look at the early life of famed director Steven Spielberg. At the beginning of The Fabelmans, young Sammy Fabelman – based on Spielberg – is […]
Meet James Kottkamp How did you get started in the hobby? My interest in model trains came from the real thing. After church on Sundays, Dad would park the car next to the Missouri Pacific Railroad tracks in Kirkwood, Mo. Kirkwood was the crest of the hill; westbound from St. Louis and eastbound from Valley […]
WASHINGTON — Union Pacific has asked the Surface Transportation Board to order mediation in response to Amtrak’s request for an investigation into its handling of the Sunset Limited, and says the current Sunset schedule is the root cause of the train’s problems. In a Friday filing with the STB, UP asserts that the Sunset schedule […]
BALTIMORE — President Joe Biden is scheduled to visit Baltimore this afternoon to announce funding and labor agreements for the project to replace the Baltimore & Potomac Tunnel, the 150-year-old route into Baltimore Penn Station that is a major bottleneck on the Northeast Corridor. Biden is scheduled to speak about 2:45 p.m. EST, WMAR-TV reports. […]
MONTREAL — VIA Rail Canada has issued a formal request for information from potential manufacturers of locomotives and passenger cars who might be interested in re-equipping the company’s long distance and regional remote passenger trains. VIA’s appeal comes as Amtrak is evaluating responses received from a similar invitation [see “Amtrak seeks carbuilder interest …,” Trains […]
