More Midwest Venture cars enter service; California still waits

Train with four matching Siemens Venture passenger cars

Second of two parts CHICAGO — The introduction of Venture business/coach cars on some state-supported Amtrak routes in the Midwest reflects an increase in availability of the Siemens-built equipment, delayed by a variety of production and acceptance issues. Meanwhile, there is still no firm date for the introduction of California’s Venture equipment, although a spokesman […]

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Slide suspends Seattle-Portland ‘Cascades’ service through Friday

Train at station platform

SEATTLE — Amtrak Cascades between Seattle and Portland, Ore., remain suspended through Friday, April 14, while BNSF Railway crews clear a mudslide that has kept passenger trains from operating since Tuesday. Portland-Eugene, Ore., and Seattle-Vancouver, B.C., trains have continued to operate, while the Coast Starlight to and from Los Angeles has been turning at Portland. […]

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Venture business-class cars debut in Midwest: Trip report

Interior of business-class car

First of two parts  CHICAGO — After being delayed for several years by production setbacks and acceptance issues, the first of 17 state-owned Siemens Venture business-class cars are now hosting passengers on Midwest Amtrak routes. They are not being advertised, however, and you only need a regular coach ticket to ride the cars. They feature […]

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Virginia seeks additional funding for Long Bridge project

Aerial-view rendering of bridge across river

RICHMOND, Va. — The cost of a second rail bridge over the Potomac River — a key part of Virginia’s plan for major expansion of Amtrak and commuter-rail service on the I-95 corridor south from Washington, D.C.— has risen substantially, leading to a $389 million shortfall, the Washington Post reports.= The new two-track Long Bridge […]

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The Lionel F40PH

Lionel F40PH Panama Canal front end

The Lionel F40PH is a great model of a locomotive that has quietly become one of the true diesel success stories in railroad history. The F40PH saw construction in various phases by General Motors’ Electro-Motive Division between 1975-92. Its purpose was initially short-haul passenger service for Amtrak. This mission was quickly revised to add long-distance […]

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News photo: The ‘Adirondack’ is back

Passenger train with red and blue locomotive with body of water in foreground and high-rise apartments behind

MONTREAL — The last of Amtrak’s cross-border trains, and the last route suspended at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, has finally been fully restored. After the New York-Montreal Adirondack made its first run on Monday, April 3, the first southbound train made the return trip today (Tuesday, April 4). It is shown above passing […]

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Keystone Corridor service resumes

blue and silver passenger train passes brick tower

LANCASTER, Pa.— Amtrak and Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority train services on the Keystone Line, annulled on Sunday due to storm damage, was resumed late this morning after having been shut down Sunday. Early-morning Amtrak operations between Philadelphia and Harrisburg were annulled earlier today, as was service on SEPTA’s Thorndale and Paoli routes. Service was restored […]

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Amtrak E60 locomotives

Front three-quarter view of Amtrak E60 locomotives

Amtrak E60 locomotives are an important bridge for Northeast Corridor electric railroading between the GG1s of the 1930s and 1940s to the AEM-7 and HHP-8 locomotives of the 1980s and early 2000s.   E60 locomotive history General Electric developed the E60 C-C or six-axle locomotives at its Erie, Pa., plant in the early 1970s. The […]

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