NEWARK, N.J. — The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has issued a Request for Qualifications for a 2.5-mile elevated train system to replace the current Newark AirTrain. This is the Port Authority’s second attempt to advance the project, approved by Federal Aviation Administration last year [see “Newark AirTrain project gets federal environmental […]
NEW YORK — Wabtec’s FLXdrive battery-electric locomotive project has been named “Commercial Technology of the Year” at the annual Platts Global Energy Award ceremony, held last week. In a Commodity Insights Magazine report, judges indicated they liked the fact that Wabtec “has engaged a lot of customers” and is “already generating revenue” from the project. […]
General American Transportation Corporation 2600 Airslide hopper in N scale from Athearn Genesis Scale: N (1:160) Price: Single car, $39.99; two-pack, $69.99 Era: 1957+ (varies depending on paint scheme) Manufacturer: Athearn Trains, 2904 Research Rd., Champaign, IL 61822; 800-338-4639; athearn.com General American Transportation Corporation 2600 Airslide hopper features: Factory installed wire grab irons and brake piping […]
American Car and Foundry 50-foot boxcar from Moloco Trains Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: Contact manufacturer Era: 1971+ (Varies by paint scheme) Manufacturer: Moloco Trains, info@molocotrains.com, www.molocotrains.com American Car and Foundry 50-foot boxcar features: Prototype-specific cushioned or non-cushioned versions Car number specific handbrakes Prototype specific American Car and Foundry draft gear design Multiple versions of door […]
Arriving in hobby shops now is the Athearn HO scale General Electric Dash 9-44CW diesel locomotive. The newly tooled model features a variety of railroad-specific details. Road names offered on the first run of the six-axle road locomotive are Canadian National (red, white, and black with “wet noodle” herald); Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe (warbonnet); […]
MEDFORD, Mass. — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority opened its Green Line light rail extension to Medford this morning (Monday, Dec. 12), completing a $2.3 billion project adding five stations. The Boston Globe reports more than 200 people were gathered at the Medford/Tufts station by 4:37 a.m., with a packed first train departing at 4:52 […]
ScaleTrains has released a second run of its HO General Electric ES44AC diesel locomotive. The modern six-axle road unit is decorated for Canadian Pacific (with and without Lord Strathcona’s Horse stencil), Citirail (silver, blue, and yellow), CSX (armed forces, first responders, and law enforcement schemes in one road number each), Ferromex (original red, white, and […]
NEW YORK — The Metropolitan Transportation Authority remains mum on its date to open Grand Central Madison, the new Long Island Rail Road station beneath Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan. But that date has moved one step closer with the announcement that operational control of the facility has shifted from MTA Construction and Development, the […]
THE PAS, Manitoba — Disruptions to the remote train service between The Pas and Pukatawagan in northern Manitoba, along with the train’s limited capacity, have left some people stranded in The Pas for extended periods, the CBC reports. The problems were highlighted last Monday, Dec. 5, when the train — which only operates only twice […]
MINERSVILLE, Pa. — A largely overlooked steam locomotive in Pennsylvania’s anthracite coal region is Central Railroad of New Jersey 0-6-0 switcher No. 113 (American Locomotive Co., 1923), owned and operated by the nonprofit Railway Restoration Project 113 of Minersville, Pa. The engine runs only a few times a year, mostly for Santa Claus trains, pulling […]
RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Few people were more knowledgeable — or more enthusiastic —about passenger rail operations in the United States and Mexico over the last 70 years than Ed Von Nordeck, who died Dec. 6 in California. He was 89. Von Nordeck began learning the basics as a Southern Pacific ticket agent in 1952 at […]
MOBILE, Ala. — Amtrak expects to begin operating passenger service between New Orleans and Mobile, Ala., sometime in 2023, but virtually all other details of the operation remain undisclosed after a meeting of the Southern Rail Commission, the Al.com news site reports. The commission held its quarterly meeting Friday in Mobile. The news site notes […]
