GM&O’s “Plug”

Gulf Mobile and Ohio Railroad at Chicago Union Station

Gulf, Mobile & Ohio F3 883-A leads the road’s weekday commuter train to Joliet away from Chicago Union Station not long before GM&O merged with Illinois Central to form Illinois Central Gulf. The little train was widely known as “The Plug.” John R. Taibi photo […]

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PTC and passenger speeds

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Amtrak’s ‘Empire Builder’ streaks through Brookfield, Wis. The speed limit for Amtrak on Canadian Pacific’s Watertown Subdivision is 79 mph. Tom Danneman Q Most Amtrak trains have a 79-mph speed limit. Will positive train control systems allow Amtrak to operate faster where track conditions allow? For instance, the Southwest Chief operates to 90 mph in […]

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Metra unveils F40PH heritage unit

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CHICAGO — One of Metra’s oldest passenger locomotives is sporting a color scheme to match the one it came with in 1977. About 100 Metra officials, passengers, and railfans gathered at Chicago’s LaSalle Street Station on Thursday to celebrate 40 years of continuous service for the EMD F40PH unit by wrapping it in the sea […]

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MARTA general manager and CEO to resign NEWSWIRE

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ATLANTA — The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority will soon begin a nation-wide for a new CEO. MARTA General Manager and CEO Keith Parker announced this week he would be resigning from the top spot at Atlanta’s transit agency to become CEO at Goodwill of North Georgia. Parker has held his current position at MARTA […]

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Siemens’ Chargers’ grand entrance to Chicago

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CHICAGO — Amtrak, Siemens, and state of Illinois officials staged a media open house at Chicago Union Station on Monday marking the debut of the first Charger locomotives assigned to Midwest routes. “Twelve of the 33 ordered Chargers are on the property and I can put ten in service today,” says Mike Yates, Amtrak’s Chicago-based […]

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USA Trains passenger cars

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Marc Horovitz 1:29 scale, gauge-1 passenger cars USA Trains PO Box 100 Malden MA 02148 Prices: All cars are $479.95 ea. except the Vista Dome and observation, which are $499.95 ea. Website: www.usatrains.com Mostly metal passenger cars; extruded aluminum body; five different body styles; sprung, diecast-metal trucks with metal wheels; LED interior lighting; opening doors […]

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Siemens Charger solos for first time out of Chicago NEWSWIRE

CHICAGO — This morning, Amtrak Hiawatha train No. 329 departed Chicago Union Station for Milwaukee behind a new SC-44 Charger locomotive, No. 4620. This is the first solo revenue trip for the Illinois Department of Transportation’s SC-44 locomotives since arriving in the Windy City this spring. This locomotive and its counterparts are owned by a […]

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Bachmann HO scale lighted passenger cars

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Bachmann HO scale lighted passenger cars Bachmann’s smooth-side passenger cars have surface-mount light-emitting diode illumination. To remove the shell, spread the body over the truck and lift it off. A pair of smooth-side, full length, lighted passenger cars with interiors is new from Bachmann. The coach and observation are based on New York Central and […]

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Coast-to-coast passenger train

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Amtrak’s westbound ‘Sunset Limited’ pauses for a station stop in Atmore, Ala., at sunrise in January 1995. It was the nation’s first and only transcontinental passenger train. Bob Johnston Q There were numerous named passenger trains that spanned distances beyond the reach of a single railroad, such as the California Zephyr between Chicago and Oakland, […]

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