WASHINGTON – Amtrak announced to employees yesterday that it would be offering buyouts to employees not covered by labor agreements. In a special employee advisory, Amtrak said starting next week it would be offering non-agreement employees a Voluntary Separation Incentive Payment in order “to better allocate its resources and align the structure of the company […]
Type of Train: Passenger/Transit
“Silver Chalet” history
The Silver Chalet, once part of the Western Pacific’s California Zephyr, rests outside Quad/Graphics’ Sussex, Wis., printing plant Nov. 24, 2004. Cody Grivno Q I saw a private car named “Silver Chalet” at Union Station in Washington, D.C. It had an odd-looking observation platform. Can you tell me its history and who owns it now?— […]
Kato USA N scale Penn Central GG1 electric locomotive and “rainbow fleet” passenger cars
Kato USA N scale Penn Central’s “rainbow fleet” passenger cars Not too long ago, if a modeler was into N scale and the short-lived Penn Central’s passenger fleet, he would have some painting and decaling projects ahead. Now Kato has released its great-running GG1 electric locomotive and some passenger cars in accurate PC paint schemes. […]
Pennsy Tubular Train
The Pennsylvania Railroad’s Keystone Tubular Train, built by The Budd Co. in 1956, was designed to hug the rails tighter and enable faster transit times. PRR Q What happened to the Pennsylvania Railroad’s Keystone Tubular Train? I heard it was in Michigan and derailed on its way to a new owner for dinner train service.— […]
Latest high speed rail news and plan overview, map NEWSWIRE
High speed rail headlines from Trains News Wire News: Wisconsin legislature funds ‘Hiawatha’ projects, July 19, 2011 News: House passes bill to rescind high speed rail funds, July 18, 2011 News: California may bypass Tehachapis on high speed rail route, May 5, 2011 News: Illinois wins Florida high speed rail money, May 5, 2011 News: […]
Turbine power all the way
High speed in New England in the 1970s meant these turbine-powered trainsets built by United Aircraft, which sprinted between Boston and New York from 1969 to 1976. The two Turbotrains (Amtrak later bought a third set from VIA Rail Canada) achieved the route’s best-ever timings — 3 hours and 48 minutes between Boston and New […]
Talgo speed comparison
Talgo’s pendular suspension lowers the carbody’s center of gravity and relocates its center of rotation, all enabling Talgo cars to take curves faster without causing excessive passenger discomfort due to the centrifugal force. Q How much faster would a Talgo-like train be than a conventional single level or bilevel (Superliner) over the same stretch of […]
California Zephyr tragedy recalls 1999 truck crash NEWSWIRE
RENO, Nev. — At 11:19 a.m. Pacific Time Friday, a tractor-trailer gravel truck traveling at a high rate of speed on U.S. 95 at Ocala, Nev., about 70 miles east of Reno, barreled into the side of the westbound California Zephyr. The truck struck the left-hand side of the Zephyr behind the two locomotives and […]
Athearn N scale Electro-Motive Division F59PHI passenger locomotive
Athearn N scale Electro-Motive Division F59PHI passenger locomotive An N scale EMD F59PHI passenger locomotive was introduced by Athearn eight years ago. (We reviewed it in our April 2003 issue.) Athearn makes a number of improvements in its new release of this sharp-looking streamlined engine, the most notable of which is a SoundTraxx Digital Command […]
Video: Kato N scale Union Pacific City of Los Angeles
Watch as four powered Kato N scale E9 diesels lead the 11-car Union Pacific City of Los Angeles. We ran the N scale passenger train on our Salt Lake Route model railroad. […]
Video: Kato N scale Union Pacific City of Los Angeles
Watch as four powered Kato N scale E9 diesels lead the 11-car Union Pacific City of Los Angeles. We ran the N scale passenger train on our Salt Lake Route model railroad. […]
Kato N scale City of Los Angeles
Kato N scale City of Los Angeles I watched the sleek yellow Kato City of Los Angeles snake through the desert scenery of our N scale Salt Lake Route layout. A great thing about N scale is that you can run full-length name passenger trains on a modest-size layout. A great thing about this Kato […]
