An outbound Metra train pulled by F40PHM-2 No. 205 meets an inbound, with F40PH-3 No. 119 pushing, at Lisle, Ill., in August 2015. No. 205 was damaged in a derailment while en route for rebuilding in Georgia. TRAINS: David Lassen A Metra locomotive on its way to Georgia for rebuilding was damaged in a CSX […]
Two Chicago & North Western Pacific-powered commuter trains (“scoots,” in local parlance) unload passengers at the road’s Windy City passenger terminal in June 1953. Wallace W. Abbey photo […]
Amtrak CEO Richard Anderson Amtrak WASHINGTON — If railroads that host Amtrak passenger trains fail to meet Congress’ statutory requirement to have positive train control installed Dec. 31, 2018, Amtrak’s president says the company will drop service on lines that don’t comply. The move would significantly disrupt passenger service on virtually every Amtrak route in […]
Siemens-made SEPTA ACS-64 No. 901 moves through Roslyn, Pa., on Feb. 10. Gary Pancavage PHILADELPHIA — Watch for sleek new power on lines in and around the City of Brotherly Love as the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority begins testing their first copy of Siemens’ ACS-64 electric locomotive. Railfans spotted SEPTA No. 901 at the intersection […]
Lowell Smith N scale sleepers Price: $54 each Manufacturer Lowell Smith Signature Series P.O. Box 219 Gresham, OR 97030 www.lowellsmith.net Car names: Death Valley and Grand Canyon Era: late 1940s to early 1950s Comments: The Lowell Smith Signature Series has launched a new line of N scale passenger cars, the Pullman Park Series. The first […]
An aerial view of Sunday’s wreck between Amtrak’s Silver Star and a parked CSX freight train in Cayce, S.C. The widow of the Amtrak conductor killed in the crash has filed suit against Amtrak and CSX. Jeff Blake, The Associated Press JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The widow of the conductor killed in Sunday’s crash of Amtrak’s […]
Confidential Close Call reporting basics A New Jersey Transit train zips northward from Atlantic City to New York’s Penn Station on Jan. 23, 2010. If the crew were to err, they could report the close call and be part of a bigger program to improve safety, rather than be punished. Dennis A. Livesay photograph Confidential […]
COLUMBIA, S.C. — The head of the National Transportation Safety Board says a misaligned switch is the immediate reason Amtrak’s southbound Silver Star collided with a parked CSX Transportation freight train early Sunday, killing two people and injuring dozens. Investigators say they’ll now try and find out why the switch was misaligned. NTSB Chariman Robert […]
ATLANTA – The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority has signed a $146-million contract to refurbish 118 of its railcars. Kinkisharyo International, the U.S. subsidiary of Japan’s Kinki Shayro Corp., will do the work at its factory in Piscataway, N.J., a former plastics factory converted by the company in 2015. The contract, part of MARTA’s Rail […]
Gene Mendonca’s painting of Ewbank Electric Transmission Co.’s train. Gene Mendonca Q Can you tell me anything about the Ewbank Electric Transmission Co. that is the subject of a picture I painted from a very old newspaper clipping? – Gene Mendonca, Folsom, Calif. A H.B. Ewbank Jr. built No. 333, a 75-foot-long gas-electric locomotive with […]
PRINCETON, N.J. — PRINCETON JUNCTION, N.J. — A cloudy late January morning sees NJ Transit electric multiple unit Arrow III cars Nos. 1311 and 1329 doing yeoman service on the Princeton Junction to Princeton “Dinky.” This 2.7-mile line offers over 40 round trips a day, connecting with NJT Northeast Corridor trains at Princeton Junction; it […]
See Amtrak’s incredible Acela Express in action on the Northeast Corridor! Read more about America’s high speed rail aspirations in the March 2018 issue. […]
