Travel: The allure of holiday trains

yellow trolley in the snow at night

Holiday trains The winter holiday season is a wonderful time to experience rail travel and to create memories that will last a lifetime. This is the busiest season for many tourist railroads and long-distance passenger carriers including Amtrak. Some tourist railroads rely entirely on special holiday trains to get them through the lean months that […]

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Classic Toy Trains new products for November 2023

black and green model steam locomotive

Locomotives and rolling stock Lionel has announced a 2-8-8-8-2 Triplex locomotive as part of its VisionLine series. Features include operation in Legacy, TMCC, or conventional mode; Bluetooth control; Lionel Voice Control; Odyssey II Speed Control; rear ElectroCoupler, Legacy Railsounds, tender smoke unit, and much more. The engines will be available in 11 road names (Erie […]

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California high speed project looks to change plans for LA-Anaheim route

Map of planned high-speed rail route between Los Angeles and Anaheim, Calif.

LOS ANGELES — The California High-Speed Rail Authority is proposing changes for the Los Angeles-Anaheim portion of its route, introducing a plan that would build a fourth track in that segment to help handle freight traffic. KTLA-TV reports the revision reflects opposition to an earlier plan which would have seen a new freight facility built […]

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U.S. Steel introduces battery locomotives at Pittsburgh-area plants

Blue and green switching locomotive with U.S. Steel logo

PITTSBURGH — U.S. Steel has begun using two battery-electric locomotives, converted from diesel-electric switchers, at its Mon Valley Works, the company has announced. The conversions were performed by Innovative Rail Technologies, a Washington, D.C.-based company that provides lithium-ion power systems for the locomotive market, and are working at two of the four facilities that make […]

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Ultimate dual-service engine: New York Central 4-8-2 Mohawks

Example of New York Central 4-8-2 Mohawks on freight train by station

The New York Central 4-8-2 Mohawks were the ultimate dual-service steam locomotives. For some railroads in the steam era, it wasn’t enough to have success with a single example of a standard wheel arrangement. Instead, new competitive challenges and evolving technology often caused railroads to rethink a given locomotive class and turn it almost entirely […]

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New York City High Line railroad history

Aerial view of elevated New York City High Line railroad

The New York City High Line a sight to behold on Manhattan’s West Side. It was born of a vast improvement program in the 1930s, which took West Side freight trains off city streets. The trains were then powered by electric traction north of 30th Street and behind diesel power south of 30th Street.   […]

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Wabtec unveils first production FLXdrive battery heavy-haul locomotive

ERIE, Pa. —Wabtec and Australian mining firm Roy Hill have unveiled world’s first 100% battery-powered, heavy-haul locomotive for mainline service in ceremonies today (Oct. 31, 2023) at Wabtec’s Erie manufacturing facility. The FLXdrive locomotive contains 72 lithium-ion modular battery packs with a total of 36,288 cells, giving the locomotive an energy capacity of 7 megawatt-hours. […]

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Flexible staybolt repair made on N&W No. 611 during the weekend

Streamlined steam locomotive arriving at historic train station.

GOSHEN, Va. — Norfolk & Western steam locomotive No. 611 was sidelined during the Saturday, Oct. 28, Shenandoah Valley Limited with diesels of the Buckingham Branch Railroad serving as substitutes for the round trips between Goshen and Staunton, Va. The J-class 4-8-4 returned to service the following day to wrap up the fourth weekend of […]

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MR Exclusive: DCCconcepts Aegis upgrade for NCE PowerCab

Color photo showing components of DCC system.

The NCE PowerCab Digital Command Control (DCC) system is popular for its ease of use, menu-driven prompts, and reliable programming capabilities. However, it does have a few limitations: It only has about 1.8 amps output; it doesn’t have separate programming and main track power connections; and the PowerCab throttle must remain plugged in at all […]

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House set to vote on spending bill with big Amtrak cuts, prohibition on California high-speed rail funding

Trains Washington Watch logo

WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives is set to vote Wednesday on an appropriations bill that would cut Amtrak funding by more than 60% and block federal support for the California high speed rail program. H.R. 4820, which funds the Department of Transportation and Department of Housing and Urban Development, includes in the budget for […]

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Republicans push bill to limit Amtrak’s right of preference: Analysis

People, many with cellphones taking pictures, crowd station platform as passenger train arrives at night

WASHINGTON — Legislation that aims to reverse Amtrak’s statutory right of preference over host railroad freight trains “within 50 miles of a port or rail yard” has been introduced by a U.S. Congressman representing a rural district without any passenger service. Among its co-sponsors is the head of the U.S. House subcommittee with jurisdiction over […]

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