MBTA restores service on two subway lines

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority logo

BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority restored service on two subway lines Sunday evening, ending a shutdown over structural concerns about a downtown Boston parking garage above the subway tunnels. The agency said in a statement the move to restore full service on the Green and Orange lines followed “a comprehensive inspection of the […]

Read More…

Site identified for Southern Pacific Railroad History Center

Logo of the Southern Pacific Railroad History Center

ROCKLIN, Calif. — A group seeking to preserve and promote the history of the Southern Pacific Railroad has a identified a site for a proposed museum and archives. The Gold Country Media website reports the proposed Southern Pacific Rail History Center has identified a 7.6-acre site in Rocklin and plans to make an offer on […]

Read More…

Union Pacific train derails in Kansas

Aerial view of derailment on track next to highway

BONNER SPRINGS, Kan. — Twenty-five cars of a Union Pacific train, including some carrying hazardous materials, derailed Friday evening in Bonner Springs. The Kansas City, Kansas, Fire Department, which responded, reports nine of the cars were tank cars carrying isobutane, a flammable gas used to make products ranging from aviation gasoline to plastics to food […]

Read More…

French rail unions call for July strike

PARIS — French rail unions Sud Rail, CGT, and CFDT have called for a national strike by rail workers on July 6, Reuters reports. The unions said in a joint statement that workers “are sharply hit by exploding inflation. We must act to obtain wage increases.” The French call for a strike came as most […]

Read More…

Amtrak Cardinal day trip to Clifton Forge

Train crossing a bridge over a river in dim twilight.

An Amtrak Cardinal day trip to Clifton Forge is well within reach! Don’t let Amtrak’s three-day-a-week schedule on the Cardinal route deter you from a scenic Amtrak day trip through the Appalachia Mountains of southern West Virginia and Virginia along CSX Transportation’s route through the New River Gorge National Park & Preserve. This passenger rail […]

Read More…

Digital or film railroad photography?

Digital and film cameras placed on copies of Trains magazine.

Digital or film railroad photography? Before the advent of digital technology, the photographic standard of our hobby was transparency, or slide film. While multiple manufacturers guaranteed the user the desired color temperature and punchiness, the preferred emulsions were the various flavors of Kodachrome and Fujichrome. The former was prized for its “pop,” particularly on bright, […]

Read More…

Amtrak, local officials dedicate fully accessible Homewood, Ill., station

Long station handicap ramp in glass structure

HOMEWOOD, IIl. — Bringing Amtrak’s more than 500 stations into compliance with  1990’s Americans with Disabilities Act has been on Amtrak’s to-do list since the legislation was passed, but only with recent, specifically designated funding has the company prioritized the transformations. One such project was celebrated Saturday, June 25, in Homewood, Ill., with Amtrak brass […]

Read More…

News Photo: Bicentennial SD45-2 on the move

Red, white, and blue locomotive on intermodal train

Former Santa Fe bicentennial diesel No. 5704 is on its way to its new home in California. Photographer William Tollett caught the SD45-2, restored to its mid-1970s paint scheme earlier this year, on Thursday, June 23, at Panhandle, Texas, on BNSF Railway train ZPLKLAC6-22. The locomotive was donated to the Southern California Railroad Museum in […]

Read More…

Changing a locomotive headlight

Man holding a light fixture on a mostly clear-sky day.

Changing a locomotive headlight: Everything we do on the railroad is guided by FRA standards and practices. According to the portion of federal law that governs railroads – 49 CFR § 229.125 – every lead locomotive used in road service shall illuminate its headlight while the locomotive is in use. If a road unit is […]

Read More…