Tourist railroads in the Mountain West United States

black locomotive No. 93 with gray smoke

Mountain West tourist railroads you must visit include scenic railroads, a national historic site, and everything in between. From Trains Magazine’s Tourist Trains Guidebook, here’s our list of tourist railroads, museums, and displays to experience in the region. Mountain West Tourist Railroads and Museums Colorado Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad – 479 Main Avenue, […]

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Approaching tropical storm leads to Amtrak, SunRail cancellations (updated)

Passenger train arrives at station with covered platform

ORLANDO, Fla. — Amtrak has cancelled or abbreviated routes for a number of trains in the Southeast as a result of Tropical Storm Idalia, now approaching Florida’s Gulf Coast. Orlando-area commuter operator SunRail will also suspend operations as of Tuesday, Aug. 29, until further notice. Tri-Rail and Brightline operations in South Florida are not affected. […]

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Norfolk Southern system outage delays freight, passenger, and commuter trains (updated)

Norfolk Southern logo

ATLANTA — A technology glitch that affected several Norfolk Southern systems — including positive train control and its freight yard operating system — caused delays across the railroad today. “Earlier today, Norfolk Southern experienced a technology hardware outage that impacted some operations. At this time, we have no indication that this was a cybersecurity incident. […]

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Santa Fe No. 2926 steams again to local brewery for fundraiser

Large crowds around steam locomotive

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Santa Fe steam locomotive No. 2926 returned to the Tractor Brewing Wells Park for public display at the “Tracks, Tunes & Taps!” fundraiser on Saturday, Aug. 26. “It performed as well as it could be expected,” said Mathew Casford, chief of rail operations for New Mexico Steam Locomotive & Railroad Historical Society […]

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News Photo: Montreal’s Exo testing long-awaited bilevel cars

Commuter train with bilevel cab car at station

MONTREAL — Montreal commuter rail operator Exo is stepping up testing of new but long-delayed rolling stock, built by China’s CRRC under a C$196 million order placed in 2017. A set of the new bilevel cars is shown en route to Montreal on Saturday, Aug. 26, after a stop at Montreal West. The first cars […]

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News & Products for the week of August 28th 2023

News & Products for the week of August 28th 2023   Model railroad operators and builders can get the latest information about locomotives, freight cars, passenger cars, tools, track, and more by reading Model Railroader’s frequent product updates. The following are the products Model Railroader editors have news on for the week of August 28th […]

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Union Pacific asks federal court to resolve CPKC trackage rights dispute

Aerial view of Kansas City Southern train passing grain elevators in Texas

WASHINGTON — Union Pacific has asked a federal court to declare that the railroad has no obligation to handle Canadian Pacific Kansas City grain trains via trackage rights between Beaumont, Texas, and the ports of Houston and Galveston. UP, which filed the complaint on Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of […]

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Analysis: Pin your high-speed hopes on 186-mph Brightline West project

Until Texas Central became a zombie company over the past couple of years, its plan to link Dallas and Houston with a fleet of Japanese bullet trains was the country’s best shot at finally getting true high-speed passenger rail. Texas Central’s concept — operate proven 205-mph Shinkansen trains on a dedicated right-of-way with no grade […]

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The return of the MTH RS11

side view of dark green diesel locomotive

The return of the MTH RS11: Making its first return to the MTH Premier Line since 2019, the Alco RS11 brings with it the grit and grind that we’ve come to love from Alco locomotives. From the unique angles on the frame to the cranking engine effects, this model will quickly become a favorite road […]

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Diesel-electric locomotives have streetcar roots

A red diesel locomotive leads a train of grain hopper cars through an series of curves in a tree-covered hill scape

It’s strange but true: Diesel-electric locomotives have streetcar roots. With diesel locomotives rapidly replacing steam locomotives in the years after World War II, it’s easy to imagine diesels as a natural evolution of the steam locomotive. The fact is, there was almost no transfer of technology. The melodious steam whistle was replaced by a blaring […]

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How Amtrak services fared with summer travel surge: Analysis

Passenger train with converted locomotive cab car leading.

WASHINGTON — Though Amtrak ridership for June and July 2023 did not reach pre-pandemic levels for the same months in 2019, a review of company statistics shows systemwide revenue beat the total for those months thanks to strong performance from Northeast Corridor and long-distance service. Frequency and capacity played a part in the performance shown […]

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