Norfolk & Western No. 611 has a new place to run. The Virginia Museum of Transportation and Virginia Scenic Railway — the excursion operation of the short line Buckingham Branch Railroad — have announced the Class J 4-8-4 will run weekend excursions this fall on the Virginia Scenic Railway. The steam-powered Shenandoah Valley Limited will […]
NEW YORK — Consultant WSP USA will perform the environmental review for the Interborough Express, the proposed 14-mile light rail line in Brooklyn and Queens which will use the right-of-way of Long Island Rail Road’s Bay Ridge Branch for a route connecting 17 subway lines and LIRR commuter rail service. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority also […]
WASHINGTON — U.S. rail traffic remained below 2022 levels in July, but statistics from the Association of American Railroads provided mixed messages about traffic trends. Meanwhile, traffic for the week ending July 29 continued the recent trend of lesser declines than had been the case for much of the year, with overall traffic down 2.6% […]
Northeast tourist railroads you must visit include premium museums, scenic lines in different gauges, and everything in between. From Trains Magazine’s Tourist Trains Guidebook, here’s our list of tourist railroads, museums, and displays to experience across the region. Northeast Tourist Railroads and Museums Connecticut Essex Steam Train and Riverboat – 1 Railroad Avenue, Essex Where […]
LINCOLN, Neb. — The Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division has sued BNSF Railway in federal court, charging that — in reducing its maintenance-of-way workforce while contracting out more work — the railroad has violated its agreements with the union and is therefore in violation of the Railway Labor Act. The BMWED filed the […]
WASHINGTON — The design of the grade crossing, which made it difficult for a driver to see an approaching train, was a contributing factor in last year’s fatal collision and derailment involving Amtrak’s Southwest Chief in Mendon, Mo., the National Transportation Safety Board said in its final accident report released today (Aug. 2, 2023). The […]
Freight locomotives in passenger service were the exception to the rules. They required passenger cars that were self-contained, the use of separate head-end power generator cars, or some understanding passengers. However, they often offered the best value for the railroads using them who may not have wanted to invest scarce capital in dedicated passenger power […]
Here’s how you can make a billboard, poster, or wall sign from an AI-generated image for your model railroad layout. Artificial intelligence generators have been in the news lately as writers, artists, and other creative types debate the possibility of computers taking over their jobs. Although AI-generated art is not good enough yet to replace […]
What was your first byline in Trains? Brian M. Schmidt: In August 2006 I wrote about the state of the South Shore Line commuter service in Indiana, a remnant of the old Chicago South Shore & South Bend interurban. My friend Alexander Craghead was running Trains’ City Rail column at the time and arranged for […]
On our layouts, ballast is strictly a scenic element. We use the material, whether it’s crushed real rocks, dyed walnut shells, or other material, to simulate the rocks used on full-size railroads. But prototype ballast is far from cosmetic. Among the uses for ballast on the prototype are to prevent track from shifting up and […]
CHEHALIS, Wash. — A plan announced in April that would have seen the Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad operate steam excursions on the tracks of the Chehalis-Centralia Railroad & Museum “is not going to be executed this year,” the Chehalis-Centralia Chronicle reports. Instead, the Mt. Rainier Scenic now says it will offer limited steam excursions on […]
LUDINGTON, Mich. — Loading-ramp damage has brought an early end to the 2023 season for Lake Michigan car ferry S.S. Badger. “We have made the difficult, and unfortunately unavoidable, decision to suspend our daily crossings for the remainder of the season,” Mark W. Barker, President of Interlake Maritime Services, parent company of the Lake Michigan […]
