NASHVILLE, Tennessee – As the restoration of Nashville’s iconic steam locomotive nears its halfway point, Nashville Steam Preservation Society has issued a matching grant challenge to raise $100,000 by the end of 2021. Thanks to a generous opportunity from The Candelaria Fund and The Wick Moorman Charitable Foundation, all donations, and gifts over $500 will […]
First public excursions for Florida 4-6-2 steam locomotive set for December
CLEWISTON, Florida — On December 11th, The Santa Express will deliver gifts to Toys for Tots organizations and local families in need. Special stops with Sugar Express No. 148 and Santa Claus are planned in Glades, Highlands, Hendry, Palm Beach, and Martin Counties. “This is our second year operating The Santa Express and we couldn’t […]
New Long Island Rail Road station opening set
NEW YORK – The Long Island Rail Road will open its Elmont Station for eastbound service on Nov. 20. It is the first new LIRR station in almost 50 years, according to the railroad’s owner, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The beginning of service will coincide with the New York Islanders’ hockey team’s first home game […]
Canadian Pacific Holiday Train sets details for online concert (updated)
CALGARY – Canadian Pacific has set the details for a concert to be live-streamed as part of its virtual version of the CP Holiday Train. The Dec. 18 event, dubbed the “CP Holiday Train at Home” concert, will originate from the train’s cars in Calgary. It is part of CP’s continuing charity efforts with the […]
MBTA opens consolidated stations on Green Line B Branch
BOSTON – The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has opened two new stations on the B Branch of its Green Light Rail Line, marking completion of its $29 million B Branch Station Consolidation Project. Riders on the agency’s Green Line can now board trains via new accessible platforms compatible with low-floor vehicles and improved stations. The […]
Japan railroad demonstrates bullet train operation without engineer
NIIGATA, Japan – East Japan Railway Co. is testing autonomously operated bullet trains in Niigata Prefecture as it studies introducing trains without engineers (called drivers in Japan) in the future, Kyodo News reported. The test, the first of its kind for the Shinkansen bullet train network, began Oct. 29, and was opened to the media […]
News photo: New Illinois-based locomotive leaser’s first unit has its day in the sun (and palm trees)
MADISON, Ill. — Gulf Coast Railway Equipment Leasing is the name for the new locomotive leasing service of Quality Rail in Madison, Ill. Its first unit glows in the morning sun, awaiting finishing touches, before it gets shipped to Alton Steel for lease service. This unit and one other sister, both former Terminal Railroad of […]
Trains, January 2022
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Franklin Park crossovers separate Canadian Pacific and Metra moves
FRANKLIN PARK, Ill. — It’s not the largest or most essential component of a decades-long, $4.6 billion dollar effort to unclog Chicago’s rail network called CREATE. But completion of the $14.5 million Metra/Canadian Pacific Crossover Upgrades Project is typical of incremental improvements that sporadic funding achieves. Six crossovers and associated signaling now allow Canadian Pacific […]
New England Museum offering autism-friendly holiday train excursion
THOMASTON, Conn. – For the sixth consecutive year, the Railroad Museum of New England and the Naugatuck Railroad are teaming up with Watertown, Conn.-based nonprofit Sun, Moon & Stars to offer a holiday train ride designed for children on the autism spectrum. Naugatuck Railroad is the operational branch of the Railroad Museum of New England, founded […]
San Diego agency seeks new partner for desert line
SAN DIEGO — The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System is seeking new partners in its ongoing effort to reopen the 70-mile former San Diego & Arizona Eastern line from Tecate, Mexico, to Plaster City, Calif., the San Diego Union-Tribune reported. The agency has owned the line since 1979 and made several attempts to reopen the […]
Friends of the 261 acquires private car ‘Caritas’
MINNEAPOLIS – The Friends of the 261, the nonprofit organization that owns and operates Milwaukee Road 4-8-4 No. 261, has purchased well-known private car Caritas, Friends of the 261 President and Chief Operating Officer Steve Sandberg tells Trains “News Wire.” Sandberg says the group acquired the car in a bankruptcy auction from the bankruptcy court […]