California can lay claim as one of the nation’s top rail passenger capitals. Amtrak is a key player in the Golden State, with three state-supported regional trains connecting multiple metropolitan areas. From the capital city of Sacramento to the beaches in San Diego, here are some great Amtrak day trips you can take in California. […]
The Meridian & Bigbee Railroad “possessed all the credentials required for admittance to the Typical Southern Short Line Club,” wrote J. Parker Lamb in Trains’ July 1959 issue. Those included secondhand steam locomotives, a leisurely schedule, and insufficient revenue tonnage. Yet, the road was able to overcome those deficiencies to become a sought-after bridge route […]
Four EMD products are lined up at the Illinois Railway Museum – one of many Illinois tourist railroads you must visit: Chicago & North Western F7A No. 411; Amtrak AEM-7 No. 945; Santa Fe FP45 No. 92; and Canadian Pacific SD40-2F No. 9023. The first three are from the IRM collection; the ex-Central Maine & […]
Canadian Pacific Kansas City and CSX Transportation will create a direct interchange in Alabama by acquiring Genesee & Wyoming short line Meridian & Bigbee Railroad, which reaches CPKC at Meridian, Miss., and CSX just outside of Montgomery, Ala. The deal, announced today, will create a new through route linking Texas and Mexico with the Southeast […]
The museum is home to the largest collection of Pacific Northwest railroad equipment with over 70 pieces on hand, many on display at the museum’s Railway History Campus and Train Shed Exhibit Hall in Snoqualmie. Seasonal steam and diesel train rides are operated to North Bend and Snoqualmie Falls. Choices Visitors can ride a train […]
Diesel-powered trains operate on a bucolic railroad line completed in 1903. Now owned by Clark County and operated by volunteers, the 8-mile route features breathtaking scenery, a high trestle over the Lewis River, and a 330-foot tunnel hand carved from solid rock. Choices Passengers may choose to ride in either a caboose, open-air car, or […]
A 5-mile portion of one of the most charming narrow-gauge lines of the Pacific Northwest has been re-created amid forests and the spoils of a former gold-mining dredge operation. It is a good approximation of a remote steam line in eastern Oregon, where snowcaps rise in the distance even in June. Choices The Sumpter Valley […]
BATH, Maine — The first stage of what Midcoast Railservice President Mike Smith says is a “sequential laboratory experiment” he expects to culminate in scheduled passenger service between Rockland and Brunswick, Maine, is set to begin this weekend at Bath Heritage Days. On display at Bath, about 9 miles from the Brunswick terminus of Amtrak […]
GLENCOE, Minn. — The Twin Cities & Western Railroad is continuing its rail joint elimination program thanks to a recent federal grant. Crews from contractor ONE Rail Group are currently working near Plato, Minn. The contractors cut off bolted rail ends, then push the pieces of rail together. Using a ONE Rail truck equipped with […]
WASHINGTON — A short circuit in a system designed to keep a train from operating when a door is open or obstructed is the probable cause of the 2022 death of a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority passenger, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a report released Tuesday. The passenger, 39-year-old Robinson Lalin, was caught […]
SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. — Work began Monday on a temporary restraining wall to be built at the site of a landslide that has halted passenger rail service through south Orange County since June 5. The San Diego Union-Tribune reports heavy equipment was being staged at the base of the slope below San Clemente’s Casa Romantica […]
LOS ANGELES — Commuter rail operator Metrolink will expand service on its Ventura County Line beginning this weekend, adding a round trip to the existing Saturday schedule and adding operations on Sundays. The schedule for one existing train will also change to offer more weekend service options. As of July 1, schedules for both Saturday […]
