Digest: MBTA to offer “Vax Express” at commuter rail stations

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority logo

MBTA commuter train to offer walk-up COVID vaccinations The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority will operate a commuter train offering COVID-19 vaccinations June 16-20 at stations in Boston, Worchester, Lowell, Lawrence, and Fitchburg, Mass. The Boston Globe reports the “Vax Express” will offer walk-up vaccination; while no appointment is required, residents may book a time slot […]

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Railfanning Chicago: La Fox, Illinois

  One in an occasional series on Senior Editor David Lassen’s favorite Chicago-area railfan locations Railfanning LaFox, Illinois Well west of Chicago, in a still mostly rural area with suburbia gradually encroaching, is La Fox, Ill., on Union Pacific’s Geneva Subdivision. There’s barely a community to speak of, but it does have a Metra station. […]

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June 2021

Trains Magazine June 2021 cover

In every issue News p. 4 One railroad, three countries; Amtrak asks STB to intervene on Gulf Coast Brian Solomon p. 10 Reading about the Reading Bill Stephens p. 11 Y’all aboard? Preservation p. 44 Trains’ 2021-22 Preservation Partnership: Nashville Steam’s 4-8-4 No. 576 Train-Watching p. 46 Short line: Indiana Eastern Ask Trains p. 48 […]

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First Amtrak ALC-42 diesel locomotive set for release

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Siemens is putting the finishing touches on Amtrak’s first ALC-42 locomotive, with its departure scheduled for this weekend. The first locomotive, AMTK No. 300, will be hauled in the consist of Amtrak’s California Zephyr departing Emeryville on June 12, a source close to the railroad tells Trains News Wire. After arriving in […]

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Acquisition unlocks growth for Canadian Pacific in Eastern Canada

Railroad map of northern New England and eastern Canada

CALGARY, Alberta – A year after acquiring regional railroad Central Maine & Quebec – and regaining a part of its historic shortcut linking Montreal and the Atlantic – traffic growth is exceeding Canadian Pacific’s expectations. CP’s plans to gain transatlantic international intermodal business from Port Saint John, New Brunswick, have come to fruition. New finished vehicle traffic […]

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Digest: Feds reinstate $929 million for California high speed rail

CAHSRA settlement reverses action of Trump administration The U.S. Department of Transportation has reached an agreement with the California High Speed Rail Authority to reinstate $929 million in grant funds revoked by the Trump administration. The agreement, dated June 10, stipulates the return of the funds within three days. “This settlement agreement follows intensive negotiations […]

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Distinctive Canadian grain hoppers near end of the line

Cylindrical grain hopper cars off wheels, on ground

WELLAND, Ontario — The Canadian grain scene is starting to become a lot less cylindrical. For the last 50 years Canadian Wheat Board cylindrical covered hoppers have dominated Canadian rails as the main way prairie farmers moved large grain shipments to coastal ports for export. But with Canadian National and Canadian Pacific investing in new […]

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Grand Private Car Tour of the US set for September

Two-tone green dome passenger car in a wood scene at a station.

WAUKESHA, Wis. — Tickets are still available for a scenic, luxury around-the-country private car tour this September. This 18-day multi-state tour starts in Chicago on September 9, ends in New York City on September 26, and is expected to be among the first post-pandemic private varnish tours offered to the public. It features long-distance train […]

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News photos: CSX business train crosses Ohio and Indiana

Passenger train between two signals

UNION CITY, Ind. – The CSX Transportation business train is rolling west across Ohio and Indiana on Thursday, operating with a P001 train symbol. The newly-repainted train was spotted on the former Conrail (New York Central) “Bee Line” between Cleveland and Indianapolis at midday. A pair of modern ES44AC diesel locomotives is leading the two […]

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Nashville Steam lift scheduled for June 17

Steam engine being worked on in shop building

NASHVILLE — Former Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis 4-8-4 No. 576 will get a big boost next week, thanks to two cranes that will suspend its 220,000 pounds about eight feet in the air. The locomotive’s wheels and trucks – the same ones made famous as a backdrop to a photograph of Johnny Cash on […]

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Canadian Pacific goes old school in ad against CN-KCS merger

Political cartoon opposing CN+KCS merger

Canadian Pacific’s campaign against Canadian National’s proposed acquisition of Kansas City Southern took a new turn today with a half-page ad in The Washington Post that featured an editorial cartoon-style illustration – complete with caricatures of the three railroads’ chief executives. CP and CN skirmished on social media while KCS was considering their rival bids. […]

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