CSX offers scorching response to Amtrak request to compel cooperation

Station platform, with tracks running under building

WASHINGTON — Amtrak’s request for cooperation from CSX has received a harsh response from the freight railroad. A CSX filing with the Surface Transportation Board says the passenger railroad is seeking “unrestrained access” to the route of proposed service between New Orleans and Mobile, Ala., and wants “a blank check to perform whatever work it […]

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Union Pacific sees international intermodal congestion easing

Four yellow locomotives on train climbing hill

OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific’s international intermodal traffic between the congested ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and inland terminals is approaching normal levels despite the ongoing backlog of ships waiting to dock at North America’s busiest port complex. “We are essentially normal in our international supply chain on Union Pacific from ports to intermodal […]

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Amtrak trains to return to Point Defiance Bypass on Nov. 18

Amtrak_Bypass_Lassen

SEATTLE — Almost four years after the derailment that halted its use, Amtrak trains will return to the Point Defiance bypass south of Tacoma, Wash., on Thursday, Nov. 18. Initially, eight trains — the Amtrak Cascades service and the Coast Starlight — will use the 14.5-mile inland route, which parallels Interstate 5. It departs from […]

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Ottawa light rail service could return Friday

OttawaLRV

OTTAWA, Ontario — O-Train Confederation Line light rail service is expected to begin running on a limited basis as of Friday, the CBC reports, with full service restored by the end of the month. Service will begin with seven trainsets, with an additional set train as a spare, with the number of active trains gradually […]

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News photo: Brightline service returns

Passenger train on curve with city skyline in background

MIAMI, Fla. — After an absence of about 20 months, Brightline service resumed between Miami and West Palm Beach, Fla., on Monday, with the passenger operator offering discount fares, gearing up its door-to-door service plan [see “‘Brightline+’ app to enable door-to-door trip ticketing,” Trains News Wire, Oct. 27, 2021]. Opening-day service was marred by a […]

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Amtrak ‘Winter Park Express’ set to return in January

Passenger train on curve in snow

WINTER PARK, Colo. — Amtrak’s Winter Park Express ski train service will return in January, launching 12 weeks of Friday-Saturday-Sunday service between Denver and the Winter Park Resort. Service begins the weekend of Jan. 14-16 and will continue through the weekend of April 1-3, with one-way fares beginning at $29, and fares for kids ages […]

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Thanksgiving in Toronto

Thanksgiving in Toronto was about to begin. Shortly before noon, two teenagers swung down from the Pacific’s cab. Just as they hit the station platform, two peeps came from the cab communication whistle. The fireman turned around, waving a good-bye, and Canadian Pacific train 326 was in motion — 11 minutes away from its final […]

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Convert a large-scale LGB passenger car into a dining car

Model figures in a dining car

By Frederic Williams Rohm and Brian Michelson I grew up in central Pennsylvania where my family had been long-time residents. My garden railroad is based on the Pennsylvania Railroad circa 1900; my grandfather and uncles worked on the PRR. The premier Pennsy passenger train of this era was the Pennsylvania Limited, which began making the […]

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