Steam queen

Streamlined steam locomotive with passenger train at speed

Steam queen For a few years in the late 1930s, the steam queens of New Haven’s Shore Line were 10 class I-5 4-6-4s. The handsome Hudsons’ wheel-balance woes prompted NH to begin acquiring a fleet of 60 DL109 diesels in 1941. Here, an I-5 roars west with the Merchants Limited at Sharon, Mass. Wayne Brumbaugh […]

Read More…

Riding, eating, or lounging in an Amtrak Superliner

Passengers enjoying view while seated at tables in lounge car

CHICAGO — More than 40 years after their debut, Amtrak’s bilevel Superliners remain essential to its long-distance operations in the western U.S., along with a handful of other routes. This article offers a look at what passengers can expect when they ride in Superliner coaches, eat in superliner diners, or enjoy scenery from a comfortable […]

Read More…

Sleeping in Amtrak’s Superliners

Looking through window into compartment of sleeping car with bed made for the night

Introduction CHICAGO — Amtrak’s Superliners are double-decked, stainless steel, window-loaded passenger cars — among the most modern available to the traveling public in the United States today.

 Trains offers passengers a look at what they can expect when they book tickets to ride these cars. This article looks at Superliners’ history and offers a review […]

Read More…

News report says Biden administration will seek to address consolidation, pricing by rail and ocean shipping industries

Surface Transportation Board logo

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration wants U.S. regulatory agencies to address consolidation and what it considers to be anticompetitive pricing by railroads and ocean shipping firms, the Wall Street Journal reports in a paywalled article. The Journal — citing a source familiar with the situation — says the administration will issue an executive order this […]

Read More…

Kansas City Southern stockholders to vote on merger Aug. 19

Canadian National and Kansas City Southern logos

MONTREAL and KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Southern has scheduled an online special meeting of its stockholders for Aug. 19 to vote on the proposed merger with Canadian National. Those holding stock as of July 1 will be entitled to vote on the agreement, under which stockholders will receive $200 cash and 1.129 shares […]

Read More…

June rail traffic well ahead of 2020 levels

Weekly table showing U.S. rail traffic

WASHINGTON — U.S. rail traffic remained strong in June, with overall carload and intermodal traffic running 14.5% ahead of the same month in 2020. Year-to-date traffic at the end of the second quarter was up 13.7% compared to pandemic-depressed totals for the first half of 2020, according to statistics from the Association of American Railroads. […]

Read More…

Amtrak, Siemens finalize deal for new equipment (updated)

Black and white drawing of new passenger equipment

  WASHINGTON — Amtrak and Siemens Mobility have reached agreement on contracts for 73 to 83 new trainsets to replace Amfleet I and related equipment on Northeast Corridor and state-supported services. A press release from Siemens characterizes the deal as worth $3.4 billion, while Amtrak says the agreement is for $7.3 billion, including a long […]

Read More…