Railway Post Offices Mail moves by train In the 1830s, shortly after the establishment of the first railroads in the U.S., the Post Office Department began to ship mail by rail. The year 1838 saw some sorting of mail en route between Washington and Philadelphia, but the first Railway Post Office car is generally thought […]
WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives has delayed its planned vote on an appropriations bill for the Department of Transportation amid Republic concerns the bill would not pass, the website The Hill reports. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) said during Thursday’s session that the House would try next week to pass H.R. 4820, to […]
LONDON — Plans to close almost every ticket counter at English railway stations have been dropped after public consultation rejected the proposals. In an unusual success for citizen participation, over 750,000 people responded to the public consultation — a record for any public consultation in England, not just one related to the rail industry. About […]
ST. PAUL, Minn. — In a social media post Wednesday, the Minnesota Department of Transportation announced the long-awaited second passenger train between St. Paul and Chicago will begin service in 2024. MnDOT is also asking potential passengers to take a survey about amenities they would like to see aboard the train. The Wisconsin Department of […]
Gas-electric motorcars were the first successful application of internal combustion on railroads. Chicago, Burlington & Quincy No. 9838 was an Electro-Motive product built by St. Louis Car Co. in 1927. It was powered by a 275-hp gasoline engine. The car pauses at Virden, Ill., south of Springfield, to load goods and passengers on this day. […]
WASHINGTON — Richmond, Va.’s, newly-rehabilitated Main Street Station will host Amtrak’s once-yearly public Board of Directors meeting on Friday, Dec. 1. Unlike last year’s annual meeting at St. Louis Union Station, this year’s gathering will be preceded by presentations from Virginia and North Carolina passenger rail operating agencies, as well as Amtrak officials. The meeting […]
BERN, Switzerland — The Gotthard Base Tunnel will not fully reopen to passenger and freight traffic until September 2024, Swiss Federal Railways announced today (Thursday, Nov. 2), saying ongoing repairs from an Aug. 10 derailment in the tunnel have found much more severe damage than initially believed. The Aug. 10 incident caused damage for more […]
WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives’ vote on appropriations for the Department of Transportation, which would include a 64% cut in Amtrak funding as well as a prohibition on federal funds for California’s high speed rail project, is still pending. It had originally been reported as on the schedule for Wednesday [see “House set to […]
MILWAUKEE — Amtrak’s Chicago-Milwaukee Hiawatha service will now feature variable ticket pricing, ending a flat fare of $25 that had been in effect since 2016. The new sliding fares of $19 to $31, based on demand and advanced purchase, are effective today (Nov. 1). They follow Amtrak’s nationwide adoption of a two-tiered pricing system; as […]
Central Vermont Railway Southern Division in HO scale | In Northern California’s San Francisco Bay Area, a dedicated group led by Paul Weiss is passionately re-creating the Central Vermont Railway’s Southern Division as it existed in May 1956. This historically accurate project showcases meticulously replicated scenes from New London, Conn., to Palmer, Mass., portraying the […]
BELLEVUE, Wash. — Sound Transit will begin pre-revenue testing on a portion of its East Link light rail line starting today (Nov. 1, 2023), a step toward the beginning of service between the South Bellevue and Redmond Technology stations next spring. The transit agency cautions that pedestrians and drivers should be alert for trains at […]
LOS ANGELES — The California High-Speed Rail Authority is proposing changes for the Los Angeles-Anaheim portion of its route, introducing a plan that would build a fourth track in that segment to help handle freight traffic. KTLA-TV reports the revision reflects opposition to an earlier plan which would have seen a new freight facility built […]
