Amtrak’s Seattle-to-Los Angeles Coast Starlight crosses a trestle at Goleta, Calif. Pacific Parlour cars used in the train’s consist will soon be removed from Amtrak service. Bob Johnston The Pacific Parlour Cars, which were built by Pullman-Standard for the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway as hi-level lounge cars and have been a regular part […]
Dakota, Missouri Valley & Western SD60F No. 5544 leads a train at Falkirk, N.D., on Jan. 4. Erich Linser BISMARCK N.D. — Two Midwest railroads have acquired a handful of retired cowl locomotives from Canadian National. Following CNs decision to retire its fleet of 60 EMD SD60F locomotives in 2017, the 5500 series locomotives were […]
WEST CHESTER, Pa. — It’s been almost 32 years since the last SEPTA commuter train left West Chester, west of Philadelphia. Officials with the regional commuter agency say they’re considering restoration of service to the Chester County seat. A regional planning organization working with the Southeastern Pennsylvania Regional Transportation Authority estimates up to 2,000 people […]
WAUKESHA, Wis. — Trains Magazine of Waukesha, and Luckin Productions of Golden, Colo., have reached an agreement to produce a documentary for retail as well as public television called “Journey to Promontory, the story of the Transcontinental Railroad” and set for delivery in the fall of 2018 on the eve of the 150th anniversary in […]
CSX CEO James M. Foote CSX Corp. JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jim Foote-era at CSX Transportation began with a rumble that emphatically signaled his commitment to following through on what the late CEO E. Hunter Harrison began. In a symbolic move, Foote’s first decision after being named chief executive in December was ordering the hump […]
Florida East Coast CEO Nate Asplund Florida East Coast Railway ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — Florida East Coast Railway’s new CEO is a railroad and transportation industry veteran. CEO Nate Asplund took over Jan. 1 from former chief Jim Hertwig, who retired as of Dec. 31, 2017. Before joining FEC, Asplund served as president and CEO […]
CSX Transportation’s Tod Echler, assistant vice president, engineering, speaks at Saturday’s session of the NRC conference in Los Angeles. TRAINS: David Lassen LOS ANGELES — It has been a year of change at CSX Transportation, with the arrival of CEO Hunter Harrison in March, his death in December, and the selection of James M. Foote […]
Catherine Taylor Bullock Museum AUSTIN, Texas — Catherine Taylor, director of the Bullock Texas State History Museum and a longtime leader at the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento, has died after a brief illness. A native of Texas, Taylor lived in California for most of her life. She earned a BA in history at […]
Jim McLeod, Canadian National’s chief engineer, structures, design & construction, speaks at the NRC conference in Los Angeles on Friday. TRAINS: David Lassen LOS ANGELES — When it comes to capital spending, Canadian National has left behind “steady as we go” and is moving into a cycle of “the gangbuster variety.” That’s the assessment of […]
Huntsville, Ala. Google Maps NORFOLK, Va. — Norfolk Southern, already the largest rail shipper of auto products in North America, will add another assembly plant to its network when a new Toyota and Mazda factory opens in Alabama in 2021. The plant will be built in Huntsville, Ala., Toyota and Mazda officials announced on Jan. […]
NEW YORK CITY — The best ticket to cure cabin fever could be a train ride from a nearby station or it may be the rated PG-13 movie “The Commuter.” The Commuter stars Liam Neeson as — a rail commuter — ostensibly on NY Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Hudson Line, with a few outside scenes to […]
Tourist railroad lines threatened by conversion to rail-trails, as of July 2016. TRAINS Illustration: Rick Johnson KINGSTON, N.Y. — A contractor has begun removing track along the Ashokan Reservoir, effectively ending a years-long effort by a tourist railroad to access the scenic area. A recreational trail will replace the track. In November, the Ulster County […]
