The New Mexico Rail Passengers Coalition held a rally in Las Vegas, N.M., to bring awareness of the importance of the Amtrak Southwest Chief to the local community on April 19, 2019. The rally was held in the recently restored Plaza Hotel, with about 125 people attending. Elected officials from New Mexico, Colorado, and Kansas […]
Then-Vice President Joe Biden at the newly renovated Wilmington, Del., Amtrak station dedication in March 2011. Michael T. Burkhart WASHINGTON, D.C. – “Amtrak Joe” is making another run for the White House. Former Vice President Joe Biden announced Thursday he is running for President of the United States in 2020. The campaign is Biden’s third […]
BEECH GROVE, Ind. — Elimination of Amtrak’s Hoosier State could threaten jobs at the passenger railroad’s Beech Grove shops, according to an Amtrak spokesman and workers at the facility. WISH-TV reports that Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said that, if the four-day-a-week train between Indianapolis and Chicago is eliminated, it would limit Amtrak’s ability to ferry […]
Big Boy No. 4014, shown in November 2013 when the engine was removed from the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds, will leave Cheyenne, May 4. Trains: Jim Wrinn CHEYENNE, Wyo. — The consist of the Union Pacific steam special leaving Cheyenne May 4 and heading for Ogden, Utah, and the 150th anniversary of the first transcontinental […]
SEATTLE — West Coast Railway Association in Squamish, B.C., has been awarded a $985,000 grant by the Canadian federal government to buy the former BC Rail shop now used by the group for preservation and restoration projects. The association has been leasing the building for the last 13 years. It’s been “an integral part of […]
Rafael Santana, Wabtec President elect TRAINS file photo (Source: GE Transportation) WILMERDING, Pa. — Wabtec today announced Rafael Santana will become president and CEO of the company, effective July 1, 2019. Santana, who will also become a Wabtec board member, will succeed Ray Betler, who will retire as a Wabtec executive and board member. Santana, […]
Winona Power & Light streetcar No. 10 is photographed at Excelsior, Minn., on June 17, 2018. It is one of two streetcars owned by the Minnesota Streetcar Museum that will need traction motor repairs. Steve Glischinski MINNEAPOLIS – The Minnesota Streetcar Museum has been awarded a $10,000 grant from the 20th Century Electric Railway Foundation. […]
Parking passes for the May 10 celebration are gone; for May 11 and 12, very limited. Trains: Jim Wrinn PROMONTORY SUMMIT, Utah — If you don’t already have a parking pass for Golden Spike ceremony’s 150th anniversary celebrations next month, better buy one immediately or schedule your visit to the Golden Spike National Historical Park […]
SAN FRANCISCO — The troubled Transbay Transit Center has a new problem: a pathway through the rooftop park is degrading and needs replacement, even though the park has been off limits since the facility was closed last September. KCBS Radio reports that divots had begun appearing in the pathway, made of decomposed granite, during the […]
Famed standard gauge mallet, logging locomotive 2-4-4-2, Skookum, leads a double-headed steam excursion at the Niles Canyon Railway. Dan Howard SUNOL, Calif. — As part of the Heritage Rail Alliance 2019 spring conference, a pre-conference tour to the Niles Canyon Railway took place on Wednesday, April 24. Some “firsts” included the first revenue run on […]
Metrolink CEO Stephanie Wiggins. Courtesy of USC/Brian Morri A Metrolink Perris Valley Line train makes the dramatic climb out of Riverside, Calif., on Feb. 14, 2019. Metrolink CEO Stephanie Wiggins says the commuter railroad is “very happy” with the performance of its positive train control system. TRAINS: David Lassen Here’s the conclusion of our Trains […]
Association of American Railroads WASHINGTON, D.C — The Association of American Railroads today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending April 20. For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 526,141 carloads and intermodal units, down 2.4 percent compared with the same week last year. Total carloads for the week ending April 20 […]
