WASHINGTON — DC Metrorail will return 64 of its long-sidelined 7000-series railcars to service this summer as it continues work to automate wheel inspections that would allow use of all 748 of the Kawasaki-built cars, easing the agency’s equipment shortage. The Washington Post reports the independent Washington Metrorail Safety Commission will accept Metro’s plan for […]
PORTER, Ind. — As one major construction project remains on schedule, another is about to begin for the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District. The Times of Northwest Indiana reports that at a Monday meeting in Porter, the district’s board of directors was told that the South Shore Double Track project, building a second main line […]
MT. VERNON, Ill. — Merritt Becker is the new CEO of National Railway Equipment Co., the rail, marine, and power company has announced. Becker joins NRE from engine and power generation company Cummins Inc., where he has spent the last 12 years, effective June 1. He was most recently president and managing director of Cummins […]
WASHINGTON — After more than two years, the Surface Transportation Board is again accepting filings and other submissions in paper form. The board had limited filings to electronic form beginning in March 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, saying only the electronic filings would be accepted until further notice. While paper filings are now accepted, […]
NEW HAVEN, Conn. — With little fanfare, the Connecticut Department of Transportation has turned its Shore Line East commuter service over to Kawasaki M8 electric multiple unit cars, replacing diesel-powered trains using former Virginia Rail Express Mafersa coaches. The EMUs began to cover all trains today (Tuesday, May 24) on the service between New Haven and […]
LONDON — Delayed by construction problems and then the pandemic, London’s new high-tech, east-west rail line, the Elizabeth Line connecting existing routes on both sides of the city, finally opened to passengers today (Tuesday, May 24). Initially, the brand-new central section from London’s Paddington station in the west to Abbey Wood in the city’s […]
When East Broad Top General Manager Brad Esposito was cleaning up rock salt in a shed at the railroad’s shop complex last year, he didn’t bat an eye when he realized he was standing on wooden crates marked “dynamite.” After all, the EBT stored just about anything in dynamite crates that had been emptied at […]
Four ideas for window treatments: The sky is the limit … or rather your structure’s windows are. There are endless options when it comes to decorating or dressing up windows. You can be as creative or as simple as the project calls for. Just consider how fancy or frugal you want to be from the […]
Q: I’m an HO scale modeler and struggling with track laying techniques. I would appreciate guidance on measuring, cutting, and installing flextrack on curves. I’m always disengaging the rails from the ties, and thus having trouble connecting to the next track. Also, when superelevating curves, is it better to attach the risers under the outer rail […]
Recreate a prototype photo: If you are a history nut like me, authenticity is important on your layout. I model the Kansas Central narrow gauge line that tried to build across Kansas in the 1870s to connect with the Denver & Rio Grande in Colorado. It met with competition from the standard gauge Kansas Pacific […]
WASHINGTON — “Weak administrative controls” that allowed a supervisor to authorize a high-speed test without knowing another train was on the same track led to the collision of two light rail trains in Sacramento, Calif., in August 2019, according to a National Transportation Safety Board report. The Aug. 22, 2019, collision occurred at 9:39 p.m. […]
MONTREAL — When a passenger operator is forced to survive on a budget insufficient to provide service capable of satisfying its country’s travel needs, while on-time reliability remains hamstrung by host railroads, it is almost impossible for the person in charge to make a difference. The abrupt departure of VIA Rail Canada CEO Cynthia Garneau […]
