TREGO, Wis. — After surviving 62 years in storage and seven previous owners unable to fulfill their plans for the historic Budd-built streamliner, Wisconsin Great Northern Railroad’s restoration of the Mark Twain Zephyr has turned a corner, with three of the five cars nearing interior completion. “I am thankful every day for the individuals and […]
Judge delays closure of UP car shop until at least July 8 A district court judge in Texas has blocked Union Pacific’s plans to close its Palestine, Texas, car shop at least until a July 8 hearing that is part of the efforts by the city of Palestine and Anderson County, Texas, to prevent the […]
Solo ‘Blue Bird’ Crews change on the Norfolk & Western Blue Bird at Decatur, Ill., in 1967. The train was running separate from the Cannon Ball (note the green flags) owing to the winter storm having disrupted schedules. Behind GP9 510 is E8 3808, one of five Wabash passenger cabs N&W repainted. J. David Ingles […]
CHICAGO — Amtrak plans to again offer dining car meals to coach passengers, and to again offer meals prepared onboard on its eastern overnight trains, as part of coming enhancements to its long-distance operations. Dates and details for the roll-out of those changes are still to come, says Robert Jordan, vice president operations and customer […]
You have to be tough to survive the railroad. Just look at any train crew, mechanic, or switchman. Just look at any piece of motive power or rolling stock. Just look at this trio of Western Pacific diesel locomotives awaiting their next call to duty in this Stockton, Calif., roundhouse scene in August 1965. […]
CHICAGO — While the locomotive is so new that Amtrak doesn’t even have the keys yet, the passenger railroad showed off the first of its new long-distance Siemens Chargers on Tuesday at Chicago Union Station as part of a media event on upcoming improvements to long-distance service. The first of the ALC42 locomotives is still […]
If you believe the storyline, Precision Scheduled Railroading has two chapters. The first is an obsession with costs and efficiency that ultimately results in a railroad that moves its tonnage with far fewer locomotives, freight cars, shops, yards, and people. The second chapter is the so-called Pivot to Growth, in which the lean-and-mean railroad uses […]
Q: Next Christmas I’d like to build a small automatic direct-current layout to put in my wife’s shop window. How is it possible to make sure that when a train arrives at the station and stops, a switch is triggered, the polarity is reversed, and another train departs in the opposite direction? – Ferruccio Felletti, […]
PITTSBURGH — Wabtec Corp. and General Motors have announced they have signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on power systems for Wabtec locomotives, developing GM’s Ultium battery technology and Hydrotec hydrogen fuel cell systems. Wabtec CEO Rafael Santana said in a press release that the company’s FLXdrive batter-electric locomotive, which recently completed testing on […]
The Board of Directors of the Wisconsin Southeastern Division of the National Model Railroad Association has announced via its Facebook page that the 2021 Trainfest is cancelled. “We really wanted to have Trainfest this year; however we think the risks are too great to hold the show,” the Facebook announcement said. The posting added the […]
WASHINGTON — Four light rail projects are among the 22 which have received a total of $250 million in funding under the Federal Transit Administration’s Capital Investment Grants program. Rail projects receiving grants are: — $20.7 million to Seattle’s Sound Transit for the 2.4-mile Hilltop extension of the Tacoma Link light rail project. — $17.4 […]
Metro-North to add trains, increasing service to 67% of pre-pandemic levels Metro-North Railroad will add trains on three lines as of Monday, June 21, bringing service to two-thirds of pre-pandemic levels, and will increase that to 83% of prior service levels as of Aug. 29. The Harlem, Hudson, and New Haven lines will each add […]
