FRA’s Bose tells short lines to make case on crew size

Man in suit at microphone

PHOENIX — Amit Bose, the Federal Railroad Administration’s Deputy Administrator, covered a great deal of ground in his keynote address Thursday to the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association. Only once, however, did he display a degree of agitation about his subject matter: when discussing a forthcoming rule proposal on train crew size. The […]

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Handsome Hudson

Streamlined steam locomotive with passenger train at speed

Handsome Hudson For a few years in the late 1930s, the steam queens of New Haven’s Shore Line were 10 class I-5 4-6-4s. The handsome Hudsons’ wheel-balance woes prompted NH to begin acquiring a fleet of 60 DL109 diesels in 1941. Here, an I-5 roars west with the Merchants Limited at Sharon, Mass. Wayne Brumbaugh […]

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Milwaukee Road freight trains photo gallery

Streamlined electric locomotive leads freight train with four diesels through mountain valley in snow

All through November, Classic Trains editors are celebrating the multi-faceted Milwaukee Road. Please enjoy this photo gallery of Milwaukee Road freight trains selected from the image archives of Kalmbach Media’s David P. Morgan Library. In its history, the Milwaukee Road operated freight service from as far as Louisville, Ky., west to Tacoma, Wash., and Portland, […]

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Budget work train for the garden

Large-scale MOW train

Budget work train for DIY’ers A budget work train made its way into my life since I needed a project to work on to de-stress from the rigors of graduate school — for a price a grad student can afford. Wrecking crane I wanted my budget work train to center around two main cars, a 250- […]

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Nashville Steam Issues End of Year Matching Grant Challenge

Steam locomotive rounds curve

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – As the restoration of Nashville’s iconic steam locomotive nears its halfway point, Nashville Steam Preservation Society has issued a matching grant challenge to raise $100,000 by the end of 2021. Thanks to a generous opportunity from The Candelaria Fund and The Wick Moorman Charitable Foundation, all donations, and gifts over $500 will […]

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Diesel hydraulics: Diesels that didn’t

Gray and red diesel locomotive pulls stock cars

North American railroads never found a broad use for freight service diesel locomotives with a hydraulic drive, making them another case of the “diesels that didn’t.” Germany was the early leader in developing and building diesel locomotives that utilized direct-drive transmissions. Those early models in the 1930s incorporated torque converters and gears in lieu of […]

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New Long Island Rail Road station opening set

people in group stand outside new station

NEW YORK – The Long Island Rail Road will open its Elmont Station for eastbound service on Nov. 20. It is the first new LIRR station in almost 50 years, according to the railroad’s owner, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The beginning of service will coincide with the New York Islanders’ hockey team’s first home game […]

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MBTA opens consolidated stations on Green Line B Branch

artist redition of train coming into new station

BOSTON – The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has opened two new stations on the B Branch of its Green Light Rail Line, marking completion of its $29 million B Branch Station Consolidation Project. Riders on the agency’s Green Line can now board trains via new accessible platforms compatible with low-floor vehicles and improved stations. The […]

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