DOUGLASVILLE, Ga. — John M. Koch, founder of railroad video manufacturer Green Frog Productions Ltd., died Feb. 3 in Kennesaw, Ga. Koch was an avid fan and modeler of the Rio Grande Southern narrow gauge, and he built an extensive and highly detailed On3 scale model railroad at his home. In fact, Green Frog Productions […]
Section: News Wire
Kentucky group to restore C&O 2-8-4 No. 2716 NEWSWIRE
Cheseapeake & Ohio 2-8-4 No. 2716 takes on coal at Hayne Yard in Spartanburg, S.C., in July 1982. Jim Wrinn C&O No. 2716 steams northbound at the Amtrak station on the Southern Railway main line, bound for Greensboro, N.C., in July 1982. Jim Wrinn LEXINGTON, Ky. — A non-profit Kentucky group says its members will restore […]
UPDATE: Amtrak expands pets program to more routes NEWSWIRE
WASHINGTON — Travelers who wish to take small dogs or cats in carry-on cases with them aboard Amtrak trains are getting more choices starting Feb. 16, when they will be welcomed on long-distance train coaches for trips up to seven hours. The following Saturday, a pilot program scheduled through June 12 will begin on weekend […]
FRA says it is collecting more fines from railroads NEWSWIRE
Collection rate on railroad fines (by year) Federal Railroad Administration Reasons for railroad civil fines (for fiscal year 2015) Federal Railroad Adminisrtation WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration today announced that it has stepped-up enforcement of railroad safety regulations led to the highest-ever civil penalty collection rate in the agency’s 50-year history. For fiscal year […]
Cardinal adds business class NEWSWIRE
Cardinal heads west near Swoop, Va., east of Staunton, in April, 2013 Bob Johnston WASHINGTON—Starting this month, Amtrak will begin offering business class on the triweekly Chicago-Washington-New York Cardinal. The decision to do so was made recently, so it is not reflected in the new “Winter Spring 2016” timetable effective Monday, Jan. 11. The launch, […]
Amtrak confirms ‘Phase III’ scheme for ‘Empire Service’ locomotives NEWSWIRE
No. 704 trails on the westbound ‘Cardinal’ as it arrives in Chicago on Jan. 7. Mark Hinsdale NEW YORK – Passengers along the Empire Service route to Upstate New York can look forward to more of Amtrak’s “Phase III” paint scheme. GE P32AC-DM No. 704 rolled into the windy city last week displaying a Phase […]
Norfolk & Western No. 611 to steam again in 2016 NEWSWIRE
ROANOKE, Va. – World famous Norfolk & Western Class J No. 611 will pull public excursions four weekends between April and June in its home state of Virginia and North Carolina, the Virginia Museum of Transportation and North Carolina Transportation Museum announced Monday. The announcement ends weeks of speculation as to the extent of NS’s […]
Historian and author Bill Griffin Jr. dies at 71 NEWSWIRE
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – William E. Griffin Jr., 71, retired personnel director of the Richmond Fredericksburg & Potomac and later CSX, died Tuesday. A railroad employee for more than 30 years, Griffin was also a rail historian who wrote several books about railroads in his native Virginia and predecessors of CSX. Among the titles by Griffin […]
Pullman Rail Journeys trips over Amtrak in doubt in 2016 NEWSWIRE
Three Pullman Rail Journeys cars pass through the drawbridge at Pass Manchac, La., on Nov. 2, 2014, on the rear of Amtrak’s City of New Orleans. Amtrak and Pullman Rail Journeys have yet to come to an agreement for 2016 trips. Bob Johnston A meal typical of Pullman Rail Journeys: luncheon shrimp salad with potato […]
Trains Top 10 stories: No. 3, The Return of 611 NEWSWIRE
Norfolk & Western Class J No. 611 No. 611 pulls a photographers’ special at the North Carolina Transportation Museum in May 2015. Jim Wrinn If a locomotive can mend broken hearts, Norfolk & Western Class J No. 611 does so with caressing steam. Fans of the locomotive have long said this railroad-built Class J is […]
Norfolk Southern debuts new 4000-series AC converted locomotives NEWSWIRE
Norfolk Southern No. 4000 is a AC44C6M locomotive converted from No. 8799 a D9-40C unit built by GE in 1995. To recognize its conversion, the unit sports a new blue and light gray paint scheme. Norfolk Southern Norfolk Southern Nos. 4000 and 4001 pose outside the paint shop in Chattanooga, Tenn., for their first portrait together. […]
Trains Top 10 stories: No. 5, Tier 4 locomotives NEWSWIRE
CSX No. 3251 is a GE-built ET44AC. James D. Moore Locomotive builders greeted 2015 with a fleet of engines ready, or being tested for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Tier 4 standards. The standards were announced in 2008 with a goal of reducing particle emissions by 90 percent and nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxide emissions […]
