A special Metroliner carries President Nixon and Mrs. Nixon out of Washington on the evening of Jan. 24, 1970. The President and First Lady were en route to Philadelphia for an orchestra concert. The Metroliners had entered service 12 months earlier, and Nixon wanted to ride one. Don Phillips photo […]
GETTYSBURG, Pa. — Time may be short for the GP10 locomotives that handle traffic on the Gettysburg & Northern, a 27-mile Pioneer Lines short line connecting to CSX Transportation at Gettysburg and Norfolk Southern at Mt. Holly Springs, Pa. Photographer William Anderson reports that the railroad is currently testing a CEFX (CIT Rail) lease unit, […]
WASHINGTON — In the latest setback for the Washington Area Metropolitan Transit Authority’s troubled Metrorail system, 72 train operators have been removed from service for failing to receive mandatory retraining for at least year, and the agency has acknowledged that at least half its 500 operators lack the requiring recertification testing and training. Those removed […]
WASHINGTON — Amtrak’s purchase of a Wilmington, Del., office building will see few of the cost savings and personnel consolidation efforts the company envisioned because it failed to verify its plans, according to a new report from the Amtrak Office of Inspector General. The report, released Friday, is available in full here, although with some […]
PHILADELPIA — The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority has begun the process of replacing its 40-year-old Kawasaki trolley cars, issuing a request for proposals for 100 new rail vehicles. WHYY reports the agency seeks larger vehicles, with a capacity of 65 as opposed to the current 45, and will be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities […]
WASHINGTON — Veronica Vanterpool has been appointed as deputy administrator of the Federal Transit Administration, the agency announced May 11. Vanterpool has served as senior advisor in the FTA Office of the Administrator since August 2021, coordinating and directing the agency’s work on climate change, equity, innovation, safety, and workforce development. Previously, she was chief […]
HARRISBURG, Pa. — In the first public showing of the combined cab, boiler shell, and prow of its new streamlined steam engine, No. 5550, the Pennsylvania Railroad T1 Steam Locomotive Trust displayed its progress on a project whose backers hope to see it running by 2030. The Trust trucked the 30-ton assembly 1,200 miles from […]
CRESSON, Pa. – The Station Inn, a longtime railfan landmark bed & breakfast in western Pennsylvania, has been sold to Alex and Leah Lang of the Pittsburgh area. The inn’s founder, Tom Davis, died Oct. 5 [see “Station Inn owner Tom Davis, 90, dies,” Trains News Wire, Oct. 13, 2021] and it remained open while […]
WASHINGTON — The new general manager named earlier this week by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority will not start the job until late summer, the agency announced, leading to the appointment of an interim general manager. WJLA-TV reports Andy Off, an executive vice president at WMATA, will serve as the interim GM of the […]
ALBANY, N.Y. — Legislators in New York state have introduced bills requiring two-person crews for most freight operations in the state. Senate bill S3953, introduced by Sen. Timothy M. Kennedy (D-Buffalo), would require two-person crews for Class I and Class II railroads, except for those engaged in switching, and specifies penalties beginning at $250 to […]
BEVERLY, Mass. – A passenger who fell asleep and missed his station has sued commuter-train operator Keolis, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. He injured an arm while trying to leave the train in a storage yard, according to the suit. Filing the action in Salem Superior Court last week was […]
WASHINGTON — Responding to citizen and District of Columbia criticism that its plan for redevelopment of Washington Union Station was too automobile-centric, the Federal Railroad Administration has revised its blueprint by eliminating a six-story, 1,575-space parking garage, according to the Washington Post. More than a year ago, D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser and other city […]
