BOSTON — New railcars pulled from service on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s Orange Line are beginning to be returned to operation as of this morning (Monday, May 23) after a braking problem on one car led to sidelining of the equipment. The Boston Globe reports that preliminary findings determined one bolt in a braking […]
PORT CLINTON, Pa. — Reading & Northern accumulated more break-in mileage for its former Reading Co. T-1 steam locomotive No. 2102 on a short freight movement Friday (May 20, 2022), ferrying 100 empty coal hoppers to be delivered to an anthracite shipper near Tamaqua, Pa. It was a follow-up to the April 26 break-in run […]
This review of the Lionel Legacy Acela High Speed Train Set is by Chris Montagna of the popular Chris’s Trains and Things channel on YouTube. One of the more highly-anticipated models from Lionel in its 2021 Volume 1 catalog was the re-release of the Acela High-Speed Train Set. We’ve come to expect Lionel to re-release […]
PORT CLINTON, Pa. — Reading & Northern took delivery of its first unit train of frac sand on May 15. Norfolk Southern delivered the 75-car train to R&N’s North Reading Yard, where R&N crews were on hand with a five-unit set of SD40-2s to bring the train 120 miles north to R&N’s Sand Storage facility […]
BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has removed its newest rapid-transit equipment from service after a car was disabled by braking problems. NBC Boston reports 64 Orange Line cars and six Red Line cars built in Springfield, Mass., by an affiliate of China’s CRRC were pulled from service for inspections “out of an abundance […]
SEATTLE — In its determination to cut costs in 2020 and 2021 as the COVID-19 pandemic sucker-punched its prized Northeast Corridor moneymakers, Amtrak management turned off the hiring pipeline while furloughing employees nationwide. But state-based decisions deferring resumption of regional round trips have exacerbated the situation, especially in efforts to hire operating personnel, as prospective […]
BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s contract operator of commuter rail service, Keolis, has announced the return of weekend CapeFLYERservice between Boston and Cape Cod. The seasonal service will begin its 10th summer of operation on Friday, May 29, and will operate through Labor Day weekend. The service is a partnership of the MBTA, […]
WASHINGTON — The fallout from DC Metrorail’s failure to maintain retraining and certification for its train operators has claimed its two top officials, as the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority board accepted the resignation of outgoing General Manager Paul J. Wiedefeld and Chief Operating Officer Joseph Leader. Meanwhile, the transit agency took another hit on […]
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 […]
