CUMBERLAND, Md. — As tourist railroads and museums emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, they are offering new experiences to attract the public. At the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad, this effort has translated into the addition of Amtrak’s last dome car. The Ocean View, built in 1955 and retired by Amtrak in 2019, debuted earlier this […]
WASHINGTON — The commission that helps fund Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor operations today released a sweeping blueprint that sets goals for passenger rail service improvements over the next 15 years, and the infrastructure investments and funding it estimates will be necessary to implement them. On the surface, “Connect NEC 2035,” or “C35,” might be viewed as […]
HARRISBURG, Pa. — The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority and other Pennsylvania transit agencies are asking state legislators to create new funding streams to address money from the state turnpike system that is coming to an end, and to take other measures to address transit needs. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports lobbyists and transit advocates are seeking […]
ALTOONA, Pa. — Norfolk Southern furloughed 86 workers at its Juaniata Locomotive Shop in Altoona on Friday, while eliminating another 14 jobs through attrition, the Altoona Mirror reports. The moves leave the shop with approximately 400 workers. Workers learned of the layoffs Friday morning when they arrived for their shift and were prohibited from entering […]
On August 4, 1957, the Pennsylvania Railroad dispatched an eight-car train of MP54 multiple-unit cars from Penn Station, New York. Aboard the excursion were hundreds of railfans anticipating a day of riding mostly freight-only trackage to the western extremity of PRR catenary at Enola Yard across the Susquehanna River from Harrisburg, Pa. The exotic routing […]
WASHINGTON — One victim was found to be intoxicated while moving outside of a yard walkway was a factor in the death of another, and according to National Transportation Safety Board reports on fatal accidents on CSX Transportation in 2019 and the Port Authority Transit Corp. in 2020. In the first incident, on April 13, […]
Steam queen 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 […]
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration wants U.S. regulatory agencies to address consolidation and what it considers to be anticompetitive pricing by railroads and ocean shipping firms, the Wall Street Journal reports in a paywalled article. The Journal — citing a source familiar with the situation — says the administration will issue an executive order this […]
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — CSX Transportation on Friday filed an amended version of its application to acquire Pan Am Railways with the Surface Transportation Board, addressing additional information requested by the regulatory body. The STB had rejected the initial application in May, saying it failed to “include all of the information needed” for the required […]
Williamsport-bound At Fassett, Pa., just south of the New York state line, I1 4315 gets a roll on a Williamsport-bound freight. Rugged, simple, powerful, and compact, the I1’s served for four decades. Jim Shaughnessy photo […]
WASHINGTON — Five rail-related projects are among 24 selected to receive $905.25 million in federal grants under the fiscal 2021 Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) program. The announcement of the proposed awards begins a 60-day period for Congress to review the proposed awards; after that review period, the U.S. Department of Transportation is free to […]
NEWBERRY TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Cleanup continued Tuesday after 33 cars of a Norfolk Southern train derailed Monday afternoon midway between Harrisburg and York, Pa. The York Daily Record reports plastic PVC pellets spilled from one car, and hazmat teams were part of the initial response to the derailment because some of the cars involved displayed […]
