Tri-Rail F40PH-2C 807 eases to a stop in West Palm Beach, Fla., with a Miami-bound train at 5:40 p.m., on August 15, 1997. Matt Van Hattem Tri-Rail began commuter service in South Florida on January 9, 1989, the first of the major commuter start-ups of the 1990s. Formed in 1987 by the Florida Department of […]
MBTA GP40LH-2 1128 pulls into the Newburyport, Mass., layover yard with train 183 on July 30, 2002. James B. Winters The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority serves the city of Boston and outlying areas with 11 different commuter lines and 119 stations covering 402 route miles. MBTA trains operate two Boston stations: North Station and South […]
A Shore Line East commuter train led by GP40-2H 253 rolls through Madison, Ct., in August 1993. This portion of the Northeast Corridor has since been electrified to accommodate Amtrak’s high-speed Acela Express. John Locke, III Shore Line East commuter operations began in May of 1990, serving 7 stations on a 33-mile segment of Amtrak’s […]
Virginia Railway Express serves commuters in northern Virginia and Washington, D.C., with an 83-mile system comprised of two lines and 18 stations. Service to Manassas began on June 22, 1992; service to Fredericksburg followed on July 20, 1992. Trains on both lines call at stations in Alexandria, Arlington (Crystal City), and Washington, D.C. (L’Enfant Plaza […]
On a July 1996 evening in New York City, Metro-North P32ACDM 202 wheels through Spuyten Duyvil with a northbound diesel-powered Hudson Line train, passing a now-retired 1100-series M.U. that has just departed the station. Matt Van Hattem MTA Metro-North Railroad provides commuter service on five routes covering 412 miles, serving 120 stations. Metro-North is the […]
Passenger service on the 200-mile MARC system is distinguished by the need to serve commuters working in two different metropolitan areas. Rush-hour trains operate both ways on two separate routes between Baltimore and Washington: Amtrak’s electrified Northeast Corridor via New Carrollton (the Penn Line), and CSX’s Capital Subdivision via Jessup and College Park (the Camden […]
Two SEPTA MU trainsets are seen laying over between runs near Powelton yard, just west of 30th Street Station Philadelphia, on March 4, 2000. Matt Van Hattem SEPTA, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, operates a network of commuter trains, buses, trolleys, subways, and trackless trolleys that serve Philadelphia and surrounding areas. SEPTA’s commuter rail service […]
Penn Central Company Penn Central was created February 1, 1968 by merger of Pennsylvania and New York Central. Entered bankruptcy on June 21, 1970. Because of PC’s failure and its size, the federal government created Conrail, to which PC was conveyed on April 1, 1976. Pennsylvania Railroad Pennsylvania Railroad chartered April 13, 1846; by 1852, […]
Canadian National Canadian National Railways was incorporated June 6, 1919, to operate several carriers that had come under governmental control owing to financial problems: Intercolonial (1913); National Transcontinental (1915); Canadian Northern (1918); Grand Trunk Pacific (1920); and Grand Trunk (1920). The Grand Trunk name survived on the U.S. portion of the Montreal-Portland (Maine) line until […]
Lehigh & Hudson River Railway Warwick Valley opened in 1862 as 6-foot-gauge line, standard-gauged in 1880. It was extended southwest as Lehigh & Hudson River, a name adopted for both lines in 1882. L&HR filed for bankruptcy on April 18, 1872, and was among the properties conveyed to Conrail on April 1, 1976. Lehigh & […]
Akron, Canton & Youngstown Railway Akron, Canton & Youngstown incorporated in 1907, completed its line in 1913. Purchased by N&W at time of Nickel Plate merger in October 1964. Dissolved by N&W successor Norfolk Southern Corp. on January 1, 1982. Trackage included in May 17, 1990, sale to new regional Wheeling & Lake Erie. Alabama, […]
Conrail (Consolidated Rail Corporation) After the failure of Penn Central in 1970, the government formed the United States Railway Association in 1973 to develop a plan to save railroading in the Northeast. The result: Consolidated Rail Corp., which on April 1, 1976, took over the properties of PC and six smaller roads. On August 22, […]
