Early Amtrak GE Locomotives

A gray locomotive with wide red, white, and blue stripes sits in a large and brightly lit factory building. A similar engine is in the background.

Most railfans will not dispute this statement: The most iconic General Electric locomotives to be employed by Amtrak were the Genesis series. These streamlined, monocoque-body (single shell) workhorses have been everywhere along the passenger carrier’s regional and long-distance services since the 1990s. The impact of the Genesis series locomotives can make it easy to forget […]

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Amtrak stations with both originating/terminating and through services

Two trains at station

Of the more than 500 stations Amtrak serves across its 21,000-mile network, most are pretty straightforward. Some serve as originating/terminating points for the carrier’s trains, while others are stops along the way for through services. But there are more than 30 Amtrak stations with both originating/terminating and through services. These dual-purpose facilities are small depots […]

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Pennsylvania Senate passes budget including transit funding, but House is unlikely to agree

White trolley car going uphill on street

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania’s Republican-controlled Senate has passed a funding bill that would largely use capital funding to maintain transit operations, a move the state’s governor and Democratically-controlled House say is not a viable solution to the funding shortfall that could lead to major service cuts in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. The Philadelphia-area Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation […]

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LIRR adds more customer seating at Grand Central Madison

Seats in corridor-like area of train station

NEW YORK — The Long Island Rail Road has added more seating on the mezzanine level of Grand Central Madison, responding to customer requests during a period of rising ridership at the two-year-old facility. The station originally had no seating on the mezzanine — the area between the two levels of tracks well below Grand […]

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Taking it to the streets

Taking it to the streets

Led by 1936 power unit 9905 Zephyrus, the Twin Cities Zephyr rolls down Second Street in La Crosse, Wis., circa 1939. The slow street running was an obstacle when competing with Chicago & North Western and Milwaukee Road for Chicago to Twin Cities traffic. Elden H. Hunter photo […]

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Zephyr, Builder routes playing catch-up; more equipment challenges

Passenger train passing commuter-train station

CHICAGO — California Zephyr passengers across the entire Chicago-Emeryville, Calif., route are suffering the lingering effects of downed power lines early Saturday (Aug. 9) on BNSF Railway tracks between Lincoln and Hastings, Nebraska. Elsewhere, the lack of available cars and locomotives continued to trigger lengthy delays and cancellations. Zephyrs chase each other west, one round […]

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Flooding closes CPKC main line in Wisconsin (updated)

WAUWATOSA, Wis. — CPKC’s main line across Wisconsin has reopened after being closed Satuday night by torrential rains, disrupting freight and Amtrak operations. Locations near Milwaukee reported as much as 14.5 inches of rain between Saturday evening and 2 p.m. on Sunday, according to WISN-TV. Wauwatosa, Wis., just west of Milwaukee, reported 7.15 inches; there, […]

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Rapido Trains HO TurboTrain 2.0

Futuristic toy train painted in red, white, and black colors on a model base with green grass and a tan concrete culvert in front of a blue sky backdrop with white fluffy clouds.

Rapido Trains Inc. has released an updated version of its highly detailed HO scale model of United Aircraft’s TurboTrain. The firm is calling this release TurboTrain 2.0. Much like the real high-speed train sets developed and built in the late 1960s and then upgraded through their service lives, Rapido’s own HO scale model of the […]

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Amtrak NextGen Acela debut set for Aug. 28

WASHINGTON — Amtrak announced today that the first five Next Generation Acela trainsets will begin operating over its Boston-Washington Northeast Corridor on Thursday, Aug. 28. Information regarding which departures will be new Acelas and when they can be booked was not initially revealed. “As the official launch date approaches, customers should look for more information […]

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