BLET introduces new executive committee, advisory board

Logo of Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen union

INDEPENDENCE, Ohio — The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen has sworn in a new executive committee and elected eight new members to its advisory board, the union announced. Edward A. Hall became the union’s new national president Jan. 1. He is joined on the executive committee by first vice president Mark L. Wallace and […]

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Modeling Amtrak’s “rainbow” fleet

Red and yellow locomotives leading passenger train with cars of several colors.

What is Amtrak’s “rainbow” fleet? Amtrak began operations on May 1, 1971, and at the time had only one piece of equipment sporting Amtrak’s first logo, E8 No. 4316. This engine is currently offered by Rapido. All of the passenger equipment came from the railroads that joined to form Amtrak, including over 400 from the […]

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Metra launches new real-time train tracking site

Metra train arrives at station platform in downtown Chicago

CHICAGO —Metra on Tuesday began the rollout of a new live train-tracking website which the Chicago-area commuter rail operator promises will allow riders to see the exact location of their trains and their station arrival times. The new site, metratracker.com, is made possible by a wholesale replacement of the previous train tracking system. It also […]

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Reading & Northern sets freight, passenger records

Green and yellow locomotives lead freight train

PORT CLINTON, Pa. — Reading & Northern Railroad announced it set new records in 2022 for freight traffic and excursion passenger ridership. Revenue freight traffic rose over 4,000 carloads and the railroad carried over 250,000 passengers on its excursion trains. Reading & Northern, Pennsylvania’s largest privately-owned railroad, said the freight traffic increase was driven by […]

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Siemens working with Amtrak to resolve ALC42 locomotive issues

Blue and red locomotives on passenger train

CHICAGO — The Amtrak locomotives that sustained mid-route failures on the Empire Builder in December, stranding the eastbound train in rural Minnesota, are undergoing software and hardware modifications intended to prevent the problems from recurring. Responding to a Trains News Wire inquiry asking Amtrak why the Builder didn’t operate west of the Twin Cities for […]

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Tangent Illinois Central Centralia Shops caboose

Illinois Central Centralia Shops caboose: An image of model cabooses against a white background.

Tangent Illinois Central Centralia Shops caboose Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: $119.95 Era: 1960s+ (varies depending on scheme) Manufacturer: Tangent Scale Models, P.O. Box 6514, Asheville, NC 28816; 828-412-3886; tangentscalemodels.com Illinois Central Centralia Shops caboose features: IC-specific interior Era-specific body details for each scheme, including multiple body, side vents and side window combinations Three different era and […]

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Rail photography with Google Earth 3D

Passenger train rounding curve witha city skyline in the background.

Rail photography with Google Earth 3D: Anyone who has been exposed to the internet has undoubtedly found themselves snooping around neighborhoods on Google satellite maps or through the search engine’s Google Earth platform. Certain rail photographers have likely logged more hours than they care to admit on the platform. In earlier trip planning days, I […]

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Grand Canyon Railway sets 2023 steam dates

Black steam locomotive pulling passenger train around curve

  WILLIAMS, Ariz. – The Grand Canyon Railway has announced dates it will operate 2-8-2 No. 4960 in 2023. The railroad typically uses the former Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad locomotive to pull trains between Williams and Grand Canyon one Saturday a month, plus some additional dates. The 2023 steam dates are: February 18 for […]

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Rainy weather delays effort to fix rail line to San Diego

Heavy equipment moving rocks along rail lline at beach as train waits in distance

SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. — A series of storms that have brought significant rain to California have slowed efforts to repair an unstable slope along the Surf Line in Orange County, pushing back efforts to restore through rail passenger service between Los Angeles and San Diego while also raising the cost of the repair effort. The […]

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