At Fort George G. Meade, Md., the porter assigned to the rear Pullman of a troop train watches as supplies are loaded aboard the kitchen car of another train. It’s May 1953 — two months before the end of the Korean War. Philip R. Hastings photo […]
WASHINGTON —The Surface Transportation Board has called for Amtrak, CSX, Norfolk Southern, and the Port of Mobile, Ala., to provide “detailed information regarding the status of the implementation of the settlement agreement” agreed to in November 2022 to allow Amtrak service to begin between New Orleans and Mobile, Ala. — and scheduled a February hearing […]
NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. — The new year brings two new looks for the Florida East Coast Railway. A paint scheme unveiling for employees and invited guests took place at the Class II’s locomotive facility on Jan. 18, 2024. GE ES44C4 Nos. 816 and 820 debuted in what is to be the new official look […]
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The fiscal 2025 budget for Virginia Railway Express has received final approval, setting the stage for the commuter operator to begin offering Saturday service for the first time later this year. The $119.9 million operating budget, up 10% over fiscal 2024, received approval last week from the second of the two agencies […]
CHICAGO — Amtrak continues to assess efforts to operate in subzero Midwest temperatures and make cancellation decisions less than 24 hours before departures. In a remarkably candid email addressed this morning to “Supporter of Passenger Rail” and obtained by Trains News Wire, Amtrak’s veteran Chicago-based government affairs director, Derrick James, outlined the latest cancellations through […]
MELBOURNE, Fla. — The National Transportation Safety Board will send a team to investigate after Brightline trains were involved in two fatal collisions with motorists who drove around operating crossing gates at the same grade crossing, the agency said on Saturday. In a post on the social media site X, the NTSB said it would […]
RICHMOND, Va. — A Virginia legislator is re-introducing regulations that would require two-person crews, cap train lengths, and limit the amount of time trains could block grade crossings in the commonwealth’s House of Delegates. HB385 is sponsored by Delegate Shelly A. Simonds (D-Newport News). It will formally be introduced on Wednesday, Jan. 10. It would […]
Discounts have been announced on regional corridors throughout the U.S. for winter coach-class rail travel. As expected, there are restrictions, and in certain cases booking codes need to be input to take advantage of lower fares. Such discounts help establish a ridership base on departures where demand is light, allowing carriers to raise prices as […]
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Charlotte Area Transit System has taken about half its light-rail fleet out of service after because of a wheel issue that led to the rapid development of a flat spot on one car, WCNC-TV reports. The North Carolina Department of Transportation ordered 22 of the older cars to be taken out […]
MIAMI—South Florida commuter operator Tri-Rail will begin expanding its ridership base by initiating service to Brightline’s center-city Miami terminal next Saturday, Jan. 13, but Amtrak continues to delay moving its long-distance Silver Star and Silver Meteor from an isolated facility 80 blocks north of downtown at Hialeah to a modern Miami International Airport station that […]
A Southern RS3, coach, post office car, and FTB steam heater car comprise a Dec. 16, 1966, remnant of the Augusta Special in Warrenville, S.C. This service ended soon after this image was made. George Weiss photo […]
The 4-8-4 steam locomotive wheel arrangement was exemplified in the South by the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Dixies. Of all the regions in the U.S., the South had the fewest of what might be called the ultimate dual-service “modern” steam locomotive, that is, engines with four-wheel trailing trucks, especially 4-8-4s. An agrarian […]
