SoCal “Blimps” Three big “Blimp” cars leave downtown Los Angeles behind them as they proceed down PE’s four-track right of way toward Long Beach, August 1953. Reginald McGovern photo […]
SoCal “Blimps”
Type of Train: Passenger/Transit
San Diego transit district to revive STB petition
SAN DIEGO, Calif. — The North County Transit District plans to revive its regulatory efforts to build a safety fence along its rail line through Del Mar, Calif., saying it has been unable to reach agreement with the city, which opposes the fencing. The San Diego Union Tribune reports the district board of directors, at […]
Phoenix gets funding for light rail extension
PHOENIX — Phoenix officials were joined by U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg Friday in marking the approval of $158.1 million in federal funding for the latest extension to the area’s light rail system. The Arizona Republic reports the money will fund the $401.3 million, 1.6-mile extension of the northwest portion of the 28-mile Valley […]
FRA relaunches Railroad Safety Advisory Committee
WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration has renewed the charter of the Railroad Safety Advisory Committee for a two-year period while adding new members. Friday’s announcement came a day after FRA Deputy Administrator Amit Bose told the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association that the board would be revived to help “management and labor […]
‘Amtrak Cascades,’ ‘Coast Starlight’ switch to Point Defiance Bypass
TACOMA, Wash. — One month shy of four years since a fatal derailment on the inaugural morning postponed their debut, Amtrak trains between Seattle and Portland, Ore., are using Sound Transit’s Lakewood Subdivision and a new station co-located with the agency’s commuter service. Using the new route, funded with state and federal funds as part […]
Handsome Hudson
Handsome Hudson 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 […]
New Long Island Rail Road station opening set
NEW YORK – The Long Island Rail Road will open its Elmont Station for eastbound service on Nov. 20. It is the first new LIRR station in almost 50 years, according to the railroad’s owner, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The beginning of service will coincide with the New York Islanders’ hockey team’s first home game […]
MBTA opens consolidated stations on Green Line B Branch
BOSTON – The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has opened two new stations on the B Branch of its Green Light Rail Line, marking completion of its $29 million B Branch Station Consolidation Project. Riders on the agency’s Green Line can now board trains via new accessible platforms compatible with low-floor vehicles and improved stations. The […]
Japan railroad demonstrates bullet train operation without engineer
NIIGATA, Japan – East Japan Railway Co. is testing autonomously operated bullet trains in Niigata Prefecture as it studies introducing trains without engineers (called drivers in Japan) in the future, Kyodo News reported. The test, the first of its kind for the Shinkansen bullet train network, began Oct. 29, and was opened to the media […]
Bob’s Train Box Episode 75
Bob and regular guest CTT editor Hal Miller have a look at MTH Trains’ new SW1 switcher. Check out the review in the January 2022 issue. The host also lights up Atlas O holiday boxcars, and shows some of his collection of railroad signs plus others available at Kalmbachhobbystore.com. […]
Bob’s Train Box Episode 75
Bob and regular guest CTT editor Hal Miller have a look at MTH Trains’ new SW1 switcher. Check out the review in the January 2022 issue. The host also lights up Atlas O holiday boxcars, and shows some of his collection of railroad signs plus others available at Kalmbachhobbystore.com. […]
Franklin Park crossovers separate Canadian Pacific and Metra moves
FRANKLIN PARK, Ill. — It’s not the largest or most essential component of a decades-long, $4.6 billion dollar effort to unclog Chicago’s rail network called CREATE. But completion of the $14.5 million Metra/Canadian Pacific Crossover Upgrades Project is typical of incremental improvements that sporadic funding achieves. Six crossovers and associated signaling now allow Canadian Pacific […]
