John Cunius is truly the “Chairman of the Board” when it comes to his O gauge layout. The display, in a corner of his train room, puts the “fun” in “functional.” It has shelves underneath that hold his collection of locomotives, cars, and other equipment. See this and many other space-saving designs in Classic Toy […]
NEW ORLEANS — A senior Canadian Pacific official told New Orleans and Baton Rouge, La., civic leaders on Wednesday that the railroad will permit a single passenger round trip between the two cities, without any infrastructure improvements, if CP’s merger with Kansas City Southern is approved by the Surface Transportation Board. James Clements, Canadian Pacific’s […]
BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority will cut service on its Mattapan trolley line, as well more than 30 bus routes, because of an operator shortage. Boston.com reports the agency announced Tuesday that the cuts will be effective Dec. 19. Employee attrition has outstripped the ability to find new employees, officials say, leading to […]
WASHINGTON — A supervisor apparently was watching streaming video on his computer when a DC Metrorail train operator took his train the wrong way out of a station, delaying the response to the operating error, according to a report from the independent agency responsible for the Metrorail system. The same report, delivered at Tuesday’s meeting […]
CLEVELAND — Two major rail unions are seeking preliminary injunctions against BNSF Railway and Chicago’s Metra to block vaccination mandates and require negotiations over the issue. The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen and the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers (SMART-TD) announced the filings Dec. 3. In a joint statement, […]
SAN CARLOS, Calif. — Electrification of Caltrain’s line between San Francisco and San Jose, Calif. Is now estimated to cost $2.44 billion, some $462 million over the initial estimate and $129 million more than a Federal Transit Administration estimate from earlier this year, the commuter operator said in a news release. The 47-mile electrification project, […]
LAMY, N.M. — It’s been over 18 months since George R.R. Martin, Catherine Oppenheimer, Bill Banowsky, and several others bought the Santa Fe Southern Railroad and started the transformation to what is now Sky Railway. Based in Lamy, the railroad has seen several owners since the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe ended operations in 1992 […]
TORONTO — A pilot program extending GO Transit service to London, Ontario — with travel times of almost four hours for a 118-mile trip — is drawing few passengers in its second month of operation. But provincial transit agency Metrolinx remains supportive of the project. The Toronto Star reports the pilot program extending Kitchener Line […]
ST-LAMBERT, Quebec — In an echo of situations that significantly disrupted the railroad’s operations in early 2020, protesters staged a blockade Saturday of Canadian National’s line in St-Lambert, adjacent to Montreal , saying they were acting in solidarity with a First Nations group in British Columbia. The Montreal Gazette reports protesters said they were responding […]
TORONTO —GO Transit service was restored on the Lakeshore East Line on Sunday after a week-long disruption following a fatal maintenance-of-way accident. The Toronto Star reports that the route could see some delays or cancellations because of ongoing staff shortages. GO Transit had been operating a bus bridge around the site of the Nov. 27 […]
STOCKTON, Calif. — Southward expansion of the Altamont Corridor Express commuter rail service to Merced, Calif., received a key administrative boost Friday, as the San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission approved the final environmental report for the new segment. The Modesto Bee reports that the vote concludes an environmental review that began in June 2020. It […]
Introducing the Lionel Super Chief LionChief set The Lionel Super Chief LionChief toy train set is a good-looking small passenger train set in a road name I really like. Lionel’s no. 84719 Santa Fe Super Chief LionChief set has been in the catalog since 2018, and there are good reasons the train maker keeps […]
