Atlanta Beltline ATLANTA — Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. is launching a study that proposes using 13.6 miles of a 22-mile rail transit corridor to circle downtown Atlanta. Known as the BeltLine loop, a mixture of biking and hiking trails along with a light-rail line will reuse sections of an inactive right-of-way. The study, a recent press […]
PHILADELPHIA — Fans of the Presidents’ Conference Committee trolley car, we direct your attention to Route 15 on the SEPTA system. This fall six refurbished PCC cars will return to the route occupied by buses since 2020, according to an AXIOS Philadelphia story. The PCC cars were to begin operating this week, however, SEPTA is […]
ATLANTA – Norfolk Southern’s independent safety consultant has made 11 recommendations the railroad should follow in order to improve its safety culture. Atkins Nuclear Secured, in its first report since being hired in May to assess the railroad’s safety efforts in the wake of the disastrous Feb. 3 derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, says NS […]
Amtrak station in Madison MADISON, Wis. — Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway — in her 2024 budget request — is proposing an increase in local funding ($350,000 to $400,000) to help establish the need for an Amtrak station in Madison. In addition to covering the costs for programming and planning, the funds would go towards the city’s […]
Meet the Enthusiasts We are not alone, although it sure can feel that way. Many of us have, at one time or another, may have felt we needed to explain why we like trains and railroading. If we didn’t get the “look,” it was usually “Oh, you still play with trains?” After a while you […]
One night in 1992, I was in Bombay (now Mumbai), India, waiting for a plane. Bombay is about as far away as a person can travel from Little Silver, N.J., where I grew up, and just as far from the Lionel fun factory where my greatest find was manufactured. But because one day I asked […]
My greatest find could also be known as the one that almost got away. This Lionel outfit was sitting on a shelf of a local pawnshop for quite some time, collecting dust with many other items that no one was interested in buying. Enter my wife, who had worked for a large telecommunications company that […]
Being a longtime toy train collector and a member of the Train Collectors Association since 1971, I have had more than my share of great finds. Recently, though, I chanced upon one that I consider my greatest. Turbines without and with Magne-Traction Like most postwar train enthusiasts, I have always liked the model of the […]
Lionel Mint Car Coin collection with a matching collection of souvenir US Mint coins In 1961, when Lionel first produced the #6445 Fort Knox Gold Bullion Car, it had a coin slot in the top so it could be used as a bank. In 1979, when the car was reproduced as #9320, Lionel also created […]
BOSTON — A new poll indicates 70% of MBTA riders did not feel safe during a trip. Respondents also gave the MBTA low ratings for its service. This is according to survey conducted in mid-August by MassINC Polling Group and funded by the Barr Foundation, says a report on WBUR. The results indicate 70% of […]
WASHINGTON – U.S. weekly rail traffic fell 1.7% for the week ending Sept. 9, with carload up 0.6% and intermodal volume down 3.8% compared to last year, the Association of American Railroads says. Six of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2022. They included motor vehicles and […]
UAW strike A potential United Auto Workers strike against the Big Three automakers would put a dent in railroads’ motor vehicle and parts volume – the traffic segment that’s shown the most growth this year as overall rail volume has declined. The UAW has set a midnight deadline tonight for a strike at Ford, GM, […]
