CHICAGO — Metra announced earlier this year that it would use trains decorated for special holiday excursions — which have been running to downtown Chicago on various routes on Saturdays since Dec. 2 — in regular commuter service, as well [see “Metra, CTA set plans …,” Trains News Wire, Nov. 19, 2023]. This is a […]
CHICAGO — In a rarity on a number of fronts, Metra operated a special train today (Sunday, Dec. 10) for members of Congress between Chicago Union Station and the O’Hare Airport station on the North Central Service line. The train, using one of Metra’s decorated holiday train sets generally led by F40PH-3 No. 104, the […]
The EMC TA diesel locomotive was an early passenger diesel and a Rock Island oddity. If it looks and sounds like an early EMC E-series streamlined diesel passenger locomotive, there is a good chance it is. But don’t bet the family farm. The locomotive in question is the EMC TA diesel, a […]
Chicago & North Western passenger trains: All through December 2023, Classic Trains editors are celebrating the history and heritage of the C&NW. Please enjoy this photo gallery of Chicago & North Western passenger trains, originally published online in May 2015. […]
Facts & features Name: Missouri Pacific Joppa SubdivisionScale: HO (1:87.1)Size: 27′-3″ x 31′-6″Prototype: Missouri PacificLocale: southern IllinoisMainline run: 131 feet (visible), 222 feet (including helix and branch to start of Freeman mine)Minimum radius: 30″Minimum turnout: No. 6Maximum grade: 2.5% Download this trackplan! Buy the January 2023 issue of Model Railroader! […]
WASHINGTON — Ten more routes — almost all of them radiating from Chicago — have joined the list of those selected for inclusion in the Federal Railroad Administration’s Corridor Identification and Development program, according to announcements today from a variety of sources. Selection, the first step in the process of gaining or increasing Amtrak service, […]
Five routes in Wisconsin — including both the state’s existing Amtrak lines, which seek increased service — are among those selected for the Federal Railroad Administration’s Corridor Identification and Development Program, according to members of Congress across the country. Selection provides funding for studies that are a prelude to new or expanded Amtrak service. In […]
WASHINGTON — Chicago Union Station will receive a $93.6 million grant for modernization, part of the Chicago Hub Improvement Program outlined earlier this year by federal, state, local, and Amtrak officials. U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, and U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley (all D-Ill.), announced the funding today (Wednesday, Dec. 6). Money will come […]
FRANKLIN PARK, Ill. — Metra continues to test some of its SD70MACH locomotives, even as it works the remanufactured freight units into revenue service [see “Metra SD70MACHs begin revenue service,” Trains News Wire, Nov. 30, 2023]. In a relatively rare move, correspondent Chris Guss caught units 504 and 505 operating back-to-back on a test train […]
WASHINGTON — Seven routes in North Carolina and four serving Ohio are among those to receive funding to study possible future Amtrak service under the Federal Railroad Administration’s Corridor Identification and Development Program, according to announcements today (Tuesday, Dec. 5) by members of Congress, as well as one mayor. At least 14 corridors have been […]
LOMBARD, Ill. — CEOs from CPKC, CSX, and Norfolk Southern, as well as Union Pacific’s president, are among the scheduled speakers as the Midwest Association of Rail Shippers holds its winter meeting on Jan. 9-11, 2024, marking the 100th anniversary of MARS. Registration is now open for the meeting at the Westin Lombard. It begins […]
New York Central 4505, a rare Fairbanks-Morse CPA-24-5, leads a train toward Chicago at Otis, Ind., in April 1954. A Studebaker, built in nearby South Bend, is beside the depot. Eugene Van Dusen photo […]
