CHICAGO — Metra has launched use of specially decorated trains for the holidays in regular commuter service, while the Chicago Transit Authority’s Holiday Train is set to begin operation on Nov. 24. The debut of the Metra trains — decorated for already sold-out holiday rides with Santa Claus in December — came on Friday, Nov. […]
CHICAGO — A design problem with the braking for the CTA equipment played a role in Thursday’s collision between a Yellow Line train and a piece of train maintenance machinery, National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy said today (Saturday, Nov. 18). Homendy was speaking at a press briefing on the investigation into the accident […]
CHICAGO — Most Amtrak Wolverine and Blue Water trains will again be cancelled on Saturday, Nov. 18, but plans are to restore all service on the two routes as of Sunday, Nov. 19, Amtrak has announced. All six Wolverine trains and both directions of the Blue Water were cancelled today (Friday, Nov. 17) after a […]
CHICAGO — It could be up to five days before service resumes on the Chicago Transit Authority’s Yellow Line following Thursday’s collision between a CTA train and a piece of maintenance equipment. National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy said at a news briefing today (Friday, Nov. 17) that it could take that long for […]
Facts & features Name: Soo Line Central Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 8 x 20 feet Prototype: Soo Line, Wisconsin Central, and Canadian National Locale: Chicago Era: 1980 to present Style: island Mainline run: 98 feet (double tracked) Minimum radius: 24″ Minimum turnout: Atlas No. 8 Maximum grade: flat Benchwork: open grid Height: 38″ Roadbed: cork […]
CHICAGO — Service on the Chicago Transit Authority’s Yellow Line remains suspended today (Friday, Nov. 17) after the Thursday collision between a two-car Yellow Line train and a piece of maintenance equipment that injured 38 people, 23 of whom were sent to hospitals for treatment. The train reportedly rear-ended a snow plow, according to a […]
NEW BUFFALO, Mich. — Eleven people reportedly suffered minor injuries when Amtrak Wolverine train No. 355 bound for Chicago struck vehicles at a grade crossing and derailed in New Buffalo Township, Mich., about 10 p.m. Thursday night, WZZM-TV reports. At least eight trains scheduled for today have been cancelled while derailment cleanup takes place. The […]
The American Car & Foundry-built Missouri Pacific lounge diner on the South Texas Eagle offered a quality of food and expanse of lounge that airlines of the day couldn’t match. American Car & Foundry photo […]
CHICAGO — More than 30 people were injured, and more than 20 were hospitalized, following a crash involving a Chicago Transit Authority train today (Thurday, Nov. 16), according to updated information from the Chicago Fire Department. The latest information, as reported by WMAQ-TV, is that at least 38 people were injured, with 23 transported […]
FORT WAYNE, Ind. — The Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society announced a $50,000 matching grant for the restoration of seven former New York Central passenger cars. Built in 1941 for the Empire State Express, they were acquired from New York’s Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum and arrived at the Fort Wayne group’s shop in […]
Westbound Nickel Plate Road train NC-3 rolls through the east side of Cleveland, Ohio, in June 1959. The railroad, formally known as the New York, Chicago & St. Louis, dieselized its freight operations with road-switchers. As evidence, a mix of six Alco and EMD locomotives led by Alco RS11 No. 568 and EMD GP9 No. […]
This 1902 northward view of Chicago’s Grand Crossing makes it obvious how this busy South Side rail intersection got its name. Six tracks of Illinois Central (two suburban, two passenger, two freight) cross the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago (Pennsylvania Railroad) and Lake Shore and Michigan Southern (New York Central). Illinois Central photo […]
