American Railway Explorer plan is scrapped NEWSWIRE

DENVER – The proposed American Railway Explorer luxury passenger train is being mothballed just three months after its announcement, the Denver Post has reported. Officials with Xanterra Parks and Resorts, the train’s owner, yesterday told contractors working on equipment refurbishment to cease work. Xanterra, one of billionaire Phil Anschutz’s holdings, couldn’t be reached for comment. […]

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Worcester waiting

A Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority train stares down a red signal at Worcester, Mass., the end of the run for Framingham Line trains, at dusk on Oct. 18, 2008. Soon the train will reverse direction and head back to Boston, with the engine pushing. Matt Van Hattem photo […]

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Portage Flyer timetable and photos

Portage Flyer timetable This 9×17-inch document shows the 1942 summer schedule for the Huntsville & Lake of Bays Transportation Co. steamboat services east from Huntsville, Ont. Note that, although connections with Canadian National mainline trains at Huntsville are shown, there’s no mention of the “Portage Flyer” railway — just arrival and departure times for the […]

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Micro-Trains N scale Pullman-Standard 10-1-2 sleeper car

Micro-Trains N scale Pullman-Standard 10-1-2 sleeper car

Micro-Trains N scale Pullman-Standard 10-1-2 sleeper car A heavyweight sleeping car with a detailed interior is the latest ready-to-run N scale passenger car built by Micro-Trains Line Co. The model is based on a Pullman-Standard 10-section, 1-drawing room, 2-compartment steel sleeper built to Pullman plan 2585D. Pullman first built cars to the 2585-series plans in […]

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McKinney Avenue Trolley’s fleet

In Historic Trains Today, we bring you “Unburied Treasure,” the story about the McKinney Avenue Trolley Authority in Dallas. In 2010, MATA has six streetcars cars listed as in service, two undergoing restoration, and five more awaiting work. Learn more about these trolleys below. McKinney Avenue trolley No. 122 Rosie, Dallas. Ken Fitzgerald 122: RosieThe […]

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Inside Alstom’s high speed train factory NEWSWIRE

mid-train articulated TGV car

The seldom-seen end of a mid-train articulated TGV car. Keith Fender New TGV disc brakes. Keith Fender TGV Duplex cars emerge. Keith Fender Monitoring systems are tucked into the sides of some TGV Duplex cars beneath upper-level windows. Keith Fender TGV cars are moved around the plant on temporary trucks. It takes three weeks to […]

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Threading through Ragan Interlocking

Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority train No. 9243 threads through Ragan Interlocking in Newport, Del., on its way south to Newark passenger station. Norfolk Southern train H5G with 17 empty autoracks bound for Chrysler Yard waits in the siding on Sept. 14, 2009. Michael S. Murray photo […]

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Empty Amtrak roomettes go begging

Denver Union Station

An Amtrak conductor in Denver Union Station checks in passengers heading east on the California Zephyr, Sept. 2, 2008. Bob Johnston Many Amtrak conductors and sleeping car attendants are eager to help Amtrak maximize revenue by letting coach passengers know when their train has unsold roomettes and bedrooms available. As Trains’ July 2010 Passenger column, […]

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Atlas O 60-foot heavyweight passenger cars

Atlas O 60-foot heavyweight passenger cars

Atlas O 60-foot heavyweight passenger cars Price: $84.95 ManufacturerAtlas O378 Florence Ave.Hillside, NJ 07205www.atlaso.com Era: 1910s to 1960s Comments: Modeled after relatively short cars, these new O scale heavyweight cars from Atlas O’s Trainman line can handle tight-radius curves without compromising prototype fidelity. The scale 60-foot cars are available in baggage, coach, combine (pictured), and […]

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Northeast commuter trains per day: 2005

Northeast commuter trains map image

Think you’re in a hurry to get to work? The 3,170 trains on this map make it their business to hustle, with a purposefulness matched only by the riders packed aboard their coaches. This is a snapshot of the commuter trains that run every weekday in the Northeast. Without them, some of the biggest cities […]

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Amtrak station volumes in 2007

Amtrak station volumes in 2007 map image

Across the country, the stories play out simultaneously on a weekday morning: Two businessmen headed for the 8:03 Boston-bound Acela Express dive into the crowd at New York’s Penn Station; a cluster of Purdue University students shuffles down the platform at Lafayette, Ind., for a ride on the Hoosier State to Chicago; and a conductor […]

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