World’s first hydrogen trains enter regular passenger service

Blue and white two-car passenger train at station in Germany

BREMERVORDE, Germany — The world’s first hydrogen-powered trains in regular passenger service are now in operation, having begun service July 25 on a German regional rail line between Cuxhaven and Buxtehude, via Bremervörde. Bremervörde is around 40 miles southwest of the city of Hamburg. The initial service is being billed as “preliminary,” in case operating […]

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Auto-Train caboose departs California for Georgia

Auto carrier with caboose cupola on siding

SANTA PAULA, Calif. — A 1970s automobile carrier and caboose freight car built for Auto-Train service between Lorton, Va. and Sanford, Fla. is being moved to St. Marys, Ga., for restoration. Purchased by Florida Adventures in Railroading, a non-profit company headquartered in St. Augustine, it had been owned by the defunct Fillmore & Western Railway. […]

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Axle issue sidelines Ottawa light rail equipment (updated)

Red and white light rail trainset in station

OTTAWA — After a new problem involving wheel hubs led to light-rail vehicles being removed from service Saturday on the troubled O-Train Confederation Line, much of the line has been shut down today (Monday, July 25) because of what the agency OC Transpo is calling “a technical issue.” Bus service is being substituted between the […]

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Newest Brightline equipment reaches destination

Two freight locomotives pulling two passenger trainsets, including engines

ORLANDO, Fla. — Brightline has welcomed the arrival of two new trainsets at its Orlando Vehicle Maintenance Facility. The “Bright Green 2” and “Bright Pink 2” trainsets arrived Thursday, the third and fourth trains from the passenger operator’s second round of equipment purchases to arrive on site in Florida. The first train arrived in West […]

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First new coach arrives at East Broad Top

Dark green passenger car body is lifted off of transport truck

ROCKHILL FURNACE, Pa. – “The newest passenger car in the United States.” That’s how Brad Esposito, general manager of the East Broad Top Railroad, described the rolling stock that arrived Tuesday, July 19, at the narrow gauge tourist line and National Historic Landmark. It is the railroad’s first new passenger coach in more than a […]

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Caltrain runs first test with eletrified equipment

Electric commuter rail equipment on test track

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The first Caltrain electric trainset has seen action on the San Francisco-San Jose corridor, although at a significantly slower pace than will eventually be the standard. The commuter rail operator reports the trainset was pulled by a diesel at 5 mph between the Santa Clara and Tamien (San Jose) stations, a […]

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A postwar Lionel haul unboxing

Postwar Lionel haul unboxing with Hal Miller and Roger Carp

A postwar Lionel haul unboxing featuring Roger “Professor” Carp and CTT editor Hal Miller. The trains belong to a co-worker who received them from her father. He received his first Lionel train in 1941 – in fact, we have his original no. 1089 set box! Have a look at some of the well-loved and time-worn […]

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News photo: New Brightline trains heading to Florida

Green and pink passenger cars with yellow streamlined locomotives are pulled by a Union Pacific freight locomotive

Two more new trainsets to support Brightline’s expansion of service to Orlando, Fla., are on their way to the passenger operator. The Bright Pink 2 and Bright Green 2 trainsets, which departed Siemens’ Sacramento factory on July 8, were photographed Saturday, July 16, on CSX Transportation’s Henderson Subdivision (Evansville, Ind.-Nashville, Tenn.). Brightline had said it […]

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New York City sells ‘Last Redbird’ subway car

Red subway car on display on short section of track in park

NEW YORK — The subway car termed “The Last Redbird” has been auctioned off for almost a quarter-million dollars by the City of New York. The car had been displayed outside Queens Borough Hall in Queens, N.Y., since it was acquired by then-Borough President Helen Marshall in 2005, and was employed as a welcoming center. […]

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Where can I buy large-scale rolling stock decals?

White boxcar with purple lettering

Large-scale rolling stock decals: Unlike modeling scales with specific definitions like HO scale (1:87.1) or N scale (1:160), the term “large scale” actually encompasses a variety of modeling proportions (generally from 1:13.7 down to 1:32). This segments the market into small pieces. Because of the limited customer base, there are few commercially made decal options […]

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