SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. — Resumption of Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner and Metrolink commuter rail service along an unstable section of track near San Clemente is now not expected to resume until February, the Orange County Transportation Authority said last week. Passenger service through the section of south Orange County was halted Sept. 30 because of movement […]
WASHINGTON — U.S. rail traffic was down for the week ending Nov. 12, according to statistics from the Association of American Railroads. The total of 490,350 carloads and intermodal units represented a 2.5% decrease from the corresponding week in 2021, with the 235,474 carloads representing a 0.2% drop while the 254,876 containers and trailers were […]
SCRANTON, Pa. — The Steamtown National Historic Site will close several buildings beginning today (Sunday, Nov. 20) to address mechanical issues with its heating system. These buildings will remain close until heat can be restored through temporary or long-term repairs, but the park will remain open and all scheduled events through December — including the […]
Q: I want to use Tony Koester’s method to control a turnout with a slide switch. Do you know if he powers the frog with this switch or just moves the points? If he powers the frog, how is it wired? – Don DeLay A: The technique to control a turnout with a slide switch […]
Burlington Route 2-8-2 5304 pulls out of the station at Aurora, Ill., 38 miles west of Chicago, with 22 empty standard Pullmans and troop sleepers in February 1946. The equipment is likely headed to the Pacific Coast for a load of demobilizing troops. Henry J. McCord photo […]
10 tips for a better holiday toy train display With the holidays on the way, we at Classic Toy Trains wanted to share ways to have a better holiday toy train display. Here are 10 tips from hobbyist David Smith. 1. Traditional O-27 tubular track allows for more varied track plans in a small space. […]
A lot of railroad modelers got their start in the hobby when they received a train set for Christmas. I’d bet that most of them woke up to find the train not in a box but running in circles under the tree. What dad could resist setting up the train “just to test it?” Arranging […]
CINCINNATI — Norfolk Southern has offered to buy the Cincinnati Southern Railway, the route owned by the city of Cincinnati that it currently leases, for more than $1.6 billion. A meeting to consider the sale will be held Monday, Nov. 21, according to the Cincinnati Southern website. The meeting, set for 1 p.m. EST in […]
TORONTO — Hitachi Rail and its consortium partners will build, maintain, and operate driverless subway trains for Toronto’s 15.6-kilometer (9.7-mile) Ontario Line project under a C$9 billion agreement, Hitachi announced this week. The agreement with Infrastructure Ontario and regional transportation agency Metrolinx covers rolling stock, and well as related systems, and operations and maintenance for […]
ALAMOSA, Colo. — In late bidding that trustee William Brandt described as “spirited” to a local newspaper, a short line owned by a Colorado billionaire has won the bankruptcy auction for the San Luis & Rio Grande Railroad. The Colorado Pacific Railroad, owned by Stefan Soloviev, a billionaire farmer and son of late New York […]
LOS ANGELES — Southern California authorities say they have broken up two crime rings involved in thefts from Union Pacific intermodal trains that drew national attention last year because of images of the trackside area awash in empty boxes left behind after containers were broken into and their contents were stolen — activity that reportedly […]
PITTSBURGH — Engineering and consulting firm Michael Baker International will lead program and construction management for projects in the Transforming Rail in Virginia initiative, CSX Transportation has announced. Some $3.7 billion in design and construction projects between Washington, D.C., and Richmond, Va., are involved. The Virginia Passenger Rail Authority is the lead state agency in […]
