Digest: Suspect arrested in fatal LA Metro stabbing

Los Angeles Metro logo

More Tuesday morning rail news: Suspect arrested in stabbing death of LA Metro rail employee Police have arrested a suspect in Friday’s stabbing death of an LA Metro rail employee at a downtown Los Angeles subway station. The Los Angeles Daily News reports Irma Monroy, 25, was booked on suspicion of murder and held in lieu of […]

Read More…

Photo of the Day

San Luis Obispo Army camp troop train

Troop train on the SP A doubleheaded troop train passes the Army’s Camp San Luis Obispo as it climbs Cuesta Grade on Southern Pacific’s L.A.–San Francisco Coast Line in the early 1940s. SP photo […]

Read More…

Union Pacific Big Boy No. 4014

FULL SCREEN Drew Halverson Hill 852, Cajon Pass – April 28, 2014 FULL SCREEN Drew Halverson Hill 852, Cajon Pass – April 28, 2014 FULL SCREEN Drew Halverson Hill 852, Cajon Pass – April 28, 2014 FULL SCREEN Drew Halverson Barstow, CA – April 28, 2014 FULL SCREEN Drew Halverson Cajon Pass – April 28, […]

Read More…

San Jose, California

TRNHS0615_ASanJose01

The nation’s 10th largest city, San Jose has been flirting with the 1 million population mark for several years. Within the city and surrounding Santa Clara County are 74 passenger rail stations, 62 of them on the Valley Transportation Authority’s light rail system. The remainder serve one of three passenger carriers: Amtrak, Caltrain, and the […]

Read More…

Chatsworth, California

TRNHS0815_AChatsworth

Chatsworth is a neighborhood of 41,000 people, located in the San Fernando Valley northwest of downtown Los Angeles. It has traditionally been a favorite trainwatching spot in the region, situated on the former Southern Pacific “Coast Line” between Los Angeles and San Francisco. A now-abandoned SP branch from Burbank once ran nearby. The city is, […]

Read More…

San Francisco, California

SFMap

The San Francisco Bay Area is marking the 150th anniversary of rail service on the peninsula in 2014. Southern Pacific predecessor San Francisco & San Jose completed the line to San Jose in January 1864. SP steam and Fairbanks-Morse diesels are long gone, but commuter operator Caltrain still runs its service with a varied fleet […]

Read More…

Martinez, California

MartinezMap

California is known throughout the country for its passenger trains — and its traffic jams. The city of Martinez is the perfect location to get away for a day on Amtrak, with 42 daily passenger trains scheduled to stop on weekdays. Those trains connect Martinez to Oakland, Sacramento, Stockton, Fresno, and many other cities within […]

Read More…

Redding, California

ReddingMap

In Redding, Calif., California Highway 273 (old Hwy. 99) lets you follow the action on Union Pacific Railroad’s north-south I-5 corridor. The former Southern Pacific main line through the area is now part of UP’s Valley Subdivision, from Dunsmuir at milepost 321.4 to East Roseville at milepost 106.4. Photographers will love the climate: Redding has […]

Read More…

Remembering Pacific Electric Railway freight service

Three freight motors haul a freight train over a trestle.

All this month — October 2020 — Classic Trains editors are celebrating the heritage, history, and images of the Pacific Electric Railway. Please enjoy this photo gallery of images from the David P. Morgan Library archives at Kalmbach Media that include PE electric-, diesel-, and steam-powered freight trains through time. You might also enjoy this […]

Read More…

Produce packing

Packing houses along the Santa Fe

Several packing houses were located in close proximity to each other along the Santa Fe in Placentia, Calif. Styles varied from the frame building at left to the concrete structure at center. Note the semaphore signal installations at right. Photo by Tom Baxter […]

Read More…

Digest: LA Metro to hold online meetings on proposed Antelope Valley Metrolink improvements

Thursday midday rail news: First online meeting tonight on Metrolink Antelope Valley improvement project The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority will hold online meetings tonight and Saturday to discuss planned improvements on Metrolink’s Antelope Valley Line. The project includes double-tracking at three locations, new platforms at the Lancaster and Santa Clarita stations, and expansion […]

Read More…