CHEYENNE, Wyo. — The owner of a Wyoming railcar refurbishment company has been convicted of wire fraud and for intentionally exposing his employees to asbestos. The Cowboy State Daily reports John Eldon Rimmasch, 47, faces a maximum penalty of 95 years in prison and $1.2 million in fines, while his company, Wasatch Railroad Contractors, faces […]
In the fall of 2021, Trains.com staff rode Amtrak train no. 5, California Zephyr from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Denver, Colorado, with the expressed intent of capturing seasonal operations of Rocky Mountaineer’s Colorado-Utah excursion. While best known for day treks into the Canadian Rockies, this new Rocky Mountaineer route offers patrons a similar mountain canyon experience […]
ABOARD THE SILVER STAR — It took almost 10 years to complete Amtrak’s latest sleeping-car order. The 25 Viewliner II cars, manufactured by CAF USA in Elmira, N.Y., faced issues with meeting construction specifications before Amtrak agreed to accept them. But the latest arrivals are now operating alongside what had been the newest rolling stock […]
CHICAGO — Ukrainian refugee trains being operated by RDC Deutschland, the German subsidiary of Pittsburgh-based Railroad Development Corp., have stopped running as of April 19. In a presentation that day to Northwestern University’s Sandhouse Rail Group, RDC Chairmain Henry Posner III recounted experiences in operating those trains, as well as observations based on past visits […]
Northern Pacific 84300 is one of 22 double-deck, 86-foot “Big Pig Palace” cars built for NP by Ortner Freight Car in 1966. Ortner also built 61 similar cars for three private firms. They were among the last stock cars built in America. Ortner Freight Car photo […]
TORONTO — A trainset of VIA Rail Canada’s new Siemens-built equipment made a circuit of corridor stations in Ontario stations April 13-14, 2022, testing track geometry and passenger loading and unloading. Running as special train No. 649, the Charger locomotive and full set of Venture cars stopped at all station between Ottawa, Brockville, Ont., and […]
Missouri Pacific rebuilt several older boxcars for merchandise service, adding steel sides and a blue-and-gray paint scheme. The lettering at upper left reads “For merchandise loading only between M.P. lines and T&P freight houses—do not interchange with other lines.” Missouri Pacific photo […]
HORNELL, N.Y. — Testing of Amtrak’s next-generation Acela trainsets on the Northeast Corridor has shown that further modifications will be necessary, pushing back the date the equipment will be placed in service because additional testing will be necessary. Amtrak revealed last week at a Philadelphia media event that the first of the 28 nine-unit trainsets […]
RALEIGH, N.C. — The fire that destroyed four former Ringling Bros. & Barnum and Bailey circus railcars in March may have been arson, a law enforcement officer told a state legislative committee on Thursday. The Raleigh News and Observer reports Chief Deputy Brandon Medina of the Nash County Sheriff’s Office told the Joint Legislative Transportation […]
FILLMORE, Calif. – A pair of heavyweight passenger cars sold by the former Fillmore & Western to the Everett Railroad in Duncanville, Pa., are scheduled to be interchanged with the Union Pacific at Santa Paula today (Wednesday, April 6). The Powhatan Café Parlor car was built by Pullman for the Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac Railroad; […]
BRONX, N.Y. — It’s been three years since the public has had the opportunity to ride New York City Transit’s fleet of vintage subway equipment. That is scheduled to change Friday, April 8, when the century-old Interborough Rapid Transit “Lo-V” cars are slated to operate for opening day at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees’ opener, originally […]
RALEIGH, N.C. — The North Carolina Department of Transportation will again attempt to sell a group of former Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus railcars, about a month after four of the cars were destroyed in a fire. The Statesville Independent Tribune reports the state has steeply discounted its asking price for five remaining […]
