CHICAGO — When bad CSX track caused the northbound Auto Train to derail 14 of 16 Superliners at Crescent City, Fla., on April 18, 2002, Amtrak strategists scrambled but were able to counteract the resulting equipment shortage. Dealing with a similar shock to the system today — such as the one caused by last week’s […]
NEW YORK — Completion of an order of new electric multiple unit railcars for the Long Island Rail Road, already 18 months behind schedule, has been pushed back another 17 months, WSHU radio reports. Completion is now projected by September 2023. The order of 202 M9 railcars from Kawasaki reflects “workmanship issues,” as well as […]
CHICAGO — The Southwest Chief that departed Los Angeles Tuesday evening and its westbound counterpart leaving Chicago today (Thursday, June 30) are the first Chiefs to operate over the train’s full route, passing the scene of the fatal derailment in Mendon, Mo., since that accident on Monday. Monday’s westbound Southwest Chief was cancelled, and the […]
CHICAGO — As part of a celebration of its 75th anniversary, the Chicago Transit Authority is wrapping a number of its railcars with designs recalling paint schemes dating to the 1950s through 1980s, and is planning to operate vintage equipment later this year. A Red Line trainset now displays a green, cream, and orange scheme […]
NEW HAVEN, Ind. — The Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society has acquired two Pennsylvania Railroad passenger cars from the Washington, D.C., chapter of the National Railway Historical Society. The cars will be used to support the Indiana Rail Experience, a series of excursions with the society’s steam locomotive, Nickel Plate Road No. 765 [see “Indiana […]
BOSTON — In the latest setback for its newest rapid-transit equipment, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has pulled its new Orange and Red Line cars from service after what officials called a “battery failure” on one of the cars. Meanwhile, the agency — hit last week by a series of directives from the Federal Transit […]
The Kettle Valley Railway – Bruce Division is a coal and lumber garden railroad modeled after the Kettle Valley Railway that at one time carried freight and passengers through the Thomson/Okanagan Region of British Columbia. The garden railway was started in 2004 and covers a triangular-shaped hillside on Brian Swanton’s property. The railroad features two […]
WASHINGTON — The city of Cheyenne, Wyo., has received a federal grant for more than $600,000 to support renovation of historic rail equipment. The $618,400 grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Agency, is intended to support local tourism. It will be matched by $154,600 in local funds. Cheyenne says the project will […]
How to build a simple track cleaning car – MR contributor Gerry Leone shares instructions for making your own rolling innovation for cleaning the rails of your model railroad! From Gerry’s workbench, you’ll see the tools, materials, and simple techniques needed to shape a railcar and a small patch of Masonite (hardboard) into an unrelenting […]
How to build a simple track cleaning car – MR contributor Gerry Leone shares instructions for making your own rolling innovation for cleaning the rails of your model railroad! From Gerry’s workbench, you’ll see the tools, materials, and simple techniques needed to shape a railcar and a small patch of Masonite (hardboard) into an unrelenting […]
HAMILTON, Ontario — Railcar manufacturer National Steel Car, the target of worker protests last week after a third employee death in 21 months, is also facing charges over two “critical injury” cases, the Hamilton Spectator newspaper reports. Welder Quoc Le, 51 died June 6, reportedly after the fall of a 2,000-pound metal bulkhead. That led […]
HAMILTON, Ontario — Workers at a railcar manufacturing plant in Hamilton staged a protest on Thursday, seeking a police investigation after the third workplace death at the factory in 21 months. The CBC reports members of United Steelworkers Local 7135 led the rally outside the National Steel Car plant in response to Monday’s death of […]
