Website maintenance on Trains.com is now complete and action may be required on your account. Learn More.
MIDDLETOWN, N.Y. — Marvin H. Cohen, a lifelong railfan and pioneering rail book editor and publisher, died on Dec. 10. He was 93. Cohen developed the original “Steam Passenger Service Directory” in 1965 and was editor of the first 24 annual editions of that book, which became the “Tourist Trains Guidebook” currently published by Kalmbach […]
WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration has published its final rule requiring states to create action plans addressing safety at rail-highway grade crossings, a rule addressing a mandate of the federal FAST (Fixing America’s Surface Transporation) Act. The rule requires 40 states and the District of Columbia to develop plans that identify any grade crossing […]
Transport Canada opens consultation on collection of Class I freight data Transport Canada has begun the consultation period on a proposal to collect new data from Class I freight railroads, including service and performance information that would be available to the public. In addition to the weekly service and performance data, the proposal would require […]
Montreal REM light rail plans C$10 billion, 19.9-mile addition The proposed “REM de l’Est” addition to Montreal’s Reseau express metropolitain light rail system will be a $C10 billion, two-line addition to the system under construction, adding 19.9 miles and 23 stations to the 41.6-mile system already planned. This is according to a presentation by the […]
LENOX, Mass. — A donation from CSX to the Berkshire Scenic Railway Museum will mean new windows for its ex-New Haven Budd Rail Diesel Car in the coming year. The $10,000 donation came as a surprise to the group. “CSX reached out to us,” said Brent S. Bette, of Berkshire Scenic. “They wanted to make […]
BOSTON — By a 3-2 margin, the board overseeing the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority today approved a wide-ranging series of service reductions reflecting the financial losses brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. The changes, while significant, include some modifications from those originally proposed a month ago [see “Planned MBTA cuts would end commuter rail service after […]
Metro-North set to buy 27 dual-mode locomotives from Siemens The Metropolitan Transportation Authority board is scheduled to vote Wednesday on a $334.9 million contract for Siemens to build 27 dual-mode locomotives for the Metro-North Railroad. A document in the board package for Wednesday’s meeting says the purchase, an order for 19 locomotives with exercise of […]
Michigan City OKs eminent domain to acquire land for South Shore project The city council of Michigan City, Ind., is moving forward on eminent domain proceedings to complete the land acquisition needed for the South Shore Line’s Double Track project, which will drastically remake the single-track street running in the community that is a unique […]
U.S. Sugar fires up No. 148 for ‘Santa Express’ U.S. Sugar volunteers, joined by members of the U.S. Marine Corps and local representatives from Toys for Tots, operated its 4-6-2, No. 148, as the “Santa Express” from U.S. Sugar’s Clewiston, Fla., headquarters on on Saturday, delivering presents for children of the Florida Glades farming communities […]
John Gohmann, owner of the Minnesota Commercial Railroad — a notable early success story in the shortline industry that developed in the wake of Staggers Act deregulation — has died of pancreatic cancer at his home in Libertyville, Ill. He was 73. Gohmann began his railroad career as a yard clerk for the Chicago & […]
Product news Model railroad operators and builders can get the latest information about locomotives, freight cars, structures, electronics, train sets, and more by reading Model Railroader’s frequent product updates. Here are the products Model Railroad editors have news on for the week of Dec. 17, 2020. HO scale locomotives Electro-Motive Division SD40 diesel locomotive. Atchison, […]
BERLIN — In Germany. where the world’s first hydrogen powered train entered service in 2018, the new propulsion technology has not resulted in large contracts for new trains, although some have been ordered. Almost every European country has signed up to remove diesel-powered trains by 2050 to lower future carbon emissions. Some are aiming to […]
