CHICAGO — The lack of stand-by operational Superliners at Amtrak’s Chicago maintenance facility led to the cancellation of the westbound Southwest Chief on Monday, July 15, less than five hours before it was to depart, Trains News Wire has learned. With additional equipment unavailable on the West Coast, the eastbound Chief scheduled to leave Los […]
Two interurban cars and a bus stand at the Sacramento Northern’s ramshackle shop complex in Oakland in 1940. Linn H. Westcott photo […]
WILMINGTON, Calif. — Pacific Harbor Line and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineer and Trainmen, Division 214, have ratified a three-year extension to their current labor agreement, extending that contract through Sept. 20, 2027. The extension covers 145 of PHL’s 180 employees. It was ratified July 12 by a record number of eligible BLET members, with […]
ROSEVILLE, Calif. — Union Pacific Big Boy No. 4014 has reached the westernmost point of its current tour, beginning the first of two days of public display today in Roseville. Information on the display is available here. Here are a few images catching up on recent days of the “Westward Bound” tour, with Elrond Lawrence […]
WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board has postponed the start of a plan by BNSF Railway and Union Pacific to contract out dispatching of Southern California’s Alameda Corridor. In a decision announced Thursday, the board postponed the move — which was to be effective today (Friday, July 12) — “to provide sufficient time for evaluation […]
On June 30, 2024, Union Pacific Big Boy No. 4014 steam locomotive departed Cheyenne, Wyo. for a month-long tour to California in a year that will eventually take the engine over most of the Union Pacific rail network. Come along with Trains.com for the first four days of the tour, as 4014 hauls freight over […]
LOS ANGELES — The Port of Los Angeles has announced completion of the Pier 400 rail expansion, a $73 million program to expand the on-dock yard at the container terminal operated by APM Terminals. The project added five new storage tracks totaling 31,000 linear feet, new crossovers and turnouts, a concrete rail bridge with […]
LOS ANGELES — Metrolink plans to offer expanded service this fall as part of its efforts to move from commuter-oriented service to a “regional rail” concept, KTLA-TV reports. The agency has also hired a new “Chief People Officer,” Metrolink announced Monday. Systemwide, the plan calls for about a 30% increase in service under the fiscal […]
Planning your travel for this summer? Be sure to include some model trains in those plans! These five train layouts throughout the country (and world) are all worth a visit this summer. Colorado Model Railroad Museum Featuring more than 500 HO scale locomotives, 80 scale miles of track, and tens of thousands of handmade trees, […]
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The California High Speed Rail Authority has approved the final environmental document for the 38-mile Palmdale-Burbank segment of the project, providing the last environmental clearance needed on the route between Los Angeles and San Francisco. Authority CEO Brian Kelly called the approval, at a meeting of the authority board of directors on […]
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — More than 20 months after it was unveiled in Berlin and nine months after its U.S. debut, the first Stadler hydrogen-fuel-cell powered FLIRT H2 trainset has arrived in San Bernardino, where it will operate on Southern California’s Arrow commuter rail line. The first-of-its-kind trainset arrived on June 21, after leaving Pueblo, […]
DEL MAR, Calif. — As the San Diego Association of Governments considers potential routes for a rail tunnel to replace the Surf Line route along the Del Mar bluffs, it can rest assured of one thing: Whatever it does, someone will be unhappy. SANDAG recently chose three potential routes for the tunnel in order to […]
