VTA light rail service returns

Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority logo

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority resumed limited light rail service on Sunday, more than three months after service was shut down following a mass shooting at the agency’s Guadalupe rail yard. “As we continue to bring back employees safely and compassionately,” the agency said in a statement on its website, […]

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UP train derails near site of 1991 Northern California chemical spill

Union Pacific logo with Building America slogan

DUNSMUIR, Calif. — Twenty cars of a Union Pacific train derailed Friday in Northern California’s Siskiyou County near the site of a 1991 derailment that spilled chemicals into the Sacramento River, leading to a massive kill-off of fish and health problems for those who responded to the accident. The Sacramento Bee reports no spills were […]

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Santa Clara VTA nears resumption of light rail service

Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority logo

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority could launch a partial resumption of light rail service by Sunday, allowing service for fans attending a San Francisco 49ers game at the team’s stadium in Santa Clara. KPIX-TV reports test runs on the light rail system began Tuesday. The VTA’s director of rail operations, […]

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California high speed rail board approves Bakersfield-Palmdale environmental report

California High Speed Rail Authority logo

LOS ANGELES — The California High-Speed Rail Authority board of directors has approved the final environmental report for the 80-mile Bakersfield-Palmdale section of the project, the first portion in Southern California to receive clearance under the California Environmental Quality Act. The move sets the stage for clearance of the full 500-mile San Francisco-LA/Anaheim route under […]

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Frank Sinatra’s O gauge railroad

View of Frank Sinatra O gauge layout

Frank Sinatra’s O gauge railroad included many collectible pieces as well as everyday items. They were all colorful and fun to the legendary singer and his family. As noted in the November 2015 Classic Toy Trains, members of the Sinatra family believe he was introduced to the hobby by visiting the home of big-band leader […]

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New Caltrain schedule to exceed pre-pandemic service levels

Caltrain logo

SAN CARLOS, Calif. — Bay Area commuter rail operator Caltrain will expand service on Aug. 30 while cutting fares by 50% in September. The new schedules, with 104 trains on weekdays, exceed pre-pandemic levels. The new schedule will see four trains per hour during peak hours (6-9 a.m and 4-7 p.m.) with service every half-hour […]

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Union Pacific says service is improving after wildfires closed routes in California

Container train with two yellow locomotives

OMAHA, Neb. — It will take several more weeks for Union Pacific to fully recover from California wildfires that disrupted service on its I-5 and Feather River corridors. “Everyone here is focused on ensuring that we can get the system ramped back up,” says Eric Gehringer, UP’s executive vice president of operations. “It is not […]

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San Francisco Cable Car Free Ride

San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s (sfmta.com) iconic cable cars are up and running again. Even better, rides are free of charge in the month of August 2021! But if you want to skip the lines, watch this Trains.com slow-TV video of the ups, downs, and close calls on the notoriously steep downtown streets of San […]

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San Francisco Cable Car Free Ride

San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s (sfmta.com) iconic cable cars are up and running again. Even better, rides are free of charge in the month of August 2021! But if you want to skip the lines, watch this Trains.com slow-TV video of the ups, downs, and close calls on the notoriously steep downtown streets of San […]

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Western Pacific Railroad freight trains

Steam powered freight train on a bridge on a curve exhibiting traits of the Western Pacific Railroad

All through August, Classic Trains editors are celebrating the grit, the glory, and the grandeur that was the Western Pacific Railroad. Please enjoy this photo gallery of images selected from Kalmbach Media’s David P. Morgan Library. Only from Classic Trains! […]

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Coast Starlight to resume full-route operation Aug. 23 (corrected)

Passenger train rounds curve

OAKLAND, Calif. — Amtrak will resume operation of the Coast Starlight over its full Seattle-Los Angeles route, beginning with departures from both endpoints on Monday, Aug. 23, following completion of bridge work between Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo, Calif. However, the train’s sleeping-car inventory currently remains limited for more than a month after its […]

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