News Wire recommended reading: Inside the Ames Monument

Stone pyramid-like building under threatening skies

Our wide-ranging latest installment of News Wire Recommended Reading includes articles on a Wyoming landmark; a massive space under San Francisco built for currently nonexistent train service;, and how things went wrong for a deal to involve German’s Deutsche Bahn to remake Toronto’s GO Transit commuter rail operations. — You may be familiar with the […]

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Metrolink adds two more ‘smart’ grade crossings

LOS ANGELES — Commuter operator Metrolink has expanded its use of a “smart crossing” technology to prevent unnecessary crossing-gate activation when a train is stopping at a nearby station, adding it at one location in Riverside, Calif., and one in Moorpark. The Wireless Crossing Nearside Station Stop is now in use near the Hunter Park/UC […]

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BNSF and Union Pacific clash over new Salt Lake City intermodal service

WASHINGTON — BNSF Railway wants to launch international double-stack service this week between Southern California and Salt Lake City via trackage rights over Union Pacific’s former Western Pacific route through the Feather River Canyon. Not so fast, UP says. UP says that BNSF has not provided sufficient notice so that UP can hire and train […]

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Operation Toy Trains announces 2025 schedule, reaching 69 communities in five states

Train with black locomotive passing under giant U.S. flag suspended between between fire trucks

PORT JERVIS, N.Y. — Operation Toy Train, organizer of special holiday trains across the U.S. to benefit the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve’s Toys for Tots foundation, has announced a 2025 schedule including two new operations. Trains on the Northern Division of the New York, Susquehanna & Western Railway in central New York and the East […]

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The HO scale Willoughby Line layout

A multi level model railroad track plan

Facts and features Name: Willoughby LineScale: HO and HOn3 (1:87.1)Size: 13 x 22 feetPrototype: proto-freelancedLocale: California’s Central Valley and Sierra NevadaEra: 1935-1950Style: multi-deck walk-inMainline run: 180 feetMinimum radius: 30″Minimum turnout: No. 6Maximum grade: 2%Benchwork: L-girder and plywood brackets (upper deck)Height: 40 to 60 inchesRoadbed: HomasoteTrack: Micro Engineering codes 55, 70, and 83 flextrackScenery: Hydrocal hard […]

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New York MTA leads APTA safety, security, and emergency management honors

Commuter train with diesel locomotive and four bilevel cars on three-track main line

SAN FRANCISCO — New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority and its commuter railroads received six of the 12 honors in the American Public Transportation Association’s Rail Safety, Security, and Emergency Management Awards, handed out at APTA’s annual rail conference on Tuesday (July 1), 2025. In Rail Safety, the MTA’s New York City Transit received a gold […]

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Caltrain fares rise by 25 cents

Front view of two red-and-white EMU trainsets

SAN CARLOS, Calif. – Bay area commuter rail operator Caltrain is increasing its base fare by 25 cents as of today (July 1, 2025). The move reflects actions taken after the operator delayed a 50-cent increase in its base fares, scheduled for July 1, 2023, to avoid discouraging riders from returning to public transportation following […]

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Port of LA agreement seeks to generate more export traffic from California’s Central Valley

Aerial view of collection of large warehouses

LOS ANGELES — The Port of Los Angeles has signed a Memorandum of Agreement to generate more export traffic for the port from California’s Central Valley through an agreement with the city of Shafter and the developer of a logistics hub there. Central to the agreement is the Wonderful Logistics Center, a 3,400-acre development in […]

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Rail projects included in $5 billion in California transportation funding

The California State Seal

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The California Transportation Commission will provide $685 million for passenger rail and other transit projects as part of more almost $5 billion in funding announced Friday (June 27, 2025) by Gov. Gavin Newsom. Freight infrastructure will also benefit. Nearly $2.44 million of the funding comes from the state’s Road Repair and Accountability […]

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Surfliner unveils Disneyland anniversary railcar, announces special ticket offers

Bilevel passenger car with blue wrap celebrating Disneyland.

ORANGE, Calif. — Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner has introduced a railcar wrapped with a limited-time design celebrating the 70th anniversary of Disneyland, an event the state-supported passenger operation is also marking with special promotions. The wrapped car was unveiled and entered service on Wednesday, June 25. “We are thrilled to be part of the Disneyland Resort […]

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Truck driver killed, train passenger injured in Metrolink grade-crossing collision

Wreckage of truck pinned against front of commuter train cab car

MOORPARK, Calif. — The driver of the truck was killed and one train passenger was injured as a Metrolink train collided with a semi truck near Moorpark today (June 25, 2025), KABC-TV reports. The collision occurred shortly after 2 p.m. at a private crossing near Los Angeles Avenue and Montair Drive, between Metrolink’s Camarillo and […]

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