NEW YORK — Long Island Rail Road engineers are holding a strike authorization vote, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen has announced. The union says in a press release that its almost 600 members employed by the LIRR received ballots last week, with a voting deadline of 11 a.m. ET on Sept. 15, 2025. […]
This summer, my wife Kris and I took a three-day railroad-themed mini-vacation to Scranton, Pa. This fascinating place is a wonderful way to experience history. Scranton is a complex, layered city with many fascinating elements of railroading to explore and enjoy, but you need to take the time to seek it out — both at […]
PHILADELPHIA — A federal appeals court has upheld dismissal of a lawsuit over a rail worker killed in a yard accident on the Port Authority Transit Corp’s PATCO Speed Line, saying the commuter operation does not meet the legal standard as a railroad. The Aug. 26 decision from the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, written […]
PHILADELPHIA — A Philadelphia judge has issued a temporary injunction preventing the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority from raising fares on Sept. 1 and making cuts to its Regional Rail service on Sept. 2. The order today (Aug. 29, 2025) by Judge Sierra Thomas-Street of the Court of Common Pleas also blocks layoffs, furloughs, and “all […]
HAGERSTOWN, Md. — After an engaged community discussion, the city council voted Aug. 26, to retain Western Maryland 4-6-2 No. 202, rejecting a proposal to donate the locomotive to the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad. The debate drew lines in the Western Maryland community over the cost of restoration and responsibility for care versus seeing the […]
Thirty years after its grand opening as a unit of the National Park Service, Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton, Pa., is at a crossroads. Whether you admire or disdain it, know nothing about it, or simply hope for its survival, it remains a significant railroad preservation effort. Steamtown has the potential to expand the […]
Join Trains.com staff writer Lucas Iverson as he chats with Ben Fioriello, president of the New Jersey Hi-Railers, a model train club facing an unexpected challenge. A change in building ownership forced the club to relocate, a situation that can be “life or death” for such organizations. Hear the story of how the club is […]
The NJ Hi-Railers Train Club was known for its former O scale layout, located on one of the floors in a former silk mill in Paterson, N.J. At 185.5 x 30 feet, with over 7,500 feet of track (equating to 70 scale miles), visiting the immaculate display firsthand was said to be an experience that […]
WASHINGTON — Signs of electrical arcing were found at the site of a fire that injured 19 people on a New York-bound Port Authority Trans-Hudson train on Aug. 4, 2025, according to the National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary report released today (Aug. 27, 2025). The incident occurred about 6:18 a.m. and involved train No. 609 […]
WASHINGTON — Amtrak has introduced its long-awaited NextGen Acela service between Washington and New York, with the first new trainsets departing today (Aug. 27, 2025) from Washington at 5 a.m. and Boston at 6 a.m. ET on trips for invited guests. Service for the general public begins Thursday, Aug. 28. The first of what will […]
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Transportation plans to take over management of Washington Union Station, the agency announced Wednesday, ending a period of just over a year when Amtrak held managerial control of the structure. “Instead of being a point of pride, Washington’s Union Station has fallen into disrepair,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said […]
BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority announced Monday (Aug. 25) that portions of the rapid transit Orange Line are now operating at 55 mph as of Sunday, Aug. 24. The increase — from a prior speed limit of 40 mph — is on a four-station section at the north end of the Orange Line, […]
