Cruise passengers’ Summit train departs from Skagway’s Broadway dock in 2015. Five photos, Bob Johnston “Narrow Gauge History, Ready to Ride” on pages 40-47 of Trains Magazine’s May 2016 issue explores the 85-car treasure trove of 3-foot gauge passenger cars that Alaska’s White Pass & Yukon Route deploys during its summer excursion season. The most […]
FULL SCREEN Bruce Stahl Shortly after 10 a.m. on March 12, wreck crews had Car No. 40 hooked and ready to move. FULL SCREEN Bruce Stahl About 10:30 a.m. on March 12, crews on cranes were still working to get the train derailment clear. FULL SCREEN Bruce Stahl South Shore train 600 dead on the […]
WASHINGTON — After eight years, Amtrak is pulling the plug on one of its more successful promotions: National Train Day. In an e-mail to Trains Correspondent Bob Johnston, Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari says, “Since its inception, Amtrak Train Days/National Train Day has been a popular program, allowing us to celebrate the value that Amtrak brings […]
The Mount Washington Cog Railway in New Hampshire puts on a show for visitors on July 27, 2014. Seen here is Jacob’s Ladder, the steepest part of the route at 37.4 percent. Photo by Ryan Trela […]
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BOSTON — Keolis, the international company that won a tough competition to run commuter trains out of Boston, may have second thoughts about its contract with the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. According to a report by State House News Service, Keolis lost $29.3 million over the first year of its long-term contract, requiring its French […]
A Trenitalia local blasts out of one tunnel, and prepares to pick up waiting tourists at the platform in another, in the Cinque Terre community of Vernazza, Italy, in 2007. Photo by David Lassen […]
The Trans-Siberian Railway’s top passenger train as seen along the route. The location was not provided. Russian Embassy Russian Railway’s new website promoting Trans-Siberian Railway travel includes pop-up dialogue from passengers traveling all 5,700 miles from Moscow to Vladivostok, Russia. Russian Railways website The Trans-Siberian Railway hosts a unique passenger train with more than a […]
WASHINGTON — Travelers who wish to take small dogs or cats in carry-on cases with them aboard Amtrak trains are getting more choices starting Feb. 16, when they will be welcomed on long-distance train coaches for trips up to seven hours. The following Saturday, a pilot program scheduled through June 12 will begin on weekend […]
Streamliners: Locomotives and Trains in the Age of Speed and Style By Brian Solomon Voyageur Press, 400 First Avenue North, Suite 400 Minneapolis, MN 55401; 208 pages, 115 color & 81 b/w photos; hardcover, 8.5 x 11 inches; $35 www.quartoknows.com Railroading in the U.S. saw rapid change between the 1930s and 1950s. That is likely […]
Cardinal heads west near Swoop, Va., east of Staunton, in April, 2013 Bob Johnston WASHINGTON—Starting this month, Amtrak will begin offering business class on the triweekly Chicago-Washington-New York Cardinal. The decision to do so was made recently, so it is not reflected in the new “Winter Spring 2016” timetable effective Monday, Jan. 11. The launch, […]
Three Pullman Rail Journeys cars pass through the drawbridge at Pass Manchac, La., on Nov. 2, 2014, on the rear of Amtrak’s City of New Orleans. Amtrak and Pullman Rail Journeys have yet to come to an agreement for 2016 trips. Bob Johnston A meal typical of Pullman Rail Journeys: luncheon shrimp salad with potato […]
