Booking on NextGen Acela trains now possible

Amtrak logo.

NEW YORK — Amtrak is now offering tickets on Northeast Corridor trains that will debut the long-delayed NextGen Acela trainsets, and has announced which trains will feature the equipment, as well as highlighting those trains with a “NextGen” icon on the booking portion of its website and app. The company announced that addition to its […]

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Long Island Rail Road, five unions released from required mediation

Electric multiple-unit commuter train at junction

  WASHINGTON — The Long Island Rail Road could face a strike by or lockout of five unions as soon as Sept. 18 after the National Mediation board announced it had released the commuter operator and those unions from mediation required by the Railway Labor Act. The unions involved are the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers […]

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Trucking company, transload organization announce support for UP-NS merger

Refrigerated containers on intermodal train

Refrigerated intermodal company C.R. England Trucking and transloading and logistics firm The Transload Group on Monday announced their support for the Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger, citing the benefits of a transcontinental rail operator. The Salt Lake City-based C.R. England said it offered “strong support” for the merger, saying it believes the “coast-to-cost integration marks a […]

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Model Railroader Photo of the Day: The Sail & Rail

A model train passes a bar with letting on the side of the bar which reads "The Sail & Rail" on a model railroad layout

The Sail & Rail is a popular spot with sailors, railroaders, and dock workers on the south side of Milwaukee, Wis. Like many of the buildings on the late John Franzen’s 28 x 28-foot no. 1 gauge (1:29 and 1:24 proportion) layout, the corner tavern represents an actual Milwaukee business. William Zuback took the photo. […]

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Congressman says SEPTA cuts could endanger Amtrak’s Keystone Service

blue and silver passenger train passes brick tower

HARRISBURG, Pa. — A Pennsylvania Congressman says he has been told that Amtrak’s Keystone Service — the Harrisburg-Philadelphia-New York route offering 13 weekday round trips — could be in jeopardy if state legislators don’t address the funding crisis that has the Southeastern Regional Transportation Authority planning major service cuts. The online news site Pennsylvania Capital-Star […]

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Mardi Gras Service debuts with track blockage, CSX dispatching questions: Analysis

Passenger train passing white two-story building

BAY SAINT LOUIS, Miss. — Perhaps no community along Amtrak’s Mardi Gras route has been more enthusiastic about the launch of the two daily round trips than townspeople at the first stop east of New Orleans. So on Monday, Aug. 18, 2025, the first  day of revenue service, it was not surprising a crowd showed […]

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Thoughts on the Lionel 2025 Volume 2 catalog

catalog page with diesel locomotives

Lionel Trains continued celebrating their 125th anniversary with the release of their Volume 2 catalog in mid July.    First, an interesting note: the second Lionel catalog has typically been called Volume 2. This one was called “July Release.” I wonder if there will be another catalog release before the end of the year? Stay […]

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Some Amtrak service resuming following CSX derailment in North Carolina

Long passenger train with auto racks at back on double track main line

ENFIELD, N.C. — Some Amtrak cancellations will continue today (Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025) following the Sunday evening derailment of a CSX coal train near Enfield, but a majority of the trains cancelled Monday will operate as scheduled. According to the Amtrak Alerts social media feed, trains that will not operate today are both directions of […]

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Western Maryland Scenic acquires former Conemaugh & Black Lick switcher

Three-quarters angle image of yellow end-cab switcher with black trim

CUMBERLAND, Md. — The Western Maryland Scenic Railroad has acquired former Conemaugh & Black Lick Railroad SW7 locomotive No. 111, a fully functional EMD end-cab switcher which the railroad plans to use on some of its seasonal excursion trains. The locomotive built in 1949 is the last of 25 such locomotives that served the railroad […]

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