A Mikado out West, a Reading diesel in Pennsylvania, and a UP freight on the Plains

An Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe 2-8-2 Mikado steam locomotive pulls a short freight through a Southwestern desert landscape

September 2022 Trackside Photos   Send us your photos Trackside Photos is a showcase for the work of Model Railroader readers. Send your photos (digital images 5 megapixels or larger) to: Model Railroader, Trackside Photos, P.O. Box 1612, Waukesha, WI 53187-1612; or upload them to fileupload.kalmbach.com/contribute. For our photo submission guidelines, contact senior associate editor […]

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Crew members sue NS over derailment caused by rockslide

Green, gold, and white locomotive on its side in darkness, headlight still illuminated

PITTSBURGH — The engineer and conductor of a Norfolk Southern train derailed by a rockslide last year are suing the railroad, arguing the railroad’s negligence led to the accident. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports engineer Matthew Marchionda and conductor Edward Mansfield were the crew of the train en route from Chicago to New Jersey when it […]

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DC Metro seeks to return more 7000-series cars to service

DC Metrorail train

WASHINGTON — DC Metrorail officials have requested permission to return up to 27 more 7000-series trainsets to service, while decreasing the frequency of inspections for wheel issues, the Washington Post reports. If granted, the request to the independent Washington Metrorail Safety Commission would mean operation of as many as 35 of the Kawasaki-built trainsets — […]

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New York subway operator dies in apparent railyard accident

Men in high-visibility vests and hard hats talking at subway yard

NEW YORK — A New York City Transit died after being discovered between tracks of a subway yard in the Bronx on Thursday, possibly after making contact with the electrified third rail, according to police. WINS radio reports the 38-year-old woman was found about 8:20 a.m. at the Mosholu Train Yard in Jerome Park, and […]

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Early Amtrak electric locomotives

Two electric locomotives with red, white, and blue stripes at station

Amtrak electric locomotives went through a period of uncertainty early in the passenger railroad’s existence.     Not long after its inception, Amtrak began to focus on the fact that its non-Metroliner passenger service in the “Northeast Corridor” would require a replacement for the stalwart GG1 electrics that hauled its “conventional” trains over the electrified […]

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With new car, Reading & Northern adds ‘Crown Class’ service for excursions

Passengers board Tuscan red heavyweight coach

PORT CLINTON, Pa. — The Reading & Northern has added “Crown Class” service to its Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway with the debut of coach No. 450, The Pagoda, a 1920s-vintage six-axle heavyweight coach built for the Illinois Central Railroad. The car, purchased in a bankruptcy auction of equipment of a subsidiary of Iowa Pacific Holdings, […]

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MBTA to close part of Green Line for four weeks, pushes back opening of new branch

Portion of MBTA rail transit map focusing on northern portion of Green Line

BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has announced plans for another significant closure of one of its rail transit lines, just two days after saying it would shut down another line entirely. The Boston Globe reports the MBTA plans to pose a portion of the Green Line for four weeks beginning Aug. 22, and […]

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Safety commission orders Metrorail to address control-room issues

Logo of the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission

WASHINGTON — The independent agency which oversees DC Metrorail safety issues has ordered the transit operator to inspect, clean, and maintain control rooms at its stations, saying Metro has failed to live up to its pledge to do so. The Washington Post reports the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission conducted inspections of control rooms across the […]

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Orange Line shutdown will allow MBTA to make repairs that would normally take five years

People on station platform next to subway train

BOSTON — The Boston area is scrambling to prepare for the 30-day shutdown of the rapid transit Orange Line, a move that officials are casting as a necessary evil. The Boston Globe reports Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker said during a Wednesday news conference that the shutdown will allow the MBTA to accomplish in 30 days […]

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MBTA to shut down Orange Line for a month

People on station platform next to subway train

BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority will shut down its second most used rail rapid transit route, the Orange Line, for a month to conduct major repairs, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker has announced. The Boston Globe reports Baker said the line, used for an average of 104,000 trips per day as of October 2021, […]

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