PHILADELPHIA — SEPTA, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, has leased nearly a half-dozen railcars from Maryland Transit Authority’s MARC Train service to accommodate anticipated ridership increases on its regional rail network because of long-term construction projects on Interstate 95. According to a recent statement from SEPTA, the agency was to begin using five MARC railcars […]
Boston & Maine 4-6-2 3664 on train 241 to Portsmouth, N.H., paces E7 3811 on train 147 to Portland, Maine, at Somerville, Mass., on Aug. 8, 1946. Albert G. Hale The history and major events of B&M For 150 years the Boston & Maine Railroad was an integral part of northern New England, beginning with […]
Reading & Northern’s “Customer Appreciation Special,” led by a pair of recently chop-nosed former Norfolk Southern GP38-2s, is seen at Mountaintop, Pa., Sept. 24, 2019. Scott A. Hartley Viewed from the upper level of Reading & Northern full-length “Super Dome” No. 4 on Sept. 24, 2019, the new $14 million bridge over the Lehigh River […]
NEW YORK — The resumption of weekday Express Acela service to Washington on Monday saw southbound train 2401 leave New York’s Pennsylvania Station at 6:35 a.m. on a two hour and thirty-five minute schedule: it heralded another effort to provide non-stop service, which had been operated sporadically over the last 50 years, by both Penn […]
Rick Geist ALTOONA, Pa. — Pennsylvania State Rep. Richard Allen “Rick” Geist of Altoona, Pa., a champion of railroading past, present, and future, died of a heart attack while vacationing in Russia late last month. He was 74. A consulting engineer, Geist represented the Altoona area in the State House for 17 terms (34 years), […]
The rebuilt Paoli, Pa., station opened on Sept. 23. Kitty Laepple PAOLI, Pa. — The Paoli Local has a new home, but lost two of its tracks in the process. The $48 million Paoli Station Accessibility Improvement Project officially opened on Sept. 23. Amtrak and SEPTA officials, as well as state and local dignitaries, cut […]
An eastbound milk train from Ogdensburg, N.Y., passes the joint Rutland/Central Vermont station at Alburgh, Vt., in October 1951, behind green-and-yellow Alco RS3 No. 204. Jim Shaughnessy photo […]
One of Pittsburgh & West Virginia’s seven 2-6-6-4s leads a freight across the Monongahela River at Belle Vernon, Pa., near Pittsburgh. Ralph E. Hallock photo […]
NEW YORK — The Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced the first 48 subway stations to be upgraded to full accessibility under the Americans with Disabilities Act under its proposed capital plan for 2020-24. Increased ADA compliance is one of the primary goals of the capital plan outlined earlier this week [see “MTA outlines 2020-24 capital plan,” […]
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — After a five-month delay, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority is scheduled to begin a pilot program of commuter rail service to Foxborough on Oct. 21. The 11-month trial, approved last November, was originally slated to begin in May [see “MBTA to begin Foxborough service on trial basis,” Trains News Wire, Nov. 30, […]
BOSTON — A broken axle caused the June 11 derailment which has led to long-term disruptions of MBTA Red Line subway operations, the transit agency said in a report issued Monday. Arcing electricity damaged a 27-year-old axle, which fractured and led to the derailment, Boston Magazine reports. The derailment caused extensive damage to signal hardware […]
Metro-North trains pass a hi-rail maintenance vehicle on the Park Avenue Viaduct near the 125th Street station in Harlem. Reconstruction of the nearly 2-mile-long viaduct is part of the MTA’s capital plan for 2020-24. Ralph Spielman NEW YORK — The Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced the largest capital plan in its 54-year history on Monday, including […]
