A southbound ‘Acela’ races across a stretch of positive train control trackage on Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor at Perryville, Md., on June 5, 2011. Michael T. Burkhart This story first appeared in the October 2011 issue of Trains Magazine. The Advanced Civil Speed Enforcement System highlighted here was not active at the time of the of […]
Confidential Close Call reporting basics A New Jersey Transit train zips northward from Atlantic City to New York’s Penn Station on Jan. 23, 2010. If the crew were to err, they could report the close call and be part of a bigger program to improve safety, rather than be punished. Dennis A. Livesay photograph Confidential […]
Positive Train Control Tick, tock. U.S. railroads have collectively spent decades and billions of dollars on positive train control research. Tick. Public outcry after a 2008 commuter crash that killed 25 people — a crash that a Federal safety panel says PTC could have prevented — pushed Congress to act. Tock. With a Congressional deadline […]
Intelligent Grade Crossings will warn motorists and trains that approach is imminent. Federal Railroad Administration Train crews and motorists may have the ability to “see” one another earlier than ever thanks to “Intelligent Grade Crossings” currently under development through the Federal Railroad Administration’s Research and Development Office. Since the dawn of railroading, one of the […]
Northbound CSX Transportation aggregates train K944 is seen meeting intermodal train Q145 at Opelika, Ala., in 2010. Class I railroads use different kinds of schedules to keep their networks fluid and profitable, even on single-track lines. Frank Orona What time will the train depart? When will it arrive? While most people associate schedules with passenger […]
Gene Mendonca’s painting of Ewbank Electric Transmission Co.’s train. Gene Mendonca Q Can you tell me anything about the Ewbank Electric Transmission Co. that is the subject of a picture I painted from a very old newspaper clipping? – Gene Mendonca, Folsom, Calif. A H.B. Ewbank Jr. built No. 333, a 75-foot-long gas-electric locomotive with […]
Join us for the next video diary entry of our rail tour through Peru. Having crossed the Andes, our chartered Ferrocarril Central Andino train travels across the Altiplano from LaOroya to Cerro de Pasco through immense scenic beauty and raw industrial scars. We’ll pass wetlands where flamingos winter, inspect an abandoned narrow gauge diesel, and […]
See Amtrak’s incredible Acela Express in action on the Northeast Corridor! Read more about America’s high speed rail aspirations in the March 2018 issue. […]
On this ski-trip-turned-trackside-trek, Charlie Conway and his wife Sheila made their way to the Union Pacific’s main line between Ogden, Utah, and Evanston, Wyoming. Ride along with the dynamic duo as they chase fast freight over the wintery Evanston Subdivision. […]
Charlie Conway recently joined the Cascade Rail Foundation, which prompted him to take a road trip to learn about their Milwaukee Road Pacific Extension preservation efforts in Eastern Washington State. Follow Chas and his pals Karl and Nicholas on this trek to see and explore lineside structures and more! […]
Charlie’s road trip with Karl and Nicholas along the old Milwaukee Road in Washington State continues with a visit to the locomotive shops of the Pend Oreille Valley Railroad. Chief Mechanical Officer Brad Byrd explains what remains to be done to bring the Cascade Rail Foundation’s GE U25B back to life. […]
Trains’ tour of Peru’s spectacular Ferrocarril Central Andino railroad goes high into the Andes via extreme railroading. Watch as our chartered train tackles switchbacks, bridges, and tunnels to reach the 15,0000-summit – one of the highest railroads in the world. Hold your breath as we pass through the final bore! Watch part 1 of the […]
