TORONTO — The first of an order of 60 new Alstom streetcars for the Toronto Transit Commission entered service last week, joining an existing fleet of 204 Alstom light rail vehicles in the TTC fleet. The C$568 million order, with funding from the federal, provincial, and Toronto governments, will be completed with deliveries through 2025. […]
NEW YORK — Commissioners of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey have approved a $230 million, multi-year program to address track and rolling stock issues for the Port Authority Trans Hudson, or PATH, rail system, NJ.com reports. Commissioners voted 12-0 to approve the state-of-good-repair projects at their Tuesday, Nov. 21, meeting. The […]
Want to learn how to make some quick and easy flatcar loads for Christmastime? You don’t need an heirloom set or holiday-specific cars to make your own Christmas train. With a little imagination and a trip to your local arts and crafts store, you can find Christmas cargo that will turn almost any piece of […]
LOS ANGELES — An original Santa Fe Super Chief lounge car is being made available at no cost to any group interested in it. The catch? The new owner must handle the shipping and handling. The San Bernardino Railroad Historical Society, known for its operation restored Santa Fe 4-8-4 steam locomotive No. 3751, is seeking […]
BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority needs a massive infusion of $24.5 billion to address state-of-good repair needs, more than twice the figure from its last estimate of such maintenance needs in 2019, the agency said in a report issued today. The figure — up from $10 billion in the 2019 assessment — includes […]
KIEL, Germany — The first of what will be multiple fleets of new battery-electric multiple-unit, or BEMU, trainsets have entered passenger service in northern Germany. The Stadler-built, two-car FLIRT trains debuted two weeks ago. They are designed to replace diesel multiple units and operate as regular electric trains when running on electrified lines. Each of […]
SAINT-OUEN-SUR-SEINE, France — Alstom, the world’s second-largest rail rolling stock manufacturer is seeking to sell up to 1 billion euros in assets (about $1.09 billion) and cut 1,500 jobs as it faces a negative cash flow and a massive drop in stock value, Reuters reports. The company is also considering a capital increase. The company, […]
WASHINGTON, Pa. – Capping a seven-year campaign that was delayed and made 40 percent more expensive by the pandemic, the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum opened its $15 million, 21,000-square-foot Welcome and Education Center here last week. Featuring history exhibits, interactive kiosks, a theater, a classroom, a store, offices and event rooms, the facility is the centerpiece […]
NEW YORK — Delays in launching Amtrak’s next-generation Acela fleet have cost the passenger company $140 million so far, and the figure continues to grow, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday in a paywalled article. The figure includes the growing maintenance costs of keeping the current Acela trainsets — the first of which entered service […]
NEW YORK — The New York Transit Museum has set its annual Holiday Nostalgia Train operation with vintage subway equipment for every Saturday in December. Trains will operate Dec. 2, 9, 16, 23, and 30, between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m., and are available for the cost of a regular subway fare. They will operate […]
Prototype locomotives and freight cars have body-mounted couplers, but that hasn’t always been the case on N scale models. Truck-mounted couplers were the standard for many years. Today, almost all N scale locomotives and most newly tooled freight cars have body-mounted N scale couplers. The primary reasons for making the switch from truck-mounted couplers to […]
ALTOONA, Pa. – The Altoona Campus of Penn State University has donated a former Conrail SD60I road freight locomotive to the Railroaders Memorial Museum for continued use by undergraduate engineering students. Recently moved into the museum, the 3,800-horsepower unit is now available for public viewing in the Harry Bennett Memorial Roundhouse, near the restoration work […]
