Trains March 1st, 2025 Digital Back Issue Cover

Trains March 2025 (Digital)

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17 Articles

1 min.

From the Editor

carl.swanson@firecrown.com @TrainsMagazine @trains_magazine Railroad adventure is a common thread running through this issue. John Friedmann, for instance, recently found time for a rail trip from Maine to Miami — with a difference. John aimed for one journey stringing together as many different intercity, commuter, and rail transit segments as possible. The result? Fifty-five trains from 19 separate operators over four days. David Lustig recalls an assignment to photograph Alaska’s White Pass & Yukon. Nothing to it — until they warned him of bears. Senior Editor David Lassen traveled to Switzerland to explore a little-known but spectacular line. Finally, Brian Solomon has tips for planning a railroad adventure of your own. Trains.com facebook.com/TrainsMagazine twitter.com/TrainsMagazine @trains_magazine…

4 min.

VIA equipment request calls for new domes

VIA RAIL CANADA has issued a formal “Request for Qualification” for prospective carbuilders to replace long-distance, regional, and remote-service passenger cars that date from the mid-1950s — an order that would include new dome cars, as well as the first all-berth sleeping cars in decades. The request issued in December follows a November RFQ for locomotives to power the new single-level equipment. It comes after the Trudeau government earlier this year committed to fund a new fleet. This would allow VIA to retire stainless-steel rolling stock that entered service on Canadian Pacific in 1954, as well as British-built Renaissance coaches and sleepers dating to the 1990s. Both aging fleets have become increasingly difficult to maintain. The new trainsets would equip the Toronto-Vancouver, British Columbia, Canadian; the Montreal-Halifax, Nova Scotia, Ocean,…

1 min.

Trains.com forums return in updated form

THE TRAINS.COM FORUMS ARE BACK. First off, I want to apologize for how long it took to bring the forums back. We attempted to migrate the existing forums to a new version of the old software and realized after doing so that it was a disaster; instead, we moved to a far more modern platform. This platform is far more stable, and we are investing in making it a rich and engaging experience. Unlike the old forums, the new platform has a modern architecture and is built in the cloud. We migrated the content from the legacy platform to the new one and addressed many technical issues that frustrated users in the old system. You can upload large pictures and even video links. We are also developing many new features…

3 min.

G&W short line to take over local service from Union Pacific in Eugene, Ore., area

GENESEE & WYOMING SHORT LINE Central Oregon & Pacific Railroad will lease and operate nearly 28 miles of Union Pacific trackage in the Eugene, Ore., area in a deal to take over the Class I railroad’s local switching operations. The railroads said the move will improve service for local customers. The change allows UP to reduce the number of times a railcar is handled and create greater efficiencies, while providing more flexibility and agility for both railroads to meet current customer needs and anticipated growth, according to a December announcement. “G&W has a proven track record in operational flexibility and providing excellent customer service,” said Union Pacific Executive Vice President of Operations Eric Gehringer. “Those strengths, combined with Union Pacific’s unmatched franchise and access to critical markets nationwide, position us to…

1 min.

Senate approves four new members for Amtrak board

The U.S. SENATE confirmed four new members of the AMTRAK board of directors in a session ending early on Dec. 21, 2024. David Capozzi, Elaine Clegg, Ron Bartory, and Lanhee Chen were confirmed on a voice vote. They join Anthony Coscia, Christopher Koos, and Joel Szabat, who in January became the first board members confirmed by the Senate since 2015. One spot remains to be filled. Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner and the U.S. Secretary of Transportation complete the 10-member board. President-elect Donald Trump said he would choose DAVID FINK as administrator of the FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION. Fink was president of Pan Am Railways from 2006 until the railroad’s purchase by CSX in 2022. Trump said in a social media post that Fink is a “fifth-generation railroader” who “will bring his 45-plus years…

3 min.

VIA Rail Canada gives dome cars a future

Analysis: Trains.com The December news out of Montreal was a stunner: VIA Rail Canada will outfit its long-distance, regional, and remote-service trains with new single-level equipment — including dome cars for its flagship, the Vancouver-Toronto Canadian. VIA Rail’s 70-year-old Budd-built stainless steel fleet is a testament to durability and design. But nothing lasts forever, and despite all their classic streamliner charm, the venerable Budd cars have served well beyond their useful lives. Industry observers had expected VIA Rail to follow Amtrak’s lead as the U.S. passenger bi-level long-distance fleet. Canada, the thinking went, would simply have its next generation equipment tacked on to whatever Amtrak ordered. Instead, VIA has leapfrogged ahead of Amtrak. Now, with funding approved in Ottawa and the promise of new equipment on the horizon, VIA Rail…

7 min.

Why 2025?

THIS YEAR MARKS the 200th anniversary of the opening of the first modern steam railroad in Great Britain. It also represents the 200th anniversary of the first credible proposals for a railroad in the United States. Most of all, it is an opportunity to correct two centuries of sloppy history, willful ignorance, and corporate malarkey surrounding the origins of the American Railroad. It isn’t so much that they lied to us. They just didn’t bother to tell the truth. The truth is Americans knew what steam railroads were, what they were capable of, and how to build them by the mid-1820s. CREATION MYTHS In the fuzzy retelling of railroading’s creation myths, the United States was innocent of technology and longingly looking westward to break sod and create a new agrarian…

11 min.

GHOSTS IN ONEONTA

Just about everything has changed, but no matter how many times I visit the Delaware & Hudson Railway, there is an excitement that something new may be discovered. The thought of finding something new on the right-of-way or the back roads running near this legendary railroad always draws me in. In short, I’m forever enamored by its former presence in the Empire State, especially the Southern Tier region and more so on its Susquehanna Division. While the railroad made a more than formidable impression on this author and the people in the region, the Delaware & Hudson has that “sense of place” like no other railroad I’ve photographed and written about over the years. Even today, traveling State Route 7, you can see the importance it had on the area’s…

11 min.

SHORT, SLOW, AND SPECTACULAR

Great train rides don’t have to be long. And they certainly don’t have to be fast. Switzerland excels in short but spectacular rail experiences, many built or created for tourists. Think of the many cog railways taking people to mountaintops, or the “World’s Slowest Express Train,” the Glacier Express, which takes 8 hours to cover 180 miles between the St. Moritz and Zermatt mountain resorts. However, one of the country’s great short train rides wasn’t designed for tourists … and isn’t even entirely Swiss. This is the Vigezzina-Centovalli Railway, connecting Locarno, Switzerland, in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino, and Domodossola, Italy. Just 52 kilometers long (32.3 miles) and unapologetically slow — a trip takes 1 hour, 54 minutes, which works out to a blistering 17 mph — the metergauge electric…

2 min.

IF YOU GO

SWISS TRAVEL PASS: The most essential tool for rail travel in Switzerland is the Swiss Travel Pass. It provides unlimited intercity rail travel (there are a handful of tourist-rail exceptions where it only provides a discount), and also covers local trams and buses. It’s also good for discounts at museums. They’re available for three, four, six, eight, or 15 days, in consecutive-day or flex versions. In 2024, the 15-day pass cost $547 for second class, $861 for first. Spring for first. Trust me. Second class is often packed; first class rarely is. Information and passes themselves are available at swissrailways.com/en. For this particular trip, it’s worth noting that travel through Domodossola, Italy, from either Locarno or Brig in Switzerland, is covered by the Travel Pass. GETTING THERE: Locarno, the Swiss endpoint…

2 min.

NEW TRAINS COMING

IF INDEED THE VIGEZZINA-CENTOVALLI RAILWAY is to grow as a tourist attraction, it almost certainly needs equipment that can handle more riders. Help is on the way. Eight new trains from Switzerland’s Stadler are being built. The trains were introduced locally at an October press conference; all eight are slated to be in operation next year. “The new trains represent a significant step forward compared to our current rolling stock,” Cecilia Brenni, communications consultant for FART, writes in an email. They have “been designed to meet the needs of an increasingly diverse clientele: they off er spaces reserved for families, with dedicated areas for strollers and prams … and accessible areas for those traveling in wheelchairs.” They also will have space to transport three to four bicycles — welcome news for…

19 min.

Maine to Miami using 55 trains

AN AMTRAK PASSENGER can ride the length of the east coast from Brunswick, Maine, to Miami, Fla., in 38 hours, using only three trains to go 1,766 miles. Instead, wouldn’t it be interesting to maximize the trains you can cram into that trip? Just as Paul Simon says, there are “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover,” there are at least 50 ways to ride trains down the eastern seaboard. DAY 1, 12 TRAINS “Get out of bed, Fred” The day’s first Boston-bound Amtrak Downeaster leaves Brunswick at 4:30 a.m., but I start my epic journey with the more civilized 7:10 a.m. departure. The five-car Downeasters are transitioning to Horizon cars, freeing up Amfleet for Northeast Corridor service until new rolling stock arrives. My Horizon’s interior is bright and clean, feeling newer…

2 min.

Q&A

Q How did you come up with this idea? A There’s an old joke about a traveler trying to buy a train ticket from Peoria to Chicago — “I must get there in the worst way!” And the ticket agent says “I’m sorry, but the Rock Island already left.” Everyone focuses on the best way from A to B, but what is the “worst way?” The Eastern Seaboard, with its multitude of carriers and now with expanded options in Florida posed the most interesting challenge of how many times could you change trains while still progressing towards your destination. Q What was your favorite part? A I really enjoyed planning the trip. It was a very nice diversion to sit inside during bad weather and figure out how to make…

7 min.

Railroading in the EXTREME

Alaska, no matter what the season, is a great place for photography. Due to its remoteness, once you leave one of the centers of civilization that dot the state, it could be 2025 or 1925. If you experience Alaska once, you will want to go back. I was thinking just that while sitting in the open side door of a Bell JetRanger helicopter hovering about 1,000 feet off the ground, waiting for a pair of newly rebuilt White Pass & Yukon Route Railway locomotives to pop out of one of the line’s many tunnels. I was sent to Skagway, Alaska, in 2009 and 2010 by Sygnet Rail Technologies to photograph their newly rebuilt units. My trip started with a non-stop flight from Southern California via an Alaska Airlines 737 to…

13 min.

CALIFORNIA 99

CALIFORNIA’S CENTRAL VALLEY gets no respect. Fresno, Bakersfield, and even Sacramento are the butt of jokes by Los Angeles and Bay Area citizens. Railfans make trips to Cajon, Donner, and Tehachapi passes but seldom celebrate the tabletop-flat topography of the Golden State’s midsection. But the Central Valley has trains — lots of’em — from two Class I railroads, Amtrak, and a surprising variety of short lines. Tying this all together is California Route 99 down the valley’s heart. U.S. 99 once ran the length of the West Coast but lost its shield when parallel Interstate 5 was constructed. California 99 — the Golden State Highway — now looks like an interstate while running trackside for long stretches. BNSF is the Central Valley’s busier Class I, averaging about 20 freight trains per…

2 min.

How to plan a heritage rail visit

PLANNING A VISIT to a heritage operation? You can avoid disappointment by researching your journey using readily available tools. While this may seem obvious, the specifics can elude even seasoned travelers. The internet and smartphones have changed travel. A wealth of up-to-the-minute information is available at your fingertips. This makes it much easier to plan but can penalize travelers who fail to use these tools effectively. The ability to rapidly disseminate information may result in more people traveling to popular locations as well as the smaller venues — destinations that can sell out quickly. Small tourist railways that were once obscure destinations can now be widely known and easily accessible. This is good news for heritage railways looking to boost their ridership, but can be frustrating to travelers who prefer…

2 min.

Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation purchases short line

THE OREGON RAIL HERITAGE FOUNDATION, which operates the Oregon Rail Heritage Center in Portland, Ore., announced it will purchase the Oregon Pacific Railroad East Portland Division, a 5.5-mile industrial shortline branch. The acquisition will enable the Foundation to expand its historic rail operations. “Acquiring the Oregon Pacific Railroad honors [OPR founder] Dick Samuels’ remarkable legacy while securing a permanent future for rail excursions, preservation, and education …, ” says Rick Franklin, Foundation president. “This transformative step enables us to connect with our community in deeper, more impactful ways, bringing history to life through expanded excursions and enriched volunteer opportunities.” The Foundation’s Oregon Rail Heritage Center is home to Portland’s historic locomotives: Southern Pacific Daylight 4-8-4 No. 4449; Spokane, Portland & Seattle 4-8-4 No. 700; and Oregon Railway & Navigation 4-6-2 No.…

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