Prototype News

The Cumberland & Knox Railroad, a subsidiary of Maine Switching Services, finalized its deal with the Maine Department of Transportation this week to operate the 56-mile Rockland Branch. In a press release issued Monday, the Unity, Maine-based short line operator stated that it would begin operations “immediately.”

Maine Switching Services was selected by Maine DOT earlier this year after the previous operator, Midcoast Railservice, ceased operations due to the loss of its largest freight customer. Since 1990, the scenic former Maine Central branch has had six different operators. 

“As a small business established in Maine, we are dedicated to supporting industrial and economic growth along the Rockland corridor,” said Maine Switching Service President Joe Feero.

According to Maine Switching Services, the short line had already secured a commitment from Dragon Cement to resume rail service from its facility in Thomaston. Dragon’s owners had previously planned to shut down that facility, but last year it was sold to a German company that is hoping to keep it open and utilize rail. Maine Switching Services stated that it also plans to speak with other customers along the route about putting their freight back on the rails. After Midcoast Railservice ceased operations, the remaining customers were forced to truck their materials to the CSX Transportation yard in South Portland. 

Maine Switching Service plans to start excursions along the route, although it has not provided any details on what that might entail. It has also shown interest in operating a connecting segment of state-owned track that runs from Brunswick to Augusta, the former MEC Lower Road. 

Maine Switching Services was founded in 2022 and operates the state-owned Belfast & Moosehead Lake Railroad and provides switching services at paper mills in Rumford and Skowhegan. —Justin Franz

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SEPTA faces a $213 million budget deficit beginning July 1, and may have to cut service by 45 percent and raise fares by more than 20 percent if the state doesn’t act. 

“There is nothing left to cut from the budget but service,” SEPTA officials said recently. “To avoid service cuts and drastic fare increases, the State must approve a budget that would enable SEPTA to maintain service levels while implementing modest fare increases. This would position SEPTA and Pennsylvania to welcome visitors from around the globe to America’s 250th anniversary celebrations, the FIFA World Cup games, MLB All-Star Week and other events of 2026, and to ensure reliable service for all for the next five years.”

If the state does not come through with funding, the transit agency said it would be forced to eliminate service on five regional rail lines (Cynwyd Line, Chestnut Hill West Line, Paoli/Thorndale Line, Trenton Line, Wilmington/Newark Line), reduce service by 20 percent on those that remain, end service at 9 p.m. and close 66 stations. Service cuts could be implemented as soon as August, officials said, with full effects taking place by January 1, 2026. Fare increases would begin in September. —Justin Franz 

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Amtrak announced this week that agreements had been reached to bring twice-daily passenger service between New Orleans and Mobile, Ala., this summer. The official start date and a detailed schedule will be released in the coming weeks.

The new train will be called the Mardi Gras. The resumption of service along the Gulf Coast would cap off a years-long effort to restore passenger service on a route that last had it in 2005, when Hurricane Katrina damaged the line. While freight service was eventually restored to the CSX line, passenger service, in the form of the Sunset Limited, never returned. 

“Travel should be about more than just getting somewhere. Our goal is to have some of that festive Mardi Gras feeling on every trip, sharing the culture of the Gulf Coast region while connecting with the rest of the Amtrak network,” said Amtrak President Roger Harris. “This summer, travelers seeking a more comfortable, scenic and productive choice than driving will have their first opportunity to ride Amtrak trains in almost 20 years.”

The new train will make stops in Bay Saint Louis, Gulfport, Biloxi and Pascagoula (all in Mississippi). It will provide same-day connections in both directions daily to City of New Orleans trains between New Orleans and Chicago via Memphis. Passengers can also make next-day connections in New Orleans to Crescent trains to and from New York via Atlanta, and Sunset Limited trains to and from Los Angeles via Tucson, San Antonio and Houston.

“Mobile and New Orleans have always shared a rich cultural heritage and renewing Amtrak service will strengthen our ties to the Crescent City and the Mississippi Gulf Coast.” said Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson. “We are so excited to welcome new visitors from those communities when the Amtrak Mardi Gras Service launches later this year. It will be an asset to our citizens and another enhancement to Mobile’s growing downtown waterfront.” —Justin Franz 

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The Rocky Mountain Railroad Club will merge with the Colorado Railroad Museum in an effort to maintain the enthusiast group’s 87-year legacy. The Rocky Mountain Club was founded in 1938 and, over the years, helped save a number of historic pieces of equipment, including Rio Grande Southern 4-6-0 20, which was restored by CRM. The club donated the locomotive to CRM in 2006. 

As part of the merger, the club’s assets and historical archives will be transferred to the museum. Club members will also become members of the museum. 

“This merger will formally end the work of the Rocky Club, but our goal is to nurture the continuation of its spirit,” said Colorado Railroad Museum Executive Director Paul Hammond. “We intend to continue this Colorado railroading institution’s extraordinary work and celebrate its legacy well into the future. The Club’s invaluable contributions toward preserving Colorado’s rail history will endure through the Museum’s ongoing preservation, publication, live rail excursion and public engagement efforts, ensuring that future generations can continue to learn from and appreciate the rich rail heritage of the Rocky Mountain region.”

The museum will celebrate the contributions of railroad clubs like the Rocky Mountain Club during its annual Colorado Crossings, May 17-18. Rio Grande Southern 20 will be under steam for the event. 

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The Mid-Continent Railway Museum announced that Chicago & North Western 1385 — the R-1 Class 4-6-0 that last ran in the 1990s — will be returning home in May after an extensive restoration. 

The locomotive will be loaded onto a flatbed truck on May 5 at SPEC Machine, where much of the restoration work has occurred, and then moved to a siding along the Wisconsin & Southern. There it will be loaded onto a flatcar for the final move to the museum. The locomotive will be unloaded on May 9th. The move itself will be livestreamed by the museum and the public is invited to come to the museum on May 9 to witness the unloading. 

Locomotive 1385 was built in March 1907 by the American Locomotive Company as one of 325 R-1 class 4-6-0s owned by the C&NW. The R-1s were used in fast freight service and secondary passenger service. The ten-wheelers were the largest single class of steam locomotives the C&NW ever owned. Locomotive 1385 was retired in 1956 and then purchased by Mid-Continent members in 1961 for $2,600. The locomotive ran at Mid-Continent and across the Midwest (including a stint leading the Circus World Museum train) until it was taken out of service in 1998. 

Project Manager Micheal Wahl said a number of issues were discovered with the locomotive in the years after it was taken out of service, and at times, the restoration was put on the back burner. In 2011, however, a $250,000 challenge grant from the Wagner Foundation kicked the restoration back into high gear. In the years since, a new boiler has been built for it, and the locomotive’s original tender has been rebuilt.

The move is expected to cost $80,000. Donations can be made either online or be mailed to P.O. Box 358, E8948 Museum Road, North Freedom, WI 53951 (Please write “Bring the 1385 Home Fund” in the memo line). —Justin Franz 

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The U.S. Department of Transportation and Amtrak are taking control of the Penn Station Reconstruction Project from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, a move that the federal government claims will save $120 million. 

In a press release announcing the takeover, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy criticized the MTA for “inefficiency, waste, and mismanagement.” Duffy stated that the federal government aimed to promote a public-private partnership model for the station, which is owned by Amtrak, to minimize financial risk to taxpayers. However, the government did not provide details on what exactly that would look like. 

MTA defended itself against Duffy’s attacks, but also praised the government for focusing on a station that is important to the traveling public. 

“Governor Kathy Hochul has prioritized the reconstruction of Penn Station for years, and we’re glad the federal government is focusing on it now. The MTA’s 33rd Street Concourse project was the first major improvement to Penn Station in decades – and we finished it on time and under budget,” said MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber. Over a hundred million MTA customers – two-thirds of Penn Station’s total ridership – use the facility every year. As the major leaseholder in the station, we expect to participate in the administration’s and Amtrak’s efforts to ensure future plans meet the needs of everyone who uses it.”

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