Prototype News

Amtrak’s new Airo train will make its revenue-service debut on September 30 in the Pacific Northwest, giving passengers on the Cascades route a first taste of the future of American passenger rail.

The Siemens-built Airo trainsets represent one of the largest investments in intercity passenger equipment on Amtrak’s national network in a generation. The trains will eventually serve nearly all state-supported routes, particularly in the Eastern United States. The Cascades route between Eugene, Ore., and Vancouver, B.C., is getting eight trainsets, each with an ALC-42E locomotive and six Siemens Venture cars, including one cab car. Two trainsets are currently ready to enter service on the Cascades route. Additional trains are expected to enter service in the Pacific Northwest in 2027, followed by Northeast Regional trains late next year.

According to Amtrak, the trainsets will regularly appear on northbound trains 516 (Seattle to Vancouver, departing at 8:30 a.m.) and 508 (Eugene to Seattle, departing at 4:30 p.m.), and southbound trains 503 (Seattle to Eugene, departing at 7:10 a.m.) and 519 (Vancouver to Seattle, departing at 4:45 p.m.). 

“When the first Airo trainsets welcome passengers later this month, it will mark the start of a journey that extends far beyond the Pacific Northwest,” said Tobias Bauer, CEO of Siemens Mobility North America. “Airo represents the next level for American passenger rail, built on a proven platform that combines innovation, comfort, and accessibility. Designed and assembled in the USA, as this fleet expands nationwide, its impact will be measured not only by new technology, but by the millions of passenger journeys it makes possible.”

Siemens Venture cars, along with its Charger locomotives, have become the new standard for North American passenger service; in recent years, Brightline, VIA Rail and Ontario Northland have all adopted the Siemens trainsets. Amtrak has also used Venture cars on its Midwest and California services. 

The debut of the new Airo trainsets comes as Amtrak struggles to keep its aging fleet of passenger cars rolling, some of which entered service nearly 50 years ago. The Airo trains will eventually replace the Amfleet cars that have been a staple on the passenger railroad since the 1970s. The trains will also replace Amtrak’s Horizon cars, many of which were pulled from service last year after corrosion issues were discovered. After inspections, some Horizon cars returned to service, but many of Amtrak’s state-supported trains have been operating at reduced capacity, including the Cascades. The new Airo trains entering service in the Pacific Northwest will have capacity for more than 300 passengers. Additionally, the trains have ergonomically designed seating, panoramic windows, enhanced lighting, complimentary high-speed internet and a refreshed cafe car experience. 

“These new Amtrak Cascades trains are a game-changer for rail travel in the Pacific Northwest,” said WSDOT Secretary Julie Meredith. “They bring improved reliability, comfort, and amenities to one of the most scenic rail corridors in the country. We’re particularly excited to be the first in the nation to introduce these new trains into service.”

—Justin Franz 

The post Amtrak’s Airo Trains to Enter Service September 30 appeared first on Railfan & Railroad Magazine.

by Lucas Leighton/photos as noted

While American Locomotive Company ceased domestic production in 1969, its Canadian counterpart Montreal Locomotive Works kept building new diesels into the 1980s. Even after the last MLWs rolled out of the shop in Montreal, a large fleet of the Alco siblings kept working in Québec, on Class Is and short lines alike; in the 1990s, it was possible to see MLWs on hotshot intermodal trains on Canadian Pacific and Canadian National, as well as short lines like Asbestos & Danville and Romaine River Railway, the province’s most remote railroad. Even after the Class Is retired their MLWs in the mid to late 1990s, many of those CN and CP units found second homes on short lines across Eastern Canada.

Today there are three short lines still using MLWs in regular service in the French-speaking province. Each operator has experienced its own share of trials, tribulations, and accomplishments, and all three differ dramatically from each other. One thing all three have in common is that they are sure to pique the interest of visiting Alco fans.

ABOVE: Chemin de fer Lanaudière RS-23 114 pulls empties from an agricultural customer at Saint-Felix-de-Valois, Que., on March 13, 2025. —Lucas Leighton

Chemin de fer Lanaudière
The smell of grease and oil drifts out of the enginehouse in the small Québec town of Saint-Félix-de-Valois, as engineer Luc Charron, a veteran of the MLW era on CN, begins his morning tasks. Among them is checking the oil of S-13u 114 and the original Quebec Rail Corporation RS18u-3 rebuild, number 3000. The 3000 will be started on this day, then placed on a side track due to a damaged gearbox cover on a traction motor that was awaiting replacement. After the prelube cycle is finished, 3000 slowly comes to life and is left to warm up as Luc turns his attention to 114. Dressed in parent company Bell-Gaz’s corporate paint scheme, 114 requires a little more persuasion in the form of a battery boost, but soon it too comes to life.

The Lanaudière, or simply known as CFL, is owned by Québec propane and fuel supplier Bell-Gaz. The 11-mile railroad was formed in 1992 after Bell-Gaz became the final customer on CP’s Saint-Gabriel Subdivision. For motive power, an ex-CN S-13u built in 1959 as CN 8620 was acquired. As traffic grew in the 2000s, CFL began searching for a second unit, eventually settling on the then-recently rebuilt 3000, which started life as CP 8734. It eventually ended up on New Brunswick East Coast, which rebuilt it into an RS18u-3. It was acquired in 2009.

ABOVE: RS-18u 3000 shoves loaded cars north after running around its train in Saint-Felix-de-Valois on April 16, 2024.  —Harrison Smith

In 2017, Bell-Gaz was sold to Filgo, a larger fuel and gas station operator based in Québec. In addition to the liquefied petroleum gas traffic for Filgo, LPG for smaller companies is also unloaded at the transload in Saint-Félix-de-Valois. The railroad also moves plastic pellets for Plastiques GPR and loads of potash and fertilizer for Campagnard, both in Saint-Félix-de-Valois. This traffic diversification keeps the railroad busy year-round, with the non-LPG traffic allowing for the purchase of LPG cars for CFL.

After a few hours, the crew has finished switching at the transload and heads south to the Quebec-Gatineau Railway (QGRY) interchange in Joliette. Luc skillfully guides his train toward the QC-345 crossing, which will have to be flagged. After this, the trip south continues as the train cuts between sections of forest and large fields bordered by a high-voltage power line, before entering the neighborhoods of Joliette. Here, the conductor and brakeman disembark while Luc guides 114 into the siding to pick up nine loaded LPG tank cars left by QGRY. In a few moves, the crew will shove the cars out of the siding and onto the main before dropping the empties, normalizing the switches, and then heading back north. The link with QGRY allows for CFL to connect with CN at Joliette or CPKC in Montreal.

ABOVE: After a long day of switching all the industries alongside the Cascapédia Subdivision, Train 565 makes it to Matapédia just short of its twelfth hour on duty on May 15, 2024. The cars will be set off on the CN interchange tracks on the Mont-Joli Subdivision, and the crew will then tie up the locomotives and call it a day. —Julien Boily

Due to the grades on the line, 114 can only handle nine loads in good weather and even fewer during the fall. The 3000 is able to handle up to 12 loads on this same grade. On this day, just enough leaves kicked up by the wind landed on the railhead for 114 to struggle on the hill. Luckily, with his experience, Luc keeps the train moving, albeit at a slow pace.

Arriving in Saint-Félix-de-Valois, the crew runs around the train at the fertilizer customer before shoving back to the LPG transload, where the cars will be sorted and stored. After finishing the day early in the afternoon, the crew grabs 3000 and pulls it back into the enginehouse, which was expanded for the second unit in the 2000s and has an inspection pit and a little bit of everything needed for maintaining units. Even in 2026, MLWs continue to hold strong on the former CP Saint-Gabriel Subdivision…

The post Quebec’s MLW Survivors appeared first on Railfan & Railroad Magazine.

by David Baer/photos as noted

For decades, motive power from American Locomotive Company has been inseparable from the identity of Western New York & Pennsylvania Railroad. Long after most railroads had retired their Alco fleets, WNYP continued to put the distinctive locomotives to work across western New York and northwestern Pennsylvania, making the railroad a destination for enthusiasts eager to see and hear them in regular freight service.

That era is now beginning to draw to a close. As aging Alcos become increasingly difficult and expensive to maintain, WNYP has begun acquiring secondhand EMD locomotives to gradually assume their duties. The transition will not happen overnight, but the direction is clear — one of the nation’s most prominent remaining strongholds of Alco road power is entering a new chapter.

In May 2024, Livonia, Avon & Lakeville marked 60 years of service between Avon and Lakeville, N.Y., a history that included a 1996 expansion to reach the Genesee Junction interchange near Rochester (see “60 Years: Livonia, Avon & Lakeville,” April 2025 R&R). In April 2026, LAL subsidiary Western New York & Pennsylvania marked its own milestone — 25 years since operating its first train on April 23, 2001.

WNYP was assembled from routes with deep Erie Lackawanna and Pennsylvania Railroad roots. Conrail had taken the Southern Tier Line between Hornell, N.Y., and Corry, Pa., out of service in 1991, severing it as a through route. WNYP management eventually built a system around the former Erie Lackawanna main line between Meadville, Pa., and Hornell, along with the former Pennsylvania Railroad Buffalo Line route over Keating Summit between Machias, N.Y., and Driftwood, Pa. The two lines intersect at Olean, N.Y., where WNYP maintains its locomotive repair shop.

ABOVE: WNY&P’s Olean to Salamanca, N.Y., turn ducks under Buffalo & Pittsburgh (former Baltimore & Ohio) at Carrollton, N.Y., on October 10, 2014, with cars it picked up at the B&P interchange. WNYP 426 was reassigned to Lakeville in August 2024. —Mike Stellpflug

In 2005, WNYP further expanded by leasing Norfolk Southern’s former Conrail Franklin Secondary between Meadville and Rouseville, Pa., where it connects with Oil Creek & Titusville Railroad.

After more than two decades of relative stability, WNYP has been forced to adapt to changing traffic patterns. With little local business between Olean and Hornell, and Norfolk Southern shifting through traffic to other routes, the line east of Olean now sees only limited use. Among the occasional movements are Amtrak equipment transfers as Alstom ships completed next-generation Acela trainsets from its Hornell plant.

Another major change came in spring 2024, when the western end of the WNYP main line was taken out of service between Jamestown, N.Y., and Seagertown, Pa. The roughly 70-mile segment had few remaining customers and handled just three carloads in 2023. That left the western portion of the railroad operating between Seagertown and Meadville, along with the Oil City Branch from Meadville to the Oil Creek & Titusville interchange at Rouseville.

ABOVE: On May 7, 2026, eastbound WNYP Train ME-1 departs Meadville Yard with ENEX RS-3 1077 en route from the Age of Steam Museum to Oil Creek & Titusville at Rouseville, Pa. The locomotive trails three cars for Franklin Industries as the train approaches McHenry Street. —Eric Filo

In recent years, NS closed the interchange at Emporium as traffic that was routed over Keating Summit has been diverted to Salamanca, N.Y., or Meadville. However, WNYP continues to maintain a transload side at Emporium.

With the line west of Seagertown out of service, Meadville effectively became the western end of the WNYP system. At the same time, the eastern end had already largely been converted to EMD power. That left the railroad’s final three Alco products concentrated at Meadville, where they have made what may prove to be their final stand.

WNYP Roster and Dispositions
With Western New York & Pennsylvania marking 25 years of service in 2026, it is worth looking back at how the locomotive roster has evolved over the past two decades and where some of its former units have gone.

In 2005, the WNYP roster included C-424 426, C-430s 430–433, C-630m 630, and M-630 631, although not all were in service at the same time. In addition, Livonia, Avon & Lakeville C-424ms 421–424 frequently spent time on WNYP.

By 2016, the roster had grown considerably. It included RS3m 406; C-424m 421; C-424s 426–428; C-430s 430–433; C-424 435; C-630m 630; M-630 631; and M-636s 632, 636–638, 643, and 685. Two RRPX M-636s were also on the property; RRPX 41 was in service, while RRPX 2338 was stored as a parts source. As in previous years, locomotives continued to flow between LAL and WNYP as needed…

The post WNYP Alco Farewell appeared first on Railfan & Railroad Magazine.

The Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society is hosting an open house at their shop in New Haven, Ind., featuring New York Central L-3a 4-8-2 “Mohawk” 3001 and Nickel Plate Road Business Car 1 on Sept. 26. 

The open house will celebrate the successful relocation of NYC 3001 from its former home at the National New York Central Railroad Museum in Elkhart. The move of the locomotive marks a major milestone in its restoration process, which began two years ago when the Fort Wayne group first acquired the locomotive and began fundraising and preparations for its relocation. 

Guests will be able to tour the restoration shop and Pullman car to get a close-up view of the ongoing work, while volunteers will be available to talk to guests about their ongoing projects. 

Locomotive 3001 is the largest surviving New York Central steam locomotive, and also one of only four that were preserved. Pullman 1 is a former private car once owned by brothers Oris and Mantis Van Sweringen, who had holdings in major railroads including the Nickel Plate Road, Chesapeake & Ohio and Erie.

Pullman 1 was relocated to the Fort Wayne Railroad’s shop last month and is also undergoing an operational restoration. 

  The open house will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and admission is free. 

—Nick Stewart

The post Fort Wayne Group Showcasing Mohawk, Pullman Car at Open House appeared first on Railfan & Railroad Magazine.

Union Pacific “Big Boy” 4014 will embark on one more tour this November to support the Make-A-Wish Foundation, with the locomotive scheduled to be on display in the Denver area on November ​21.

This marks the Big Boy’s first-ever holiday tour and comes just months after its coast-to-coast tour for America’s 250th anniversary, which drew countless of spectators along its 14-state route.

The public will have a rare opportunity to ride behind 4014 in cars from the UP’s heritage fleet from Cheyenne to Denver. Tickets will be sold through the Union Pacific Railroad Museum, and the trip will support the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The UP’s Community Ties Giving Program will also donate to the foundation as part of the event.

Santa Claus, Mrs. Claus and a few elves will be accompanying 4014 at its stop in Denver and will be giving out gifts to children. Tickets will first go on sale to patrons of the Union Pacific Railroad Museum on October 16, while remaining tickets will be sold to the public on October ​19.

UP wants to remind everyone to remain 25 feet back from the tracks when viewing the Big Boy.

The post ‘Big Boy’ to Lead Holiday Tour in November appeared first on Railfan & Railroad Magazine.