Railnews from Railfan & Railroad Magazine

Jack Stryker/photos by the author

It’s 7:15am on a quiet July morning in Detroit. While the city is still getting its day started, at the Roger Penske Technical Center (RPTC), the morning operations supervisor (acting as dispatcher for the day) is getting things in motion as the first streetcar pulls out of the terminal. The streetcar operator radios the dispatcher for clearance out of the wash bay out to the battery charge bar located at the intersection of Woodward Avenue and Lothrop Street, confirming tracks are aligned, doors are open, and flaggers are in place.

Minutes later, at exactly 7:30am, SC 287 pulls down to West Grand Boulevard at the official north end of the QLine main line and boards passengers. “Carmen,” the automated female voice that does the PA announcements, greets the boarding passengers — “Grand Boulevard… Welcome to the QLine.”

Origins and Construction
The first street railways appeared in Detroit following an 1862 city ordinance allowing lines to be built along the main routes of the city including East Jefferson, Woodward, Michigan, Gratiot, Grand River, and West Fort. After a number of mergers and consolidations creating Detroit United Railway, the city took control in 1922 and formed Detroit Department of Street Railways (DSR). During the postwar era, the city began converting streetcar lines to bus operation as ridership declined. The formal end of streetcar operation in Detroit was marked with a special parade along Woodward Avenue on April 8, 1956. The slow-moving PCC streetcars all carried banners advertising the new bus service that would replace them.

ABOVE: QLine car 291 rests at one of the five parking setups in the storage yard behind the Roger Penske Technical Center in August 2021.

Trolleys made a brief return in 1976 with the opening of the Detroit Downtown Trolley. Originally planned to be a standard gauge line, the tracks were ultimately built to narrow gauge to take advantage of vintage cars available from Lisbon. Built along Washington Boulevard, the three-quarter-mile line was operated by Detroit Department of Transportation (DDOT). In 1980, the line was extended another quarter mile to connect to the new Renaissance Center. By 2001, only one car out of seven remained in service, which resulted in slower hourly service; the trolley line closed in 2003.

In 2006, DDOT conducted a study of expanding mass transit options for Woodward Avenue. Meanwhile, a group of business leaders decided to provide matching private funds to develop a $125 million, 3.3-mile line through downtown Detroit that would be called the “M-1 Rail Line.” After extensive discussion between the investors and DDOT, the two groups adapted DDOT’s plan for a 9.3-mile line connecting the Rosa Parks Transit Center and Eight Mile Road where the State Fairgrounds are, using the Woodward Avenue route.
There would have been 19 stops served by 10 trains, with each train envisioned having two cars to carry up to 150 passengers. The trains would operate in a dedicated right-of-way in the median of Woodward Avenue between Adams Street at the north edge of Grand Circus Park north to Eight Mile Road. South of Adams Street, the trains would run with traffic along the sides of Woodward Avenue through the rest of downtown.

To cover the roughly $500 million projected cost, The Kresge Foundation provided $35 million in March 2009, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) would provide $25 million in February 2010, and Detroit City Council approved the sale of $125 million in bonds on April 11, 2011. The Federal Transit Administration and the city of Detroit signed the environmental impact statement on July 1, 2011; the record of decision was signed on August 31, giving the project the green light.

ABOVE: With the ad-wrap color palette matching the sky above almost perfectly, streetcar 288 passes in front of the Detroit Institute of the Arts in the Midtown District in May 2025.

However, in December 2011, the federal government withdrew its support of the line in favor of a bus rapid transit system to serve the city and suburbs. Coupled with economic damage the recession had inflicted on Detroit and its industries, a determined group of corporate and philanthropic leaders stated it would continue developing the 3.3-mile line under their nonprofit M-1 RAIL Consortium.

With the new Regional Transit Authority of Southeast Michigan created in 2012, the USDOT released the $25 million to M-1 RAIL. The project received its final environmental clearance from the federal government on April 26, 2013, with the construction contract awarded to Stacy & Witbeck on July 31 of the same year. Construction officially started on July 28, 2014, with USDOT kicking in an additional $12.2 million to complete the financing of the project.

At the same time right-of-way infrastructure construction was taking place, work began February 15, 2015, on the $6.9 million, 20,000-square-foot RPTC, which would be the center of operations and maintenance for the M-1 RAIL system. The system was later renamed “QLine” after Quicken Loans purchased the naming rights for $5 million on March 24, 2016; the actual operating organization would still be called M-1 RAIL, however, with Transdev North America hired under a five-year, $15.5 million contract on June 30, 2016, to handle the actual day-to-day functions of the streetcar system, including hiring and training of staff, managing and dispatching streetcar operations, maintenance of both vehicle and infrastructure, and more…

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This month, we join Scott Lothes on his journey to northern Japan, on the island of Hokkaido (page 44). At first blush, this may seem like a trip to someplace wildly different. From a North American perspective, Japan may seem to be a dense, deeply urban place, simultaneously futuristic yet ancient. To bring this to a more railfan-centric perspective, Japan is also knit together with a network of high-speed “bullet trains,” the likes of which we can only envy. Yet, as I think Scott’s story helps show, there are many ways that the Japanese railway landscape is surprisingly familiar.

One thing we must keep in mind is that Japan’s railways were heavily influenced by North American practice. Early Japanese railway projects were designed with the assistance of foreign consultants, most of whom came from either the United Kingdom or the U.S. The result is that the Japanese system exhibits certain telltale signs of both railway traditions, from the predominance of 42-inch gauge (typical of British colonies) but also of a dense, weblike network of lightly built branches more typical of North America. Early equipment was UK-built, but by the turn of the 20th century, the most powerful locomotives in the country had been built by America’s Baldwin. Later, domestically built equipment showed such hybrid roots, with proportions and aesthetics that recalled British equipment, but other spotting features — such as tenders, cylinders, and couplers — being distinctly North American.

Nor are these influences found only in the past. Today’s Japanese rail network in many ways echoes our own, especially at the margins. Like our continent, Japan experienced a wave of so-called “deindustrialization” starting in the 1970s, with industrial modernization and increased global trade radically changing the nature of the economy. As in the American “rust belt,” many steel mills, coal mines, and power plants shut down, and rural populations steadily relocated into larger cities. The northern island of Hokkaido, for example, was once one of the world’s most important coal-mining regions, but much like the Appalachian region of the U.S., it is a place that seems more and more hollowed out, steadily emptying of traffic and of life.

For the railways that served such regions, the options were few but also familiar. Many lines that once belonged to Japanese National Railways or its privatized successors were, in essence, “spun off” into what Japan calls “third-sector railways” — what we might label “short lines.” Some of those companies have survived by reducing service, cutting overhead costs, and chasing new markets, much as our own short lines do, and likewise, not all of them have met with sustained success. It is not unusual, for example, for a small third-sector railway to turn to tourism as a means to generate traffic, and it is not at all unusual to find dinner trains, beer trains, scenery-viewing trains, and sometimes even steam locomotives to attract those tourists to the rails.

And then there’s the railfan world. If you go to YouTube, and search for “Japanese train videos,” you will find plenty of results. One of the more amusing aspects is to watch, say, a beautiful shot of a distant steam-hauled train, and then hear the distinctive click-click-click of a camera motor drive from some other railfan standing just out of view. If anything, there are probably more railfans in Japan than in North America, and yet many of their conventions are ours, too — from the “photo line” to spotter’s guides to rare-mileage trips. Perhaps Japan is an ocean away, and certainly it has its own distinct geography, culture, and history, and yet the more I have learned about its railways, the more I am impressed not by the differences, but by what we share.

—Alexander Benjamin Craghead is a transportation historian, photographer, artist, and author.

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After a successful service expansion last year, Amtrak’s Winter Park Express is back for another big season, beginning on December 19, and making 57 roundtrips through March 29. 

The train is set to run December 19-21, 26-28 and January 2-4, before regular service begins on January 8, with four weekly roundtrips (Thursday through Sunday). Tickets start at $9. Last year, Amtrak worked with the Colorado Department of Transportation to lower ticket prices and the train saw a 150 percent ridership increase.

Like last year, passengers will be able to ride the train all the way to Fraser, just west of Winter Park (previously, the train laid over in Fraser during the day, but passengers had to get off at the ski area). 

The train departs Denver at 7 a.m. and arrives at the resort at 9:11 a.m. and in Fraser at 9:41 a.m. The return trip departs Fraser at 4:05 p.m. and Winter Park Resort at 4:35 p.m. and arrives in Denver at 7:05 p.m.

The ski train to Winter Park has been a Colorado institution since the early 20th century. The original train was canceled in 2009, but Amtrak brought it back as the Winter Park Express in 2017. 

—Justin Franz 

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Alaska Railroad 2-8-0 557 was fired up for the first time on November 8, following a decade-long restoration. Volunteers have been working on the S160 Class Consolidation in Wasilla since the early 2010s and hope to eventually run it on its home rails. 

Locomotive 557 was one of more than 2,000 S160 Class 2-8-0s built for the U.S. Army by Alco, Baldwin and Lima (557 was built by Baldwin). The locomotives were meant to be built quickly and deployed to war-torn Europe. The S160s would eventually go on to work on every continent except Australia and Antarctica. In 1944, a dozen S160s were sent to Alaska for use on the federally-owned railroad there, including 3523, which would soon be renumbered 557. Along with a new number, the locomotive got some improvements for service in Alaska, including a larger air compressor, a heated cab and a plow for seasonal use. The 557 initially burned coal but was later converted to oil. In the 1950s, the Alaska began to retire its steam locomotives but 557 was retained for use in Nenana where the rivers often flooded the right-of-way. The locomotive was also used for special events. In 1964, the locomotive was sold to private individuals and moved to Washington State where it was put on display. In 2011, the locomotive returned north for restoration. 

The non-profit Engine 557 Restoration Company announced its test fire on social media. Additional work will need to be done on the locomotive before it can run, but it’s clear that standard-gauge steam will soon return to the “Last Frontier.” 

—Justin Franz 

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BNSF Railway has installed Positive Train Control on the Canadian section of its New Westminster Subdivision between Seattle and Vancouver, B.C., making it the first route in Canada to permanently implement the crash prevention technology. 

The New Westminster Sub features both BNSF freight and Amtrak Cascades trains running between Eugene, Ore., and Vancouver. The first train to operate with PTC on this route was a BNSF freight on October 21. 

While BNSF claimed that the October 21 run was the first time PTC had been used in Canada, that isn’t entirely accurate. In 2023, CPKC briefly deployed PTC on its Aldersyde Subdivision between Calgary and Lethbridge, Alberta, to test the technology it had installed on Canadian Pacific 4-6-4 H1b 2816, ahead of its tri-nation tour in 2024. 

—Justin Franz 

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A short line in British Columbia that depends on wood products is suffering due to the ongoing trade war between the United States and Canada. Now, it’s leading to the cancellation of popular holiday excursions 

The Nelson & Fort Sheppard Railway runs on former Great Northern trackage between Frutvale and Columbia Gardens, B.C., where it interchanges with the St. Paul & Pacific Northwest, ultimately linking to BNSF Railway. The short line’s main source of traffic is lumber being exported to the U.S. But that traffic has been affected by a trade war started by President Donald Trump earlier this year.

“​​Our railroad thrives on the export of wood products from Canada to the U.S., and the ongoing trade war between the U.S. and Canada is placing wood products on the front lines.    As volumes of wood product exports to the U.S. decline and our overall freight volumes decrease, we are taking necessary cost savings measures to ensure our railroad can weather these challenging times,” the railroad announced in November. “While we’ve had generous support from local businesses for many years to help offset the cost of insurance for our Community Train Rides, the additional costs we incur to operate each ride are beyond our budget this year.”

The railroad stated that it plans to resume the annual December excursions in the future, once traffic returns. 

—Justin Franz 

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San Francisco is saying goodbye to a fleet of light rail vehicles that expanded transit service in the city during the 1990s dot-com boom. However, at least one of the retired cars is heading to a new home at the Western Railway Museum 

One hundred and fifty-one LRV2 and LRV3 vehicles were built for Muni by the Italian manufacturer Breda between 1995 and 2003. The LRV3s were essentially the same as the LRV2s but had improvements such as more reliable doors and step extensions that were not included on the first batch of cars. The Breda-built cars proved to be crucial for the agency, helping it expand Muni Metro service from Ocean Beach to Dogpatch, and they were the first vehicles used on the T Third line 

The LRV2 and LRV3 vehicles have now been replaced with 260 Siemens vehicles, which began arriving in the mid-2010s. Muni started retiring the Breda cars in 2021, and by 2025, only 30 remained, with most of the fleet being scrapped. However, car 1534 has been set aside for preservation and will eventually be moved to the Western Railway Museum in Suisun City, Calif. The museum features an extensive collection of transit vehicles that span much of the Bay Area’s history. Currently, the museum is raising funds to cover the cost of moving the LRV out of San Francisco, as well as spare parts needed to keep it operational 

Muni was planning a farewell run for the Breda LRVs on November 12 and had even published a tracker so that transit enthusiasts could follow along. 

—Justin Franz 

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Story and Photos by Justin Franz

In the sleepy community of Ely, Nev., about halfway between Salt Lake City and Las Vegas, the steam locomotives get all the attention.

The Nevada Northern Railway Museum, situated in one of the most remote communities in the continental U.S., is a steam-era time warp. The shops, coaling tower, and other facilities spread across the 56-acre campus look like they’re straight out of the age of steam because they are. It’s as if one day in the 1940s, the laborers and train crews put everything away, locked the doors, and tossed the key so that future historians and railroad enthusiasts could discover it — so they could see, smell, and feel what steam railroading was really like back in the day.

Despite the three original steam locomotives that call Nevada Northern home, the fact remains that for more than half the railroad’s existence, diesels have been the dominant motive power on this short line-turned-living museum. Today, while steam continues to star, the railroad maintains an eclectic fleet of diesels, with locomotives from four different builders, including six American Locomotive Company products.

Read more about the Nevada Northern’s fleet of Alco diesel locomotives — including an all-time roster — in the October 2025 edition of Railfan & Railroad.

The midday sun illuminates the smoke-filled East Ely shop on February 25, 2022. Inside the shop, RS-2 105 sits between assignments. Next to the Alco switcher is the tender from 4-6-0 21, which is now paired with Rotary B, both of which were built by Alco. Locomotive 21 was scrapped in 1952.

Kennecott RS-2 105 wears its original builder’s plate inside the East Ely shop in February 2022. The engine was built in December 1949 and today still runs at the Nevada Northern Railway Museum.

Engineer Ben Lytle looks ahead as he guides RS-3 109 through Tunnel 1 on February 27, 2022, during the railroad’s annual winter photography event.

RS-3 109 smokes it up for photographers during the Nevada Northern Railway’s annual winter photography weekend in 2002. The RS-3 is the only one to have operated on the Nevada Northern in the pre-preservation era. 

Alco RS-3 109 leads an excursion on the Keystone Line on February 27, 2022, approaching Tunnel 1. The RS-3 is one of the regular locomotives to lead excursions on the Nevada Northern.

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The Railway Museum of British Columbia has completed a long-awaited cosmetic restoration of British Columbia Electric Railway motor 960. In late October, the motor was moved from the museum’s restoration shop to its exhibit area after being lowered onto its trucks. The museum reports that the restoration lasted 15 years. 

Motor 960 was built by General Electric in 1912 for the Oregon Electric Railway. It and three others were purchased by BC Electric in 1946, and it remained in service until the early 1960s. After it was retired, the motor was donated to the Royal British Columbia Museum and put into storage. In 1993, it was donated to the West Coast Railway Association and trucked to its museum in Squamish. The motor now wears its historic maroon and gold BC Electric livery. For more information, visit wcra.org. 

—Justin Franz 

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Chicagoland transit authorities, including Metra commuter rail and the Chicago Transit Authority, will avoid falling off the fiscal cliff in 2026 after the Illinois General Assembly passed legislation to provide $1.5 billion in funding without creating new taxes. 

The Regional Transportation Authority, which oversees Metra, CTA, and Pace bus services, faced a $770 million deficit primarily due to the end of federal funding related to the COVID-19 pandemic. For months, the state general assembly hesitated to allocate funds to fill the gap, and if they hadn’t, “doomsday” cuts were planned for all three agencies. In the case of Metra, it would have had to cut service by 40 percent, halving its 91-train schedule on the BNSF Line and completely suspending service on Metra Electric’s Blue Island Branch. 

Mass Transit reports that the bill passed last week, called the Northern Illinois Transit Authority Act, will primarily be funded by redirecting sales tax revenue from motor fuel purchases to transit operations. It also creates an Interagency Coordinating Committee on Transit Innovation, Integration, and Reform, which will focus on improving connectivity across the entire public transit system. 

Gov. JB Pritzker has indicated that he will sign the legislation. Chicago RTA praised the bill’s passage.

“The passage of SB2111 is a landmark moment for public transit in Illinois. This bill provides the stable funding and governance reforms needed to protect transit service for the millions who ride CTA, Metra, and Pace, and the thousands of frontline workers who keep our region moving,” Chicago RTA officials wrote in a statement. “Riders want transit that is safe, reliable and frequent. This transformational investment of more than $1 billion in new operating funding lays the groundwork to improve service, shorten travel times and enhance rider experience across the region. The bill also changes the region’s transit governance, transitioning the RTA to the Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA) and creating new requirements to coordinate service, plan strategically and better support riders.”

—Justin Franz 

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Reading & Northern Railroad made a $10 million offer in early October to purchase the railroad assets of the Luzerne County Redevelopment Authority, which R.J. Corman currently operates.

In an email to Authority Chairman Scott Linde, Reading & Northern owner and CEO Andy Muller also committed to building a passenger train station in downtown Wilkes-Barre, Pa., and running passenger excursion trains to and from that station, including the popular tourist destination of Jim Thorpe, Pa.

“We have read in the local press that the Redevelopment Authority is considering putting its rail assets out for bid for long-term lease or sale,” Muller wrote. “Reading & Northern is prepared to bring its award-winning passenger excursion service to Wilkes-Barre, but only if we are able to reach an agreement to purchase the line.”

The railroad estimates that the track needs at least $2 million in work to operate passenger trains and is also committed to “aggressively” improving and expanding freight service.

“R&N is prepared to enter into sale negotiations immediately, and R&N is willing to close prior to the expiration of the existing R J Corman operating lease,” Muller wrote. “We stand ready and willing to meet with the RDA and other entities in Luzerne County in order to bring tourism to Wilkes-Barre and improve local freight service to this region of Luzerne County.”

The county council-appointed redevelopment authority board members have advocated keeping the railroad under public ownership, the Times-Leader newspaper reported. And because the authority still owes the county $3.28 million loaned in 2001 for the original acquisition of the line, the county council authorized litigation that was filed in July 2025 against the authority.

R.J. Corman, which took over from Luzerne-Susquehanna Railroad a couple of years ago, has a contract that expires in October 2026, according to the paper.

—M.T. Burkhart

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The city of Ottawa, Ont., is studying the potential to transfer the responsibility of the O-Train light rail system to the province. Metrolinx operates GO Transit and the UP Express system in the Toronto area. 

Since its opening, the O-Train has faced controversy over construction and maintenance issues, resulting in budget deficits and low ridership. Bringing the O-Train under Metrolinx control could potentially save Ottawa as much as $4 billion over 30 years, according to Premier Doug Ford. Currently, the city’s OC Transpo transit system, also operator of local bus transit, operates the O-Train.

At a recent council meeting, a motion was approved directing city officials to enter negotiations with the Government of Ontario for the transfer of the system to Metrolinx

—Bob Gallegos

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California’s Bay Area Rapid Transit has completed installation work on its Next Generation Fare Gates at its heavy commuter rail stations. This milestone project is designed to make the system safer and make fare evasion much more difficult for criminals. 

The new fare gates feature a unique door-locking mechanism that makes their swing barriers very hard to push through, jump over, or maneuver under. Overall, the fare gate array forms a 72-inch minimum barrier. Still to come is the full utilization of advanced sensors to make it harder to “piggyback” into the system by closely following behind paying riders. 

Fare evasion has long been an issue, although the number of riders who say they’ve witnessed someone fare evade on their trip has dropped by more than 50 percent in just the last year. 

—Bob Gallegos 

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One of only three surviving Denver & Rio Grande Western C-16 class 2-8-0 locomotives will be restored to operation. 

The locomotive in question, D&RGW 223, was built in 1881 and has been located in Ogden, Utah, for over 30 years, where efforts to restore it to running condition have stalled. On October 28, the City of Ogden, the 223 Locomotive Foundation, and the Colorado Railroad Museum announced a partnership aimed at returning the engine to operation in Colorado, where it spent much of its in-service career. 

The C-16 is in many ways the quintessential Colorado narrow gauge locomotive from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Denver & Rio Grande purchased 82 of the 2-8-0s in 1881 and 1882. At first, these locomotives were called “Class 60s,” based on their weight of 60,000 pounds. In the early 1900s, many of them were rebuilt and renamed C-16s, reflecting their increased horsepower of 16,000 pounds after upgrades. By the 1920s, the C-16s were gradually phased out as K-series 2-8-2s became the main power for the Rio Grande narrow gauge. 

 Rio Grande C-16 223 when it was in service in the early 20th century. Photo Courtesy of Colorado Railroad Museum. 

Three C-16s were preserved: 223 in Ogden, 268 in Gunnison, Colo., and 278 near Cimmaron, Colo. Locomotive 223 was displayed in Salt Lake City in 1941 and stayed there until the 1990s, when it was moved north to Ogden. A local group attempted to restore it to working condition, but that effort was later stopped. 

In 2024, the locomotive was transferred from the Utah Historical Society to the City of Ogden. Since then, city officials have been working to determine the next steps for the engine and, as part of that effort, hired John Bush (former Cumbres & Toltec Scenic general manager) to conduct a thorough inspection. The assessment revealed that the locomotive could still be restored to operational condition. To accomplish this, the engine will be transferred to the recently established 223 Locomotive Foundation. Once restored to working order, it is expected to tour various narrow gauge railroads in Colorado before making its long-term home at the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden. 

“After so many years of being a static artifact, we will now be able to move forward in making the 223 a piece of living history to educate current and future generations on how narrow gauge railroading built the communities of the Rockies, along with the development of steam locomotives,” said 223 Locomotive Foundation President Jimmy Booth.

In recognition of Ogden’s efforts to preserve the locomotive over the years, residents will receive discounted fares on future train rides and will be honored with a plaque on the locomotive. 

More about the 223 Locomotive Foundation can be found at 223locomotivefoundation.org. 

—Justin Franz 

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BNSF Railway announced this week that the years-long effort to install Positive Train Control along the former Montana Rail Link is nearly complete. Activation of PTC, which could happen as soon as this week, is expected to bring about several significant changes along the route. 

Long before BNSF took back control of the former Northern Pacific across southern Montana, MRL was working to install Positive Train Control on the route. The regional railroad announced its plans to install PTC in 2018, making it one of the first railroads in the country to voluntarily implement this collision-prevention technology. That effort has only advanced with the BNSF takeover in 2024, and for a time, the most obvious “victims” of the modernization were the steam-era NP searchlight signals. But now, as BNSF prepares to activate the system, it seems there will be another casualty — blue MRL locomotives leading trains. 

Once PTC is turned on, none of the MRL units will be able to lead trains at track speed on the former MRL main line. This means the remaining MRL units will likely be relegated to trailing status or to yard and helper service. 

As of early fall, blue units could still often be found on locals and switch jobs, but that was likely to change. It was also unclear how much work the blue units would find in the yards. In Missoula, for example, switch jobs often venture beyond yard limits to switch industries in Bonner and DeSmet, both of which require main line running. 

While MRL’s “blue pullers” were likely to be relegated to trailing status on home rails, many of the railroad’s SD70ACe locomotives are still putting on the miles across the BNSF system, from California to Chicago, albeit usually behind BNSF power. In mid-October, at least four units were spotted in the Denver area.

—Justin Franz 

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Amtrak service could return to Detroit’s famed Michigan Central Station — or at least a new one built nearby. On October 15, the Michigan Department of Transportation, the city of Detroit, and Michigan Central announced they had signed an agreement to build a new multimodal transportation center on Michigan Central’s 30-acre campus. The new facility could open by 2029. 

Michigan Central was built in 1914 and closed in 1988. The Ford Motor Company reopened it in 2024 as a mixed-use facility. Amtrak’s present station in Detroit is about three miles north of downtown and sees daily service by the Wolverine. 

—Justin Franz 

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The Willamette Shore Trolley became Oregon’s first solar-powered railroad this fall and only the second in the world. With help from the City of Lake Oswego, the Portland-area tourist railroad installed a 29.2 kW solar array on the roof of its carbarn, which now fully charges its battery-powered trolley. The first solar-powered railroad is located in Australia. 

“The solar panels became operational in late July and, so far, have generated 8.66 MWh of lifetime energy, equivalent to CO2 emissions from 5.6 barrels of oil or 6,175 miles driven by an average gas-powered passenger vehicle,” the railroad announced. 

The Willamette Shore Trolley is owned by the City of Lake Oswego and operated by the Oregon Electric Railway Historical Society. The trolley runs on about 5 miles of former Southern Pacific tracks along the Willamette River between Portland and Lake Oswego. It typically operates from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

—Justin Franz 

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For the first time in the agency’s history, Metro-North trains will serve New York’s Capital Region. On October 20, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul was joined by officials from Metro-North and Amtrak to announce that the commuter agency would begin making one round trip to Albany starting in 2026. This marks the first time in a quarter century that Metro-North has expanded service. 

Additionally, Gov. Hochul announced that Amtrak would restore one round-trip between New York City and Albany after reducing service earlier this year to accommodate ongoing work on the East River Tunnel. As part of that, Amtrak has also agreed to set a price cap on all Empire Service tickets in response to rising ticket prices amid sold-out trains. 

“Restoring Amtrak service and debuting Metro-North service to Albany is a huge win for riders. The Empire Service is vital to communities along the Hudson River,” Gov. Hochul said. “While Amtrak’s repairs to the East River Tunnels are necessary, riders from Albany to New York City have had to endure sold-out trains and higher fares for the past five months. I’ve been clear from the moment this plan was proposed that New Yorkers deserve better. This new plan will provide more travel options and lower fares for over two million annual riders, saving them time and putting money back in their pockets.” 

Metro-North’s trip to Albany will help fill gaps in Amtrak’s schedule. It’s expected to leave Grand Central around mid-morning and return in the afternoon, arriving back at Grand Central in time for evening events in New York City. Test runs for Metro-North are expected to start later this year. No date has been set yet for when the service will be available to the public. 

At the same time, one additional Amtrak trip in each direction between Penn Station and Albany-Rensselaer will be restored starting December 1. Train 235, which departs Penn Station at 3:15 pm, and Train 238, which departs Albany-Rensselaer at 12:10 pm, will both resume service.

“New York State residents and visitors’ passion and patience are paying off, as additional, affordable, and improved train service between New York City and Albany is on its way,” said Amtrak President Roger Harris. “Thanks to Governor Hochul for her leadership and commitment to New York State, and NYSDOT and MTA for their partnership in helping meet the high demand of train service we have throughout the state.”

—Justin Franz 

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Cando entered the lithium-ion era with the launch of a new battery-powered locomotive this fall. Their Li-Ion 2025 project transformed a standard diesel-electric locomotive by replacing the diesel prime mover with a bank of lithium-ion batteries and a sophisticated control system. The result is a zero-emission switching locomotive 

They took an EMD GP15 and stripped it down to its frame. A tall high-visibility cab was added, with a standard control stand inside, together with a long and short hood. The fuel tank remains, but it is filled with concrete as ballast to increase traction.

The long hood houses the air compressor, a bank of batteries, power conversion equipment, climate control for the batteries, and the traction motor blowers. The short hood contains a toilet. The power conversion is essential to adjust the battery power for use with the standard DC traction motors, and the climate system maintains the batteries at their optimal operating temperature range.

Cando 2501, the switching railroad’s new battery-powered locomotive, is seen shortly after its rebuild in Winnipeg. Photo by Steve Boyko.

There are 12 batteries, each roughly the size of a Tesla car battery, with an adjacent empty rack for another dozen if needed. The liquid-cooled batteries are certified for underground mining operations, with built-in fire suppression, and are mounted in isolation dampers. The custom control system manages the batteries, power conversion, and temperature controls.

The locomotive is optimized for the type of operations that Cando performs at its many switching contracts – low-speed, intermittent switching work. It is not designed for high-speed, main-line operation.

Charging is accomplished through one of two methods. The long hood houses a cable for connecting to 100A “shore power” to recharge the batteries, while the top of the long hood features a receiver for an overhead 800A high-speed charger, similar to what an electric bus uses. Cando envisions the locomotive operating continuously, with opportunistic charging taking place when the crew takes a break or between assignments. It does not use regenerative braking, as they believe it is inefficient at low speeds and would add unnecessary complexity locomotive.

One key design requirement was to use as many standard locomotive parts as possible for easier maintenance. From the frame down, it is a standard GP15 locomotive. This project received $2 million in funding from Emissions Reduction Alberta, and the total estimated cost of the project was $4 million.

—Steve Boyko

The post Cando Goes Battery Powered appeared first on Railfan & Railroad Magazine.

President Donald Trump said on October 15 that federal funds for one of the most critical passenger rail projects in the country had been “terminated.” 

The Gateway Project has been called “the most urgent infrastructure project in America,” building new tunnels beneath the Hudson River between New York and New Jersey, and rebuilding a 115-year-old one that was damaged in 2012 by Superstorm Sandy. The Northeast Corridor in this area features trains from both Amtrak and NJ Transit, and when completed in 2035, will carry 200,000 passengers per day.
Trump has had it out for the Gateway Project since his first term, when he tried to strip funding from the project, despite bipartisan support and even his own transportation secretary calling it “an absolute priority.” This time around, Trump is using the weeks-old government shutdown as a chance to rip away the $16 billion funding for the project. However, it’s unclear what authority Trump has to take the money back. The day after he announced that the funding was “terminated,” work was still taking place on the tunnels, and officials said they could keep going for the time being with state funds. Officials in New York and New Jersey were quick to criticize the decision. 

“It’s petty revenge politics that would screw hundreds of thousands of New York and New Jersey commuters, choke off our economy and kill good-paying jobs,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York). “It’s vindictive, reckless and foolish.” 

—Justin Franz 

The post Trump Tries to ‘Terminate’ Hudson River Tunnel Funding appeared first on Railfan & Railroad Magazine.