Train of the Week

The ED10 is one of the early electric locomotives adopted by ex- Japan National Railways (JNR) following the electrification of the narrow gage (3.5 ft.) Tōkaidō Main Line in 1925. The locomotive was designed and built by Westinghouse Electric (electrical components) and Baldwin (mechanical components) in 1928. The unit has a B-B wheel arrangement and is powered by 4 DC traction motors producing a total of 1,100 horsepower. The ED10 is a light little unit and weighs in at just over 67 tons and has a top speed of just 40 miles per hour. Two ED10s have ever been built. Preserved ED10 2

Check out 2 new additions in the Other Sites section, on Canadian railways featuring freight and passenger topics, and on the trains of VIA Rail Canada! Thank you Eric for sharing with us your trackside experience! -- The Class X60/61/62 are some of the more recent trainsets ordered by transport agencies in Sweden. They were built since 2005. These electric multiple-units belong to the Coradia family designed by the famous French train manufacture Alstom. The main difference between the 3 different designations is consist and interior setup (X60 are commuter trains operated by Greater Stockholm Transport and have 6 cars, X61 are regional trains operated by Skånetrafiken and Östgötatrafiken and have 4 cars, X62 are X61 with one of the cars being a bistro car operated by Norrtåg). SL X60 at Stockholm Central Station Östgötatrafiken X61 The X60/61/62 are designed with safety, comfort, and high environmental standards in mind. The cars are fitted with nonflammable and self...

First I'd like to apologize... this was the first time I missed the Thursday night midnight (PT) posting time due to some time mismanagement. I've had a hectic week but it's no excuse. -- The Class Rc locomotive is the most used electric locomotive in Sweden. It is designed by ASEA for both freight and passenger service and has originally been purchased by the Swedish State Railways in the late 1960s. The domestic Rc locomotives come in 8 variants with a total of 360 units produced. At an overall length of 51 feet and weighing from 85 to 88 tons, the Rc is quite powerful at 4,800 horsepower for her small stature. Traction effort however suffers from such light weight and ranges from 53,000 to 65,000 pounds-force (ES44DC produces over 100,000 pounds at maxes out at 142,000 pounds), but it was sufficient for the designated uses of the Rc. Top speed of the Rc ranges from 85 to 112 miles per hour. A number of railroads also operate the Rc or her derivatives, the...

After a year of absence, the tradition of spending Christmas on the transcon continued (or so I hope since this really was only the second time in 3 years; see last week's post for food pics and links to pages about the train). This VIA train never disappointed. The crew was friendly and enthusiastic, the food was among the best I had tasted anywhere, and the ever changing landscape through those big, bright train windows and the dome continued to awe. Since I had taken lots of pictures of this train ride in 2009 (see post from 2 weeks ago for pictures), I could be a little more selfish this time and try to enjoy the ride more. Though hope you still enjoy the few tens of thousands of words worth of pictures here.