Train of the Week

After the post on the shiny rebuilt GE road power, it's only fair to have a look into what Progress Rail has to offer on their side of the table. I'm using the company's recently-changed, formal name of course. For those who are not up-to-date on the current state of North American railroading affairs, Progress Rail is the company (owned by Caterpillar) that purchased EMD a few years ago. The SD90MAC was arguably the biggest gong show in EMD's recent memory. It happened at a time when they were comfortably resting on their laurels, unaware the fateful changes that were about to occur in the locomotive market in the not-so-distant future (they got beaten badly by GE). What was supposed to be one of the most remarkable locomotives whose presence is to grace the mainlines in modern history, turned out to be an utter disaster (I'll redirect further readings to Wikipedia). As a result, today, the number of SD90s still in operation on a Class 1 Railroad is, if not id...

By Koman90 - Own work , CC BY-SA 3.0 , Link Sometimes I feel like I'm running out of things to write about on this blog, but maybe that's because there are really too many things out there. It's hard to decide, and I can't keep up lately. One of the very first posts on this blog I started quite a few years ago was about the C-Train. For those of you who don't know, that's the name given to the Light Rail Transit system in the Canadian city of Calgary, Alberta, a place I reluctantly (at first, anyway) called home due to its lack of public transit infrastructure (still true today, but hell, we've got oil and pickup trucks) despite having a population of over one million. Though, never had I known was that the C-Train would become one of this meaningless but nonetheless interesting coincidence in my life. You see, the oldest of the C-Trains are the Siemens-Düwag U2. They were built in the city of Düsseldorf, a few stops down the line on the RegionalExpress ...

North American railroads are no strangers to rebuilding older locomotives to help lower cost. Unlike many parts of the world, the adhesion-limited operating environment often means that our locomotives are heavier and moderately powered. At one point in history, First Class Railroads have converged onto the ideal mainline locomotive, a six-axle unit having about 4,400 hp, and weighing at about 400,000 lbs. By Nstrainman1006 - Taking a photo. Previously published: YYYY-MM-DD, CC BY-SA 4.0 , Link In the 1990s, amid the market dominated by General Motors, the microprocessor-controlled Dash 9 Series was the revolution General Electric needed that kick-started their rise to the top. Within the series, there was the C40-9W , a limited-power edition of the mainstream C44-9W , specifically conceived for the Norfolk Southern. Starting in late 2013, these units were converted to the C44, and then two years later, some started further upgrades to, eventually, become the AC44C6M. Compa...

Let me come back to my own side of the pond for now and write about a locomotive in the warm parts of the continents. The slight mystery surrounding them intrigues me a little, but I'm sure it's nothing a seasoned railfan can't educate me on. I shall begin by talking a little about the previous life or lives of what are known today as the MP32PH-Q. Unlike its brethren MPXpress locomotives, it is a direct re-iteration of its ancestors from MPI's Morrison-Knudsen days. By Artystyk386 - Own work , CC BY-SA 3.0 , Link When MK Rail was still a thing, they were known for rebuilding locomotives of other origins. Many transit agencies enlisted their service to provide spin-offs of the proven EMD GP38 and GP40 locomotives. Known as the GP40WH-2 in their previous life under MARC (Maryland Area Regional Commuter), the MP32PH-Q already packed lots of mileage hauling passengers under their belt. These days, they work down south, serving in Florida and soaking up all the ...

Three months ago, Amtrak released this video after signing a new deal to purchase the next-generation Acela Express from our old friend Alstom. It is called the Avelia Liberty. At the minute mark, it states that this train shares a common platform that has been proven in service. Hold on a minute, what common platform? Revenue service? What's an Avelia? Yes, that was a long-winded way of getting into today's topic, and let me do the Googling, so you don't have to (if you have not already, that is). According to Alstom's product web page, all of their current high-speed trains are now branded Avelia. This includes the Pendolino, the TGV Euroduplex, the AGV, and of course, our Avelia Liberty. What I find interesting, is the fact that this family name has yet to be mentioned much or marketed heavily at all. In fact, I don't think it is that good of an idea. Alstom's high-speed trains ranges are already very well known worldwide, so why cause confusion? This...

Although it is still premature to pop the champagne on the Brightline High Speed Rail between Orlando and Miami, this week marks a milestone in the history of this much-anticipated rail service. The first fully assembled trainset (two Siemens Charger locomotives plus four intermediate cars) has arrived in South Florida, after a special transcontinental delivery from its birthplace of Sacramento, California. With the year 2017 looming around the corner, we can almost hear the "all aboard" call from Brightline's Phase One opening between Miami and West Palm Beach (Click here for more from the Railway Gazette). The second phase of the service, covering the rest of its length to Orlando, however, wanders in limbo. Once promised the funding of this rail service, the Government had pulled the rug from underneath. In the meantime, please enjoy these early footages of what I shall call the "Brightliner," and feel free to explore more about this project o...