Photo by Wesley Heinz.
By Railfan & Railroad Staff
RIDGELEY, W.V. Following what will easily go down as one of the toughest years in railway preservation history, the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad ended 2020 with a win. On New Year’s Eve, Chesapeake & Ohio 2-6-6-2 1309 moved under its own power for the first time in 64 years.
The long-awaited return of the articulated Baldwin was a bright spot in what has been a tough year for the tourist railroad industry trying to navigate a global pandemic that upended normal life and forced many operations to shutter their doors. Just months ago, the Western Maryland Scenic told supporters it was in “survival mode” and that its own future was uncertain.
Photo Courtesy of Amtrak.
By Railfan & Railroad Staff
NEW YORK CITY Amtrak is dramatically expanding its footprint in New York City with the opening of the $1.6 billion Moynihan Train Hall on Jan. 1. The new station is located inside the Farley Post Office building between 31st and 33rd Street directly across 8th Avenue from New York Penn Station. Officials say that the new station will reduce crowding and enhance the passenger experience for those traveling in and out of New York on the Northeast Corridor.
The improved station has been decades in the making and along with upgrades at Penn Station will help improve what the
Photo by Dave Hutchinson.
By Railfan & Railroad Staff
WATERVILLE, Maine New England’s 470 Railroad Club received an early Christmas gift. On Thursday, the Maine-based non-profit announced that it had purchased former Boston & Maine GP9 1741 from Utah’s Heber Valley Railroad. The GP9, presently numbered 72, was one of three locomotives the Heber Valley purchased from Pan Am Railways in 2018. However, unlike the other two (Pan Am’s B&M and Maine Central “heritage” units 77 and 52), this one was never sent west and is still at the Waterville shops.
The locomotive last ran in 2017 when it was sidelined by an electrical fire. The locomotive will be sent to the Conway Scenic Railroad in New Hampshire, where it will join the 470 Club’s other equipment, including two ex-B&M F7A locomotives.
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On June 9, 1997, Algoma Central Train 2, the Local, is just emerging from the gorge section of Agawa Canyon.
Photo by Steve C. Bradley
CN Puts Algoma Central on Sale Block
By Railfan & Railroad Staff
MONTREAL Canadian National is preparing to sell the former Algoma Central Railway in Ontario, according to media reports.
In July 2020, CN officials had indicated that they were considering selling off “non-core” lines in Wisconsin, Michigan and Ontario, including large parts of the Wisconsin Central. At the time, executives said that the decision was part of its continued push to implement precision scheduled railroading. Ghislain Houle, executive vice-president and chief financial officer, said that lower-performing routes would be better off in the hands of a short line or regional railroad and that the traffic those routes produce would still end up on CN’s main line.