Tom O'Connor Group

Economic and management consulting firm

Category Archives: Railroads

Flying Scotsman trip back on after Network Rail U-turn

  The Flying Scotsman’s planned trips in Borders and Fife are to go ahead after earlier being cancelled at short notice. Track operator Network Rail said on Friday that the famous steam locomotive would no longer be able to undertake planned tours on Sunday because safety assessments had not been carried out on some lines …

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Today is the Former Train Day

  National Train Day was a holiday started by Amtrak in 2008 as a method to spread information to the general public about the advantages of railway travel and the history of trains in the United States. It was held each year on the Saturday closest to May 10, the anniversary of the pounding of …

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Amtrak crash shows U.S. anti rail-collision system may have gaps

  Sunday’s fatal Pennsylvania Amtrak accident may have exposed possible blind spots in a nationwide collision prevention system that is meant to stop crashes on U.S. railroads. Amtrak last year became the first U.S. railroad to fully install “positive train control” (PTC) systems on its routes, a congressionally mandated technology that uses antennae on locomotives …

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While the Rest of the World Celebrates Pi Day…

  This Old Cantilever Train Signal in Needles, California, was dedicated on Pi Day 2015 (i.e. 14 March 2015). According to City of Needles Mayor Edward T. Paget, Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad donated the old railroad cantilever signal in early 2013, the Friends of the Needles Centennial raised money for the moving and placement …

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Scottish Railways in the 1930’s

  Railways in Scotland. The Forth Bridge. Good general views of Glasgow. Trams pass. Buchanan Street, St. Vincent Street. LMS steamer. Dunoon. Street market and fish harbour of Aberdeen. A swing bridge. Loch Lomond pleasure boat trip. Inversnaid.. Coach trip to the Trossachs. Train trip. Oban. Isle of Iona with tourists walking up slipway. The …

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Strathspey Steam Railway

  We were in Aviemore, Scotland in August of 2015.   I got some good pictures of the train from that bridge – and some photos of the engineer backing the train up.  We were able to get tickets for a train leaving in about 15 minutes.  For the way up to Broomhill, we sat …

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Rail trail takes center stage on Fun Day in Londonderry | New Hampshire

Londonderry Rail Trails is having a Family Fun Day Saturday, June 20, to celebrate the completion of its second phase: a scenic three-quarter mile stretch from the exit five park and ride to Liberty Drive. The second section of the trail was actually completed at the end of May and a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held …

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Eerily Similar Rail Disaster Occurred 72 Years Before At Same Junction

Barreling toward New York, the high-speed electric train click-clicked through Port Richmond, bobbing and weaving at 65 mph, as it powered toward Frankford Junction. And then it derailed. The date: Sept. 6, 1943. Labor Day. Seventy-two years before Tuesday night, when Amtrak Train 188 slid off its tracks, leaving at least five people dead and …

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Amtrak Train Days 2015 | Amtrak Exhibit Train Tour

  Amtrak Train Days kick off Saturday, May 9th. Rail travel’s growing role in American life is reason to celebrate. That’s exactly what train spotters and passengers will be doing in the days and months ahead as 2015’s Amtrak Train Days events roll out. Highlighting the Amtrak Train Days calendar is the Amtrak Exhibit Train …

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America’s Biggest High-Speed Rail Just Broke Ground, But A Lot Of People Still Aren’t Happy About It

It had a low-speed start, but America’s biggest, fastest high-speed rail project finally broke ground Tuesday in Fresno, California, about halfway between the two major cities it hopes to connect by 2029 — if it can cross some longstanding financial and political hurdles. According to the California High-Speed Rail Authority, the system will run from …

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