amtrak

On January 18th Pro Rail got back to the Flint Subdivision to complete the Flint Subdivision Series. We started at Corey Yard and we head to Battle Creek thr...

Metrolink in Southern California has retired it's only F40PH (ex-Amtrak 396) when they received the grant from the CARB (California Air Resources Board) to purchase the new F125s to replace the older F59PH, F59PHI, and the F40PH in the fleet and as part of the agreement, they were forced to...

Arriving in Wishram, WA

The southbound Coast Starlight is over ten hours late after a detour over the Oregon Trunk at Gibson, California. A tunnel fire in Oregon's Cascades necessitated the reroute. The UP locomotive on the point was added at Portland due to the cab signal system in the Columbia River Gorge. Next...

A quick spur of the moment trip on a Monday evening catching some Amtrak and BNSF action.

Waiting to leave the station in Eugene and enter the yard for the night.

In January of 2019, two more F59PHI Surfliner locomotives deadheaded on Amtrak 4, the eastbound Southwest Chief. We caught both of these units in Bernalillo, NM. These locomotives are being retired from service in California having been replaced by Siemens Chargers. Fortunately they will go...

Here is a relatively long and detailed video of East Bay and South Bay railroad action along former Southern Pacific lines through Fremont on the Centerville line, Coast Sub, Niles Sub, Warm Springs, and Niles Canyon Railway's Holiday Train of Lights. Thanks for watching! Feedback is welcome...

Amtrak has five locomotives that commemorate the 40th anniversary of Amtrak service and these are painted to resemble past phases of Amtrak paint schemes. Amtrak 156 Phase I P42DC Amtrak 130 Phase II P42DC Amtrak 145 Phase III P42DC Amtrak 184 Phase IV P42DC Amtrak 822 Phase III P40DC Amtrak...

When Amtrak 4, the eastbound Southwest Chief developed running gear problems on the second unit P42DC, BNSF 1770, an SD40-2 was put on in Albuquerque. After hearing that it would lead the train, we went trackside to Bernalillo to catch the action. This engine was built in 1978 as ATSF 5210...

Locomotives can deadhead on trains for several reasons. In this video we first see AMTK 457 deadheading to Chicago to become part of the METRA roster. AMTK 505 makes its way through the 505 area code on its way to the Beech Grove maintenance facility in Indiana. Sometimes the deadhead didn’t...

October means Balloon Fiesta time and a change of the weather. Roots on the Rails is a travel company that runs charter rail excursions and this year’s West of the West train from Los Angeles to Chicago via the Sunset Limited and then Chicago to Los Angeles via the Southwest Chief features...

Four California Zephyrs cars, the Silver Rapids, Silver Lariat, Silver Solarium, and Silver Peak were sold to the Cuyahoga Scenic Valley train. They have been a favorite catch in New Mexico and we will miss them. Here are several clips of them passing through Seattle on the Snow Train, in...

It's a very rare occurrence when Amtrak 3 and 4 meet in Bernalillo, New Mexico. Amtrak 4 has to be about 3 hours late and Amtrak 3 has to be on time. On August 10, 2018 I was monitoring the progress of both trains and realized that Amtrak 4 would be delayed at CP Hahn by a southbound...

Amtrak paint schemes (or "Phases", as they are referred to by Amtrak) are a series of liveries applied to the outside of their rolling stock. The livery phases appeared as different designs, with a majority using a red, white, and blue (the colors of the United States Flag) palette, except for...

Amtrak has five locomotives that commemorate the 40th anniversary of Amtrak service and these are painted to resemble past phases of Amtrak paint schemes. Amtrak 156 Phase I P42DC Amtrak 130 Phase II P42DC Amtrak 145 Phase III P42DC Amtrak 184 Phase IV P42DC Amtrak 822 Phase III...

On March 16, 2018 and July 1, 2018, two Amtrak Surfliner F59PHI locomotives moved across the country on the Southwest Chief. These two locomotives are part of a purchase by Metra in Chicago from Amtrak in California. Amtrak maintains a dedicated fleet of 15 EMD F59PHI locomotives painted to...

Maybe once or twice a year, Amtrak 4 is running late enough to meet Amtrak 3 in Bernalillo, NM. June 25, 2018 was one of those rare moments. What made this event more interesting was Amtrak 4 had the Silver Rapids and Silver Solarium on the rear and Amtrak 3 had the Puget Sound. Special...

We lead off with Amtrak 3 being led by AMTK 3 as it passes through Bernalillo, NM. After a tragic derailment near Kingman, AZ, Amtrak 3 became Amtrak 4 in Flagstaff, AZ. Passengers were bused in from California and Kingman. Unfortunately, the train was still pointing west so BNSF 5836 was...

Running over an hour late, perhaps due to our first decent thunderstorm of the season, Amtrak 3 gets caught in the evening RailRunner rush and has to hold at Bernalillo, NM for the northbound commuter train. Of course this gives me a nice photo op!