Extra Board
Welcome to Passenger Train Journal’s Extra Board! Enjoy previews and features from the pages of our magazine.
November 28, 2018
All Aboard PTJ’s White River Rocket
Friends and colleagues gathered in Chicago at the end of September for our special event. The White River Rocket was the first-ever chartered train on Metra, operated for White River Productions to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of Passenger Train Journal.
July 2, 2018
Celebrate our 50th Anniversary on board the White River Rocket
Join us in Chicago on September 29 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Passenger Train Journal with a special charter on Metra to Joliet, lunch in Joliet Union Station, and a special evening slide show program at Chicago Union Station.
May 20, 2018
The Passenger Trains of 1968
When the first issue of Passenger Train Journal hit the street in 1968, the United States’ intercity rail-passenger network was in free fall and, with just a few notable exceptions, the mode’s future looked increasingly bleak.
January 31, 2018
The Short, Troubled Life of Penn Central Passenger Trains
Penn Central’s managers believed that passenger service west of both Buffalo, N.Y., and Harrisburg, Pa., were financially hopeless cases. Most surviving trains either offered no amenities or provided minimal food service from snack bars.
January 8, 2018
Seaboard Coast Line Passenger Service
For three and a half years, Seaboard Coast Line passenger trains continued the tradition of its predecessor railroads in providing excellent service from the Midwest and Southeast to southern Florida, despite dark times in the industry during the late 1960s.
October 23, 2017
My Life at Amtrak: Part 2
In the fall of 1976 I moved from Amtrak’s Operations and Planning Department to the Marketing Research Department, which became my home for the next 19 years.
August 31, 2017
The South Wind
The Pennsylvania Railroad’s “South Wind” served Florida from Chicago by partnering with Atlantic Coast Line and Florida East Coast Railway.
May 15, 2017
Countdown to Brightline
Brightline is well on its way to proving that a private intercity rail passenger venture just may work and even be profitable. What gives wonder to it all is that Brightline arose from the DNA of the Florida East Coast Railroad, whose roots date from the late 1800s and was a premier passenger carrier into the latter half of the 20th century.
March 10, 2017
CZ by KZ: Amtrak’s California Zephyr
Amtrak’s California Zephyr nearly follows the same schedule as the original train launched by the Burlington, Rio Grande, and Western Pacific railroads in 1949.
February 20, 2017
Passenger Trains of the Lehigh Valley Railroad
More than 55 years have passed since the Lehigh Valley Railroad abandoned its last passenger trains in 1961. At the time it was one of the largest railroads to do so and followed the Maine Central and Bangor & Aroostook in discontinuing what had been a mature service offering sleeping and dining service along with basic coaches.
