Virginia Museum of Transportation begins restoring tracks in Wasena Park
ROANOKE, Va. – The Virginia Museum of Transportation started reviving a piece of Roanoke’s rail history Sunday afternoon. Volunteers began clearing a stretch of track in Wasena Park, known as the beltline, of plants and debris. It’s so important to keep the knowledge passed down from one generation to another.”Volunteers begin clearing an abandoned rail track at Wasena Park in Roanoke. The beltline is owned by the museum and is where the museum first started in 1963. This is the first step in a long journey.”AdThe museum plans to return to Wasena Park at least once a month to work on the track.
Officials want you to stay home for the holidays. Still traveling? Here’s what to expect.
Trains are running at 50% capacity to ensure each passenger can sit next to an empty seat, a policy Amtrak plans to keep into next year, spokesman Marc Magliari said. Many routes also have less frequent service. With business down about 75% because of the health crisis, most daily long-distance trains are operating about three times a week.
chicagotribune.comBlue Line service suspended for hours after 'L’ train hits tire from car that crashed near Harlem
Because of the derailment, trains had been operating in two sections, between O’Hare and Rosemont, and between Jefferson Park and Forest Park, with shuttle buses between Rosemont and Jefferson Park, according to the CTA. Full service resumed about 8:15 a.m., with residual delays, according to a CTA alert.
chicagotribune.comTrain history society builds structure to speed up rail car restorations
ROANOKE, Va. – A new addition to a Roanoke rail yard will help keep the city’s train history alive. Roanoke’s chapter of the National Railway Historical Society built a structure on its property to protect both train cars and volunteers from the weather. The structure will soon house Norfolk & Western car 512, a formerly segregated passenger car, as volunteers work to restore it. Chapter vice president Gary Gray said volunteers have often been interrupted in their restoration work by the weather. "It’s going to be great to be able to not get wet.”According to Gray, the new shelter costs $50,000 to construct, which the chapter paid for themselves.
Historic steam engine leaves Roanoke after five years
ROANOKE, Va. – It’s the end of an era in Roanoke as one of what are known as “The Big Three” class of Norfolk Southern steam engines leaves. Engine 2156 left Wednesday afternoon for the transportation museum in St. Louis. It had been loaned to the Virginia Museum of Transportation in Roanoke for the past five years to be with engines from the other two classes. “We did work with the museum in St. Louis to try to come to an agreement on possibly keeping it. He said the museum may try to get it back in the future.