Category: Top News

CAROL STREAM, IL –  The Great Train Expo has a new home.

Train Show, Inc., announced today that it has acquired the assets of Great Train Expo (GTE), the traveling model railroad show that visits about a dozen U.S. cities each year annually.  Train Show Inc. is the corporate parent of Greenberg’s Train and Toy Show, Great Midwest Train Show and World’s Greatest Hobby on Tour.

GTE features operating layouts, vendor sales, exhibits, demonstrations and workshops, and has been a regular in the Midwest and Southwest. Train Show Inc. will be sponsoring shows in many of the venues formerly used by the organization.

Train Show, Inc., President Randy Bachmann said the acquisition solidifies the company’s position as the largest train show promoter in the country and one of the largest consumer show promotion companies.

“This is a natural expansion of our business,” he said in a statement. “This purchase allows us to sponsor shows from coast to coast and provides the opportunity to improve all our shows.”

As part of the deal, former GTE president Bill Grove will be joining the Train Show Inc. management team under Bachmann’s direction. Grove has been involved in all aspects of train show management for the past 25 years, Bachmann said. He held positions at the Great American Train Show and Great Midwest Train.

At the same time, the move reunites Bachmann and Grove.

“I am thrilled to bring such a skilled and experienced person to my leadership team,” Bachmann said. “Bill has many strengths particularly in the areas of contract negotiations and logistics. I have known Bill for over 30 years and recruited him to join the Great American Train Show staff when I was employed there. He along with Frank Hicks and Gale Cousins will continue our tradition of providing the highest quality consumer events.”

GTE will release more information about the acquisition of GTE in the coming weeks, Bachmann said. A new show schedule, improvements to the shows for both exhibitors and attendees and a new branding campaign for all of its train show promotions will be announced.

GTE currently has three shows on its 2014 schedule: July 26-27 in Belleville, IL; Aug. 2-3 in Orlando, FL; and Aug. 9-10 in Tampa, FL.

Grapevine Vintage Railroad’s vintage locomotive, “Puffy”, will make its official return to the rails on Oct. 18 for the first of a series of short excursion runs. – Cowcatcher Magazine

GRAPEVINE, TX – The Grapevine Vintage Railroad announced today that “Puffy” will ride again.

The tourist railroad’s 117-year-old steam engine No. 2248, affectionately known as “Puffy,” will return for a series of short excursions beginning Oct. 18 at 7 p.m. The locomotive, a former Southern Pacific 4-6-0, has undergone extensive repairs since being sidelined in December 2010.

Puffy will head short excursion trains each Friday evening until Thanksgiving, when the North Pole Express begins holiday runs. GVR’s GP7 diesel locomotive will assist.

GVR crews have been working in earnest for several months to return Puffy to the road. A piston, rings and cylinder cap were machined to fix damage during a run to Hodge Yard in Fort Worth almost three years ago. At the time, the failure was the second in two years that forced the locomotive out of service.

In September, Puffy could be seen making short test runs from the shop in Grapevine.

Puffy, built in 1896 by Cooke Locomotive Works in Paterson, NJ, was originally purchased by the SP and used in California for passenger and freight service. In 1976, the Texas State Railroad purchased Puffy to help launch the Texas State Railroad Excursion. Private collector William S. Davis later bought No. 2248 from TSR and eventually launched the Fort Worth & Western Railroad’s local Tarantula run. She made her first trek to Grapevine in 1993 and has resided there ever since.

Tickets for the Friday excursions can be purchased through the Grapevine Convention & Visitors Bureau by calling (817) 410-3185.

InterMountain Railway Co., a top producer in model railroad cars and locomotives, sustained only “minimal” damage to its corporate facility from floods that have ravaged Colorado in recent days, the company announced Tuesday.

Executive Vice President and CFO Frank Angstead said floods damaged only the first floor of InterMountain’s three-story Longmont, CO, facility. Several homes and businesses in the city were damaged or destroyed by flooding that has affected 17 counties in Northern Colorado.

On Wednesday, the foothills of central Colorado’s front range received 6-10 inches of rain in 12 hours. Water flowed eastward toward Longmont and other communities on the east side of the mountains. By midday Thursday the rivers and streams in the area had breached their banks and created a Federal disaster area. Waters crested in Longmont on Thursday night but additional rain continued to flood the area through Saturday.

After waters had receded on Monday, InterMountain officials were able to access the damage of the 11,500-square-foot facility. Angstead said the 8,500 square feet of space on the second and third levels was not compromised. About a foot of water, however, penetrated the lower level, which houses the company’s machine shop and several offices. InterMountain’s warehouse and sales and administration departments were not affected.

Despite the damage, the company and employees are back to work.

“Inundation of the flood waters will cause us a minor inconvenience as we repair the damage but will not materially affect our operation in any way,” Angstead said in a written statement. “We have had a couple of days of sketchy phone service, our fax machine was down for three days, and shipping was held up for two business days. Most of our employees missed two and a half days of work. Other than that it has been business as usual.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to those who have suffered these devastating losses.”

Angstead offered thanks to those who have expressed concern over the company’s situation in recent days.

“We appreciate our many friends, customers, and associates across the world,” he said. “These relationships make it all worthwhile.”

The demand for public transportation rose last year as Americans took 10.5 billion trips, the second highest ridership since 1957, and 154 million more trips than the previous year, according to a report released today by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA). Light rail, heavy rail and commuter rail ridership each increased as U.S. public transportation recorded more than 10 billion trips for the seventh straight year.

Ridership in 2012 was the second highest since 1957.

“Every mode of public transportation showed an increase in ridership,” APTA President and CEO Michael Melaniphy said. “Public transit ridership grew in all areas of the country – north, south, east, and west – in small, medium and large communities, with at least 16 public transit systems reporting record ridership.”

“Considering the devastating impact of Hurricane Sandy on some of the nation’s largest systems, this record level of ridership is truly significant,” said Melaniphy.

According to APTA, 74 million trips were lost when public transit systems from Washington, D.C. to Boston were shut down due to Hurricane Sandy and the blizzard that followed the next week.

Melaniphy said higher ridership can be attributed to volatile gas prices and lower unemployment, as well as a change in attitude regarding travel.

“There is a sea change going on in the way that people look at transportation,” he said. “Americans want travel choices; they want to be able to choose the best travel option for their lives. This is an exciting time for the public transportation industry as more and more Americans support it and want it.”

Melaniphy also pointed out that more Americans are supporting public transportation investment, as evidenced by the large number of transit-oriented ballot initiatives that passed in 2012.

“Last year 49 out of 62 transit-oriented state and local ballot initiatives passed,” said Melaniphy. “That means there was a nearly 80 percent passage rate. This extremely high rate of success demonstrates how important public transportation is to people and to communities.”

Rail ridership spiked upward in several cities. Memphis, TN, Dallas, Los Angeles, Cleveland, San Francisco, Austin, Salt Lake City and Lewisville, TX, were top performers.

Light rail (modern streetcars, trolleys, and heritage trolleys) ridership increased 4.5 percent with 21 out of 28 transit systems reporting increases. A highlight was the new rail in Hampton, VA, which posted a 154 percent incease since opening in August 2011.

Memphis (28.4percent); Dallas (20.8 percent); Los Angeles (18.5 percent); Salt Lake City (14.7 percent); Pittsburgh, PA (14.7 percent); and Seattle, WA – Sound Transit (10.7 percent) each posted double-digit increases. Houston’s METRORail (5.8 percent) was among four cities that posted more than a 5 percent increase.

Heavy rail (subways and elevated trains) ridership increased by 1.4 percent as 10 out of 15 transit systems reported increases. Cleveland led the way with a 9.7 percent increase, followed by San Francisco (7.8 percent); Miami, FL (5.2 percent); Chicago (4.3 percent); and Los Angeles (3.7 percent).

Nationally, commuter rail ridership increased by 0.5 percent in 2012 as 18 out of 28 transit systems reported increases. With a new rail line extension that opened in June 2011, ridership on the Denton A-train  in Lewisville, TX, increased 97.3 percent. The A-train also serves Denton and Carrollton. Elsewhere, Austin, TX (26.8 percent); Salt Lake City (14.7 percent); Stockton, CA (14 percent); San Carlos, CA (13 percent); and Seattle (10.5 percent) each experienced double-digit ridership increases.

St. Louis marked a 7.1 percent increase in bus ridership, the largest in the country.