Amtrak launched operations in 1971. At first the locomotive used coaches and motive power it acquired from various railroads that were leaving the passenger railroad business to government-created Amtrak.
The Lookout Mountain Incline Railway is one of the most popular attractions in Chattanooga. But, the railroad is the last reminder of a once vibrant railroad scene that existed on Lookout Mountain.
By the late 1970s, railroad were not in a state of good repair. The issue over railroad safety and repair became an issue after a June 1977 Conrail derailment in Metuchen, N.J. In that wreck, 17 cars derailed and took the busy Northeast Corridor out of commission.
Occupying the former Naval Air Station Richmond (NASR), the Gold Coast Railroad Museum today delights railfans with its collection of locomotives, dozens of rail cars and railroad artifacts.
The United States has yet to fully embrace passenger rail as a way to curb traffic despite rail’s success in other countries, an Amtrak official told a U.S. Senate subcommittee this week.