Step onto the captivating world of Hotrail Productions, where the magic of lights, camera, and trains combines to create an unforgettable experience. I travel all over the country photographing railroad history in the making. My footage dates back to 1995. Whether it's a thrilling action sequence or a heartwarming romantic scene, the railway has long been a favorite setting for filmmakers and TV producers.
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Witness the action at Waterloo, Indiana, as an eastbound Canadian
Pacific train, led by a powerful ES44AC and AC4400CW, zooms pasT the
Amtrak station! The majority of the train is loaded with stunning auto
racks.
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At the Metra station at Elmhurst, Illinois, I caught a rare treat! A westbound NRHS excursion led by UP Heritage unit SD70ACE #1995 and Amtrak P42 #40. Following are an interesting mix of passenger cars including two full-length domes and a Milwaukee Road "skydome" observation car! Filmed on Father's Day 2012
Media gets chance to tour Cascades trainset currently testing in Northeast
Amtrak unveiled its Airo equipment at a Feb. 10, 2026, event at Washington Union Station. Amtrak
WASHINGTON — Amtrak unveiled Airo, its newest fleet addition,
on
Tuesday with a media tour that featured an in-depth look at the interior
of the shiny,
feature-filled trainset that’s slated to begin revenue
service this summer on the Amtrak Cascades’
service in the Pacific Northwest.
Before offering a tour of coach, café car, and business class
equipment, speakers from Amtrak, manufacturer Siemens, and the
Department of Transportation extolled the virtues of the program
slated
to produce 83 trainsets for service on routes less than 750 miles long.
The Airo equipment is intended for 14 routes in the East, as well as the
Cascades that run between Eugene, Ore., and
Vancouver, British Columbia.
Amtrak President Roger Harris called the trainset parked at Union
Station —
wearing the green, brown, and white paint scheme unique to the
Cascades —
“the next step in Amtrak’s transformation,” following the introduction of NextGen Acela less
than five months ago.
“We can all be proud,” said Tobias Bauer, CEO of Siemens North America. “The train is beautiful.”
The interior of a coach-class car on the new Airo trainset. Rip Watson
Amtrak
literature describes Airo
as an “elevated experience” with “spacious
seating” and improved signage. For a reporter,
the tour showed off
bright and carefully designed seating, signage, and amenities intended
as upgrades from Amtrak’s workhorse Amfleet railcars.
There are three different types of Airo consist: seven-car trainsets
with 317-seat and 335-seat configurations, and a nine-car version
seating 479. The 317-seat arrangement includes a baggage compartment.
Cascades service will continue to offer checked baggage, said Michael
Carter, senior director of the Airo program.
In general, the train offers larger windows and seating meant to
improve on Amfleet design
shortcomings, including one that put too many
seats in places where riders had difficulty
looking out the windows. The
gray, ribbed seats feel much like Amfleet, based on a brief
test that
doesn’t offer a clue how they would feel on a long trip. Seat pitch is
37 inches in
coach and 39 inches in business class.
A safety feature of the Airo seats is a grab handle in each headrest along the aisles. Rip Watson
Half of the coach seats face forward. The others face backward. There are four tables in each coach car.
Among changes from Amfleet: 3 inches of extra space between
neighboring coach seats, reflecting customer research that showed more
space was a popular feature that Amfleet doesn’t offer. While Amfleet
cars have footrests (and Amfleet II features leg rests), coach seats in
the new trains seats do not have footrests, although business class
seats retain them.
The drop-down seatback tables have space for a 15-inch laptop, as
well as a slot to hold phones or tablets. Plugs are located under each
seat. Each aisle seat has a grab bar for safety, said Amtrak Principal
Electrical Engineer Kevin Choi. Each seat has a reading light as well,
plugs for multiple devices, and a USB-C outlet, Choi said.
Features in business class include the familiar two-and-one seating
configuration, with 49 seats per car. Choi said there are additional
outlets as well as a coat hanger on the seat and 6 inches of space
between passengers on the two-seat side of the car.
Cup
holders are included on seatbacks between the normal tray tables; those
tables, when folded down, reveal a cellphone holder. Rip Watson
The café car includes a dining space with 21 seats and a total of
four tables — unlike the NextGen Acela design, which has no sit-down
café space. The counter where passengers order from the attendant faces
the business-class end of the train. While passengers looking to order
can line up at either end, there is no real space where those waiting to
order can congregate, other than in the aisle.
The counter is in the center of the café car. Several cabinets are
near the end of the café on the coach side. One bright café car feature
is the ability to change the lights for holidays and special occasions,
Choi said.
Interior lighting is adjustable, with further tests planned on
intensity of ceiling lights, Choi said. Current settings are 80% for
daytime and 25% at night.
Special attention was paid to Americans with Disabilities Act
standards, resulting in spaces that include tables and other
improvements, Choi said. These include aisles wide enough in the café to
accommodate mobility aids such as wheelchairs, allowing passengers to
order from the attendant or access
items in grab-and-go food cases.
Food
service will be at this counter in the café car. Note the electronic
menu display at the end of the counter, and the grab-and-go food
offerings in the background. Rip Watson
Along with the introductory statement and equipment tour, officials
emphasized the made-in-America theme for the trainsets. They are being
built at Siemens plants in Sacramento, Calif., and Lexington, N.C.
Suppliers in 31 states provide parts.
Cars
include baggage racks as well as space above seating areas. Some
trainsets will include compartments for checked baggage. Rip Watson
Details that casual riders might not notice include a small space for
conductors featuring screens for diagnostic information and train
announcements — avoiding the need to have the crew members occupy tables
or seats that passengers could have used. There is a video surveillance
system in each car that activates if the conductor reports an event.
The new equipment is part of a $7.3 billion order, including a
long-term parts and service agreement and related expense, announced in
July 2021 [see “Amtrak, Siemens finalize deal …,”
Trains.com, July 7, 2021]. While the initial sets for the Cascades are
diesel powered, the order also calls for dual-power and battery hybrid
trainsets.
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These tracks were in such rough condition, it’s amazing they were still
in service!
Join HOTRAILProductions for a brief tour of the Maumee & Western
Railroad in Liberty Center, Ohio — a struggling shortline operating on a
former Wabash Railroad route that once connected Fort Wayne, Indiana to
Toledo, Ohio.
After a 10-mile segment from Liberty Center to Maumee was removed, the
line was leased to Indiana Hi-Rail Corp in 1989. Following Hi-Rail’s
bankruptcy in 1996, Maumee & Western assumed operations in 1997.
Notice the worn 80-lb rail and overall deteriorated track structure. The
line now ends on the east side of town, transitioning into the Wabash
Cannonball Trail before the rails resume near Maumee.
A fascinating — and sobering — look at Midwest shortline history.
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In the early morning in Defiance, Ohio, I caught a real treat! An eastbound CSX local approaches on the ex-B&O Willard Sub led by an EMD GP38-2 running long hood forward! He stops before the signal bridge and sets out a gondola in the scrapyard. Then he re-couples the loco, performs the Class 3 Air Test, and throttles up to head for the yard in East Defiance. The diamond he is crossing the Napolean Defiance & Western RR.
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Join us at the Great Midwest Train Show in Wheaton, Illinois, where an
amazing HO display features UP 8444 racing alongside EL and NYC
passenger trains! Located at the Dupage County Fairgrounds, this show
happens every first Sunday of the month. Filmed on November 3, 2024!
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Amtrak
literature describes Airo 
