Rail Cars

The board of Washington's Metro system is expected to vote Thursday on a staff recommendation for the purchase of a new generation of rail cars that is expected to push its oldest cars into retirement. Under the $2 billion program, Metro plans to eventually buy 648 new rail cars and rebuild 100 others. The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority does not have the money to finance the entire purchase now but does have the funding to buy 64 cars to launch service on its planned Silver Line to Dulles International Airport, said Metro spokesman Steven Taubenkibel.

Buyers carted away the EnterTRAINment Line piece by piece yesterday, as everything from furniture to dinnerware and crock pots to rail cars became the bargain-rate spoils of a court-ordered auction of the bankrupt company's assets.The Union Bridge excursion line closed in May, leaving more than 100 creditors and owing more than $300,000 in amusement taxes and interest dating to 1989.Despite yesterday's auction, some feel a new passenger entertainment train service could rise from the EnterTRAINment Line's ashes in Carroll County.

Buyers carted away the EnterTRAINment Line piece by piece yesterday, as everything from furniture to dinnerware and crock pots to rail cars became the bargain-rate spoils of a court-ordered auction of the bankrupt company's assets.The Union Bridge excursion line closed in May, leaving more than 100 creditors and owing more than $300,000 in amusement taxes and interest dating to 1989.Despite yesterday's auction, some feel a new passenger entertainment train service could rise from the EnterTRAINment Line's ashes in Carroll County.

Strasburg Rail Road Easter Bunny Train Where:: Strasburg Rail Road, Lancaster, Pa. When:: April 10-12. Train departs on the hour 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Friday and April 12; and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday. What:: Ride a coal-burning steam train on a springtime trip through scenic farmland with Peter Cottontail as the conductor. How much: : Adults and children 12 and older, $15-$22; children ages 3-11, $9-$11. Children younger than 3 are free. A dining car is available. Tickets may be limited, so call before you go. What's nearby:: Across the street, the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania features a collection of more than 100 locomotives and rail cars on display.

Transit officials breathed a sigh of relief when Mass Transit Administration light rail cars moved gingerly across a rain-slicked elevated trestle's twisting curve yesterday in a crucial test of a new spur connecting the trolley with Baltimore's Pennsylvania Station.Motormen tested cars all day down a one-third-mile section of track that spans the Jones Falls Expressway, descends into the Jones Falls Valley and runs under the Maryland Avenue bridge before coming to a stop at Penn Station's Platform One."

The main export coal terminal in the port of Baltimore is going through a boom and a bust simultaneously: Coal shipments are double last year's, but the terminal's machinery has broken down under the load, creating a backup of waiting coal ships and rail cars.In July and August, 38 ships loaded coal for export in Baltimore, more than double the number in the port during the same two months last year. But in August, the coal-dumping machine broke down at the coal terminal operated by Consolidation Coal Sales Co. The machinery was fixed a few days later but broke down again this week.

Some baseball fans might be shut out when Baltimore's new light-rail line opens for limited service to Oriole home games, beginning with Friday's exhibition at Camden Yards.State transportation officials say they've had so many inquiries about the Central Light Rail Line from Oriole fans that they fear the system won't be able to handle Friday's crush. As a result, they're warning people not to take light rail to games at first, and they're keeping buses on standby to make sure fans aren't stranded.

Public transportation can and should be a great thing in any city; it just takes a little marketing, a little money and a sincere interest and commitment to customer service. I have been using the Maryland Transit Administration's light rail system for my daily commute for three years. There are many positive aspects to public transport: less gas usage, less air pollution, less congestion on the highways, less road rage, camaraderie with other riders and a generally peaceful, efficient way back to the suburbs.

A museum on wheels has brought four days of fine art to Taneytown, on a stretch of railway that normally runs raw stone and cement through this city of 5,000.Artrain opened yesterday and will stay through Sunday before rolling on to Bethlehem, Pa. While it is in Taneytown, about 3,500 people are expected to walk through converted rail cars that hold about 60 artworks by major U.S. artists, such as an original silk-screen by Andy Warhol, and paintings by Norman Rockwell and James Browning Wyeth.