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Engine Failure Leaves Amtrak Riders Stranded, Hot

PERRYVILLE, Md. (AP) -- Amtrak says an engine failed on a northbound Northeast Regional train, leaving passengers stranded and without air conditioning for about two hours on a sweltering afternoon.

Amtrak spokeswoman Dannelle Hunter says the train with 450 passengers on board came to a halt north of Perryville around 1:45 p.m. Sunday.

Hunter says it's not known what caused the electric locomotive to fail, but when it stopped running, the air conditioning stopped, too.

She says the passengers were transferred to another train starting around 3 p.m. and were given cold water. The other train started moving again around 3:50 p.m.

The stalled train was heading from Richmond, Va., to Boston.

Three other trains on the Northeast Corridor were delayed as a result of the failure, one for nearly an hour.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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