White Pass & Yukon operating employees vote to strike

WhitePass_Diesels_Johnston

SKAGWAY, Alaska — Operating personnel on the White Pass & Yukon Route have voted to authorize a strike, according to their union’s website. Members of International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers-Transportation Division (SMART-TD) Local 1626 authorized the strike in voting last week. The union says it has been negotiating with the […]

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Sound Transit advances planning for light rail to Everett

Map of planned light rail line between Lynnwood and Everett, Wash.

SEATTLE — Sound Transit has advanced the process of designing a light rail line that would extend to Everett, Wash., with the agency’s board voting Thursday on potential station sites for the 16-mile extension north from the line to Lynnwood, Wash., that is now under construction. The Seattle Times reports plans approved Thursday would not […]

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Amtrak, BNSF seek closure of Seattle street for yard expansion

Aerial view of street running through railroad yard

SEATTLE — Amtrak and BNSF Railway are asking the city of Seattle to close a section of a street near the Seattle Mariners’ ballpark in the city’s Sodo neighborhood to expand the passenger carrier’s maintenance facility and eliminate a busy grade crossing. The Seattle Times reports the proposal would close South Holgate Street, which splits […]

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Union, West Coast ports announce new labor deal

Two trains work with container lifts for ships in distance

SAN FRANCISCO — The Pacific Maritime Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union have reached a tentative labor agreement covering 29 West Coast ports, ending more than a year of negotiations in a dispute that had seen work stoppages at major ports of entry. The settlement has major implications for the rail industry given the […]

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An engineer’s life: Mad Dog and the volcano

An image showing a young man in a plade shirt and red suspenders standing in front of a green diesel locomotive

The story of Mad Dog and the volcano starts on March 20, 1980. At 3:47 p.m. on that day, Mount St. Helens rumbled to life with an earthquake measuring 4.1 on the Richter scale. It was mostly unnoticed. Earthquakes often occur in Washington State, most are light enough not to be felt. Within a week […]

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