PIERRE, S.D. — South Dakota’s transportation secretary has injected a note of reality into discussion of possible Amtrak service in the state. That discussion gained life in February with the inclusion of two routes serving South Dakota among the 15 in a Federal Railroad Administration report on its ongoing Amtrak Daily Long-Distance Service Study [see […]
ABILENE, Kan. — Kansas now has an official state heritage railroad and a state steam locomotive. House Bill 2481, which bestows the railroad honor on the Abilene & Smoky Valley Railroad and the locomotive distinction on the railroad’s Santa Fe Pacific No. 3415, was one of seven bills signed into law on Thursday, April 18, […]
The Union Pacific main through Nebraska is one of the best train-watching spots in America, with a plethora of trains operating over double track and sometimes triple track mainline. U.S. Route 30 closely parallels the railroad, making this stretch of the Union Pacific a great place to see trains. Let’s follow the route from Cheyenne, […]
CHAPPELL, Neb. — Approximately 30 cars of a Union Pacific intermodal train derailed Sunday in the town of Chappell, leading to the short-term evacuation of a few residents as a precautionary measure and closing U.S. Route 30 for about two hours. KNOP-TV reports the incident was reported about 5:30 p.m., and that an evacuation of […]
WYANDOTTE, Okla. — An estimated 20 cars of a BNSF Railway train derailed Saturday (April 13) in Wyandotte, blocking the railroad’s main line on the Cherokee Subdivision, the route between Springfield, Mo., and Tulsa, Okla. KOAM-TV reports the derailment occurred about 7:40 p.m. and blocks Main Street and East 153rd Road in Wyandotte, a community […]
INOLA, Okla. — The Port of Inola debuted its new rail line, the 4.4-mile Verdigris Southern Railroad, this week, delivering a shipment of paper products to the port facility of tissue paper manufacturer Sofidel. KJRH-TV reports the $20 million project involved rebuilding existing infrastructure at the port, a 2,500-acre industrial park formerly belonging to the […]
DAVENPORT, Okla. — Twenty-two cars of a 90-car Stillwater Central Railroad train derailed Saturday afternoon near the town of Davenport, KOCO-TV reports. The derailment was reported shortly after 3 p.m. No injuries were reported, according to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, and no hazardous materials were involved; the train was transporting rock. Some fuel was […]
WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board today (March 29) announced it intended to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the 1.3-mile rail line proposed as part of the Puerto Verde Global Trade Bridge project to connect Eagle Pass, Texas, and Piedras Negras, Mexico. Green Eagle Railroad, a new short line, seeks to build a secure […]
CALGARY, Alberta — CPKC has released a more detailed schedule of dates, display times, and locations for its Final Spike Steam Tour, the three-nation trip featuring CP 4-6-4 No. 2816 to mark the first year of the merger of Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern. The trip begins April 24 in Calgary with a display […]
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Freight rail company Cathcart Rail is set for a two-phase expansion, valued at more than $10 million, of its railcar repair facility, the Economic Development Corp. of Kansas City, Mo., has announced. Plans call for Cathcart to renovate its and expand its existing facility at 7750 Wilson Ave., near the Missouri […]
WICHITA, Kan. — Prints of a painting by renowned railroad artist John Winfield of Fort Worth, Texas, are now being offered by Wichita’s Great Plains Transportation Museum to help fund cosmetic restoration of Santa Fe FP45 No. 93, subject of the painting. Winfield’s work, “Warbonnet Renaissance,” shows the locomotive pulling a freight train through the […]
PALESTINE, Texas — Efforts by the city of Palestine and Anderson County, Texas, to require Union Pacific to maintain jobs at its Palestine car shop have suffered another setback, with a Texas appeals court declaring a 1954 agreement between the city and UP predecessor Missouri Pacific is unenforceable. The Palestine Herald-Press reports the 12th Court […]
