CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Union Pacific’s Big Boy is another step closer to running this year after it passed a Federally required hydrostatic test. Union Pacific posted a video on YouTube Wednesday showing workers knocking on the locomotive with hammers while pressurized water filled the boiler. One scene shows a pressure gauge at 300 pounds per […]
Section: News Wire
Coal train rear-ends another in remote Wyoming canyon NEWSWIRE

WENDOVER, Wyo. – Two BNSF Railway coal trains derailed in a remote Wyoming canyon on Monday, injuring two people and spilling fuel into a nearby river. The Star Tribune reports that a loaded coal train rear ended another train north of Wendover. Three locomotives and four cars derailed as a result of the incident. The […]
‘Drunk, shirtless’ man arrested after boarding ‘Starlight,’ trying to operate locomotive

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A drunk, shirtless man was arrested Monday after climbing aboard a moving Amtrak train and attempting to operate the second locomotive in the consist, sounding the horn repeatedly. The Sacramento Bee reports Dylan Thomas Baldini, 26, of McCloud, Calif., was arrested after boarding the Coast Starlight in Mount Shasta, Calif., about 1:18 […]
European Union blocks Siemens-Alstom deal NEWSWIRE

Siemens Velaro ICE (foreground) and Alstom TGV trainsets await action at Paris Est station. A merger of the two companies has been stopped by European regulators. Keith Fender BRUSSELS — The European Union’s central administration, the EU Commission, has announced it will not permit the proposed Siemens-Alstom merger, which originally had been targeted to be complete […]
Historic Southern E8 returns to Southeastern Railway Museum NEWSWIRE

Southern E8 No. 6901 as it appears in Duluth, Ga., after a mechanical restoration. Todd DeFeo DULUTH, Ga. — A vintage Southern Railway locomotive has returned to the Southeastern Railway Museum in Duluth, Ga., after nearly four years of restoration work. Southern Railway No. 6901, an E8a diesel passenger locomotive, routinely powered Crescent passenger train […]
MBTA commuter lines overwhelmed by Super Bowl celebration crowds NEWSWIRE

BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s commuter-rail network was swamped by record ridership Tuesday as fans attended the New England Patriots’ Super Bowl victory parade — despite advance planning that included more than two dozen extra trains. The Boston Globe reports that MBTA authorities said ridership was about double the usual 127,000 trips. “We […]
Site of fatal British Columbia derailment has challenged CP for more than a century NEWSWIRE

CP maintenance workers remove ice from the walls of a Spiral Tunnel to prevent damage to passing trains. Canadian Pacific FIELD, British Columbia – This week’s fatal derailment in British Columbia that took the lives of three railroaders is not the first time tragedy has struck Canadian Pacific’s rugged Laggan Subdivision. Kicking Horse Pass, home […]
CP CEO on fatal wreck: ‘This is a tragedy’ NEWSWIRE

FIELD, British Columbia — Canadian Pacific president and CEO Keith Creel called this week’s fatal derailment in British Columbia a “tragedy” and has vowed to figure out what caused a train to derail while descending Kicking Horse Pass. Three railroaders were killed at about 1 a.m. Monday when a westbound grain train derailed between the […]
Former Conrail locomotives move to third acts in Estonia, Ukraine NEWSWIRE

BEFORE EVR Cargo No. 1566 at the Tapa shops in June 2011. It is a former Conrail C30-7A No. 6577. Keith Fender Locomotive No. 1564 rebuilt as Operail C30-M (Ex-Conrail No. 6565) seen at the Tapa shops in October 2018. Operail TALLIN, Estonia — Former Conrail GE C30-7A locomotives are being given a radical rebuild […]
FRA says it has no part in restoring service on shut-down NJ Transit lines NEWSWIRE

ATLANTIC CITY — While NJ Transit has said a need for federal approval is one reason it has not restored service on its Atlantic City line and other suspended services, a Federal Railroad Administration spokesman said the FRA has no role in reopening those lines. FRA spokesman Warren Flateau told NJ.com that “NJ Transit may, […]
Investigators: CP grain train ‘started to move on its own’
CALGARY – Investigators with the Transportation Safety Board of Canada say the Canadian Pacific grain train that derailed in British Columbia on Monday, killing three railroaders, “started to move on its own” following a crew change. On Tuesday morning, TSB investigators held a press conference to update the media on their inquiry into this week’s […]
Metra Electric to remain on modified schedule through Friday NEWSWIRE

Metra’s Electric Line will remain on a modified schedule through Friday as the commuter railroad continues to repair damage caused by a freight-train derailment. TRAINS: David Lassen CHICAGO — Continuing work to repair damage caused by a Canadian National freight-train derailment has led Metra to announce its Electric Line will remain on a modified schedule […]