Catherine Taylor Bullock Museum AUSTIN, Texas — Catherine Taylor, director of the Bullock Texas State History Museum and a longtime leader at the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento, has died after a brief illness. A native of Texas, Taylor lived in California for most of her life. She earned a BA in history at […]
Jim McLeod, Canadian National’s chief engineer, structures, design & construction, speaks at the NRC conference in Los Angeles on Friday. TRAINS: David Lassen LOS ANGELES — When it comes to capital spending, Canadian National has left behind “steady as we go” and is moving into a cycle of “the gangbuster variety.” That’s the assessment of […]
Huntsville, Ala. Google Maps NORFOLK, Va. — Norfolk Southern, already the largest rail shipper of auto products in North America, will add another assembly plant to its network when a new Toyota and Mazda factory opens in Alabama in 2021. The plant will be built in Huntsville, Ala., Toyota and Mazda officials announced on Jan. […]
NEW YORK CITY — The best ticket to cure cabin fever could be a train ride from a nearby station or it may be the rated PG-13 movie “The Commuter.” The Commuter stars Liam Neeson as — a rail commuter — ostensibly on NY Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Hudson Line, with a few outside scenes to […]
Tourist railroad lines threatened by conversion to rail-trails, as of July 2016. TRAINS Illustration: Rick Johnson KINGSTON, N.Y. — A contractor has begun removing track along the Ashokan Reservoir, effectively ending a years-long effort by a tourist railroad to access the scenic area. A recreational trail will replace the track. In November, the Ulster County […]
Kevin Hicks, Union Pacific’s associate vice president, engineering-design, reviews 2017 and announces UP’s capital spending plans for 2018 at the NRC conference in Los Angeles. TRAINS: David Lassen LOS ANGELES — A Union Pacific leader says the railroad will likely keep its capital spending right around $3 billion this year — the same as for […]
Canadian National and Canadian Pacific are likely to see their operating ratios rise this year — but for a reason that has nothing to do with the railways’ industry-leading efficiency. An accounting rules change that went into effect on Jan. 1 will disproportionately affect CN and CP. As a result, CN’s operating ratio is expected […]
Wahpeton, N.D. Google Maps WAHPETON, N.D. — Red River Valley & Western Railroad is pleased to announce that effective Jan. 1, 2018, it will be led by the new executive leadership team of Victor Meyers as president and Mark Wegner as CEO. Meyers most recently served as vice president of operations of the Twin Cities […]
Metra F40PH Nos. 102 and 107 appear at Elmwood Park, Ill. Metra officials look to replace or re-manufacture much of the railroad’s aging motive power fleet. TRAINS: David Lassen CHICAGO — Metra, Chicago’s commuter rail agency, plans to order 12 new or 15 re-manufactured locomotives in 2018, and may order dozens more if additional funding […]
A late December crash removed two of Boston’s remaining PCC cars from service. Justin Franz BOSTON — A collision between two Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority streetcars last week means the agency is down to just five operating PCCs on the Ashmont–Mattapan High Speed Line. The two PCCs that were damaged in the collision near the […]
An NS 21st Century Steam excursion adds to the mileage totals for riders at Williamstown, Ky., in May 2014. Two photos, Robert S. McGonigal Railroads are all about places – where the rails go to transport freight and passengers. In the 1920s, the “Index of Railroad Stations” at the back of each edition of The […]
A Canadian National train heads north through Wisconsin over a bridge in 2015. Regardless of the location or railroad, bridges pose problems for track. Steve Sweeney Track can sag, bounce, and shift a bit, within reason. It flexes under the weight of heavy freight trains, but bridge ends don’t. And that’s a problem. When most […]
