WASHINGTON — Today Amtrak announced the elimination of the position of chief operating officer, saying in an internal advisory to employees that current COO Bill Crosbie “will be leaving Amtrak” today, Oct. 22. The directive added that operating vice presidents previously reporting to Crosbie would now report to president Joseph Boardman. “Bill has made important […]
Section: News Wire
Illinois city celebrates station upgrades NEWSWIRE
MATTOON, Ill. – A four-year, $3 million project to stabilize and then improve the three-story former railroad office building and passenger station in Mattoon was celebrated last week by Amtrak and Illinois DOT. Six daily Amtrak trains use the station, which is sited about 130 miles northeast of St. Louis. The Coles County Historical Society […]
Santa Fe Southern purchased by Australian high-tech company NEWSWIRE
Santa Fe Southern GP16 93 pauses at the Santa Fe, N.M., station. The railroad has two EMD road-switchers and several vintage railroad cars for its excursions to Lamy. Freight traffic has been limited to inbound loads of lumber, a beer distributor, and pipe for a natural gas line. David Lustig SANTA FE, N.M. – STI-Global, […]
South African steam locomotives scrapped following damage by thieves NEWSWIRE
Guards armed with shotguns keep scrap thieves at bay while locomotives are cut-up at an outdoor railroad museum near Johannesburg, South Africa Paul Ash The remains of once proud South African steam locomotives being recycled for scrap at an outdoor railroad museum near Johannesburg, South Africa. Paul Ash A priceless collection of steam locomotives has […]
Arizona museum gets electric locomotive delivery by truck NEWSWIRE
Black Mesa & Lake Powell E60 electric locomotive No. 6001 negotiates a turn in the road at Tuba City, Ariz. Arizona State Railroad Museum WILLIAMS, Ariz. — The Arizona State Railroad Museum has taken delivery of Black Mesa & Lake Powell E60C electric locomotive No. 6001. The locomotive arrived from the isolated, electrified coal-hauler via […]
Front-line news: Virginia & Truckee Railway derailment caught on camera NEWSWIRE
Virginia & Truckee 2-8-0 No. 29 approaches State Route 342 at Gold Hill, Nev., on Aug. 8, 2010. Moments later it derails. See the PDF slide show for the non-stop action! Diane McCombs Virginia & Truckee’s afternoon train from Eastgate to Virginia City, Nev., derailed and blocked the highway at Gold Hill, Nev., on Aug. […]
American Railway Explorer plan is scrapped NEWSWIRE
DENVER – The proposed American Railway Explorer luxury passenger train is being mothballed just three months after its announcement, the Denver Post has reported. Officials with Xanterra Parks and Resorts, the train’s owner, yesterday told contractors working on equipment refurbishment to cease work. Xanterra, one of billionaire Phil Anschutz’s holdings, couldn’t be reached for comment. […]
Burlington Northern icon Robert W. Downing dies NEWSWIRE
Robert W. Downing Burlington Northern SPOKANE, Wash. – Robert W. Downing, a railroad legend who helped shape today’s BNSF Railway during a career with its predecessor roads, died yesterday following surgery. He was 96 years old. Downing’s railroad career began with Pennsylvania Railroad during the Great Depression. When PRR laid him off, he took a […]
Bill Purdie, Southern’s steam master, dies NEWSWIRE
Southern Railway’s master mechanic-steam occupies the engineer’s seat of Tennessee Valley 630 during a 1980s excursion. Jim Wrinn ATLANTA – Bill Purdie, the beloved master mechanic for Southern Railway’s extensive steam locomotive excursions in the 1960s and 1970s, died yesterday evening. He was 95. Purdie joined Southern Railway as a helper in 1936 and progressed […]
Inside Alstom’s high speed train factory NEWSWIRE
The seldom-seen end of a mid-train articulated TGV car. Keith Fender New TGV disc brakes. Keith Fender TGV Duplex cars emerge. Keith Fender Monitoring systems are tucked into the sides of some TGV Duplex cars beneath upper-level windows. Keith Fender TGV cars are moved around the plant on temporary trucks. It takes three weeks to […]
20th Century Fox shoots McCloud River No. 18 in action NEWSWIRE
FILLMORE, Calif. — McCloud River Railroad 2-8-2 No. 18 pulled a circus train yesterday for 20th Century Fox cameras filming the movie “Water For Elephants.” The shoot, conducted on tourist line Fillmore & Western, included a train consist of wood boxcars and flatcars carrying circus wagons. No. 18 arrived May 13 from its home on […]
Lynn Nystrom, veteran of Union Pacific’s steam program, dies NEWSWIRE
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Lynn Nystrom, a fireman and engineer with Union Pacific’s steam program, died last week at a Cheyenne hospital. He was 69. Nystrom, a Vietnam veteran, worked in law enforcement before joining the Rock Island as a special agent in 1968. He joined UP as a switchman/brakeman in 1989. Nystrom’s family has requested […]
