ISHPEMING, Mich. — Clint Jones, president of the family-owned Mineral Range Railroad based in Ishpeming, died of health complications at Marquette General Hospital in Marquette, Mich., on April 19, 2024. He was 79. Son Chris Jones told Trains News Wire in a phone interview that he and his brother Pete will continue business as usual […]
Magazine: Trains Magazine
Brightline West clearly a different challenge than Florida’s project
LAS VEGAS — The name is the same (mostly). The signature color yellow is still very much in evidence. And clearly, most of the same people are deeply involved in both projects. But it’s important to remember that Brightline West, which held its long-awaited groundbreaking on Monday, is not Brightline. Building an electrified, 200-mph passenger […]
‘Be the Engineer’ for a day: An unforgettable ride
The words “Be the Engineer!” drew my attention to a Nevada Northern Railway advertisement in Trains Magazine. I’m a veteran train museum patron. I’ve been to many, from Los Angeles to Scranton, and most are a lot more accessible than Ely, Nev. Ely is 3 hours and 42 minutes north of Las Vegas, a lonely […]
Amtrak Inspector General finds customer communication deficiencies
WASHINGTON — An audit report released by Amtrak’s Office of Inspector General on Monday suggests the company can upgrade its communications with patrons “to improve the customer experience,” but possible steps to do so onboard trains were beyond the scope of the inquiry. The report, “Opportunities exist to better use data to improve the customer […]
Fiery CPKC train rolls through London, Ontario
The Canadian Transportation Safety Board is investigating a bizarre fire aboard a Canadian Pacific Kansas City Railway freight train in a London, Ontario residential neighborhood around 10:49 p.m., April 21, according to reports from numerous news agencies and the London Fire Department. Witnesses reported seeing the CPKC train moving through the city as flames shot […]
Brightline West groundbreaking hailed as ‘start of high-speed rail industry in U.S.’
LAS VEGAS, Nev. — The moment for Brightline West has arrived. But to Brightline founder Wes Edens — as well as Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and others — a groundbreaking ceremony today on a lot a short distance south of the Las Vegas Strip marked more than just the official start of construction on the […]
Class I railroads tout their green cred in honor of Earth Day
CSX today announced the winners of its third annual CSX Customer Environmental Excellence Awards, which salute shippers who convert a portion of their freight from truck to rail. “Sustainability is a shared priority between CSX and our customers. Helping them reduce emissions by converting from trucks to rail is an important part of our strategy,” […]
BNSF states it was unaware of asbestos contamination in Montana town
Helena, Mont. — BNSF Railway attorneys told a Montana jury Friday that the railroad should not be held liable for the lung cancer deaths of two former residents of an asbestos-contaminated Libby, Mont., one of the deadliest sites in the federal Superfund pollution program, according to an Associated Press story. BNSF attorney Chad Knight said […]
Guardian Award honors Union Pacific dispatchers
Omaha, Neb. — Recognizing the vital role played by its train dispatchers when it comes to safe operations, the Union Pacific Railroad has presented its Guardian Award to nearly 300 dispatchers for their work in 2023. The honored dispatchers work in three locations – Omaha, Neb., San Bernardino, Calif., and Spring, Texas. UP train dispatchers, […]
Colebrookdale Railroad’s rebirth
The Colebrookdale Railroad’s rebirth as a successful tourist railroad breathes new life into a former Reading Company branch in southeastern Pennsylvania. The revival was sparked by a determined man named Nathaniel Guest and a supportive community. Guest, a Pottstown native, learned the railroad was going to be officially abandoned. Believing the line’s history made it […]
Norfolk Southern questions operational data behind activist investor plan
Norfolk Southern says that activist investor Ancora Holdings’ detailed plan for the railroad, released last week in a 193-page presentation, contains misleading operational data and vastly overstated cost-savings projections. Ancora says its proposed management team would reduce costs by $800 million through a full-blown implementation of the low-cost Precision Scheduled Railroading operating model at NS. […]
Five mind-blowing facts — Walt Disney’s railroads
Walt Disney’s railroads It is no secret that Walt Disney loved trains. His passion for railroads runs to the time of his youth and can still be seen throughout today’s Disney empire. For Walt, as you will see, railroading was an early job — one that made him little money — but one that put […]