Was the Blue Streak Merchandise the last Great American Freight Train? “You define a passenger train by its cars, its menu, its route — even its patrons,” says railroad historian Fred W. Frailey in his 1991 book on the Blue Streak. “But the Blue Streak defined the railroads over which it runs — seized […]
Zone & Region: Plains & Texas
Judge dismisses preservation group’s appeal of permits for new BNSF bridge in Bismarck
BISMARCK, N.D. — A state judge in North Dakota has dismissed a permit appeal by the preservation group seeking to block demolition of BNSF Railway’s 140-year-old bridge over the Missouri River. The Bismarck Tribune reports that South Central Judicial District Court Judge Jackson Lofgren on Friday dismissed on technical grounds the appeal by the Friends […]
Weather a factor as UP train derails in North Texas
POWELL, Texas — Severe weather is believed to have played a part in the derailment of a Union Pacific train Wednesday evening in Powell, WFAA-TV reports. About 26 cars of an intermodal train derailed during a period that the Navarro County Office of Emergency Management says included storms with winds up to 80 mph. No […]
Austin, Texas, sets 10-day commuter rail shutdown in July
AUSTIN, Texas — CapMetro commuter rail service will be suspended from Wednesday, July 5, to Friday, July 14, the transit agency has announced, to allow for maintenance along the rail road and work on McKalla Station, a new stop near Q2 Stadium, the home of Austin’s Major League Soccer team. That station is scheduled to […]
Texas budget includes funding for heritage railroad
PALESTINE, Texas — The Texas State Railroad, a heritage railway in East Texas, will receive $10 million under the budget passed last month by the state legislature. The Palestine Herald-Press reports funding will go toward capital projects that could include tie and ballast work, replacement of 100-year-old rails, railcar maintenance, safety improvements, and other projects. […]
Austin adopts new plan for Project Connect light rail
AUSTIN, Texas — Austin’s City Council and the board of directors for its transit agency and the Austin Transit Partnership have formally adopted a plan for Phase I of the city’s revised Project Connect light rail project, a 9.8-mile route to run from 38th Street in the city’s Northwest to Yellow Jacket Lane in the […]
0-6-0 on a name train
Ferrocarril Mexicano 0-6-0 No. 619 departs El Paso Union Station with the three through cars of Nacionales de Mexico train 8, El Presidente Juarez, in June 1950. The train will use Santa Fe tracks to the border bridge. At Juarez, an NdeM road engine will take over and more cars will be added. R. S. […]
Six cars, locomotive of CPKC train derail in North Dakota
BALFOUR, N.D. — Six cars of containers and one locomotive at the end of a CPKC freight train derailed near Balfour, N.D., on Tuesday evening, a railroad representative told KMOT-TV. No injuries were reported. Three of the cars were carrying some items classified as hazardous, including lithium batteries, airbags, and four small drums of methanol, […]
Unexpected repairs briefly sideline Abilene & Smoky Valley 4-6-2
ABILENE, Kan. — Fans who were looking forward to enjoying an extra season of steam-powered trips on the Abilene & Smoky Valley Railroad will have to wait a little longer for those trips to begin. Trains powered by Santa Fe No. 3415, the railroad’s 104-year-old 4-6-2 locomotive, were to have begun operation Memorial Day weekend, […]
Union Pacific announces Big Boy trip to Omaha
Big Boy trip 2023 OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific Big Boy No. 4014 will travel to Omaha, Neb., for 11 days of display during the NCAA College World Series baseball championship tournament, the railroad announced today. The locomotive and its train of heritage passenger cars will depart Cheyenne, Wyo., on the “Home Run Express Tour,” […]
Texas court again rules against UP’s effort to close car shop
PALESTINE, Texas — A Texas judge has ruled for the city of Palestine and Anderson County and against Union Pacific in the railroad’s efforts to close a car repair shop in the city, continuing an ongoing legal battle underway on two levels. The Palestine Herald-Press reports that in a May 15 ruling, state District […]
New BNSF intermodal service to link Port Houston with Dallas/Fort Worth and Denver
FORT WORTH, Texas — BNSF Railway will add service from the port of Houston to Alliance, Texas, and Denver next month. “As part of our continued commitment to adjusting to our customers’ and the marketplace’s needs to enable growth and the efficient movement of shipments, BNSF is expanding our network of lane offerings with new […]