CHICAGO — The Chicago-Seattle/Portland, Ore., Empire Builder is finally on the road to recovery after incurring significant challenges during the past week following a late October High Plains snowstorm and related issues. A series of delays throughout the week culminated in eastbound train No. 8 departing Seattle more than 5 hours late on Saturday, Oct. […]
Zone & Region: Mountain West
Colorado to fund study of Denver-Craig passenger service
DENVER — The Colorado Department of Transportation has announced a $5 million study to consider reviving Denver-Steamboat Springs-Craig passenger rail service, as well as coordinated and connecting bus service. Passenger service on the 191-mile Denver-Craig route ended in April 1968 with discontinuance of the Denver & Rio Grande Western’s Yampa Valley Mail, which became the […]
Southbound lanes of I-25 reopen in Colorado after derailment
PUEBLO, Colo. — Southbound lanes of Interstate 25 reopened this afternoon (Wednesday, Oct. 18) at the site of Sunday’s derailment and fatal bridge collapse involving a BNSF Railway coal train, the Colorado State Patrol reported on social media. Northbound lanes are expected to reopen Thursday Meanwhile, BNSF says the rail line at the site of […]
Preliminary NTSB findings indicate broken rail caused coal-train derailment near Pueblo
PUEBLO, Colo. — A broken rail is believed to have caused the derailment of a BNSF coal train near Pueblo on Sunday that led to the death of a truck driver on Interstate 25, according to preliminary findings of the National Transportation Safety Board. The Colorado Sun news site reports NTSB investigators determined the broken […]
Six new HO models from Rapido Trains
Rapido Trains hosted a dealer open house at the Essex Steam Train & Riverboat on Monday, Oct. 16, 2023 in Essex, Conn. During the event, the manufacturer unveiled several new HO scale products. Here’s a rundown of some of the items announced. Locomotives Electro-Motive Division SD7, SD9, and SD10 diesel locomotives were among the six […]
One killed in coal-train derailment that closed I-25 (continuing updates)
PUEBLO, Colo. — The driver of a semi truck was killed when a bridge collapsed Sunday as a result of a BNSF coal-train derailment that has closed Interstate 25, Colorado’s main north-south highway, near Pueblo. An image from a Colorado State Patrol post on the social media site X, formerly Twitter, shows the train derailed […]
Carloads of military equipment involved in Union Pacific derailment
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. —Eight railcars of military equipment derailed Monday evening in Colorado Springs, KOAA-TV reports. The derailment occurred about 6:30 p.m. and led to the closure of East Las Vegas Street adjacent to the derailment site. A Union Pacific representative told the station that the train’s final destination was Colorado Springs but the company […]
Meet Andrew Dodge
What was your first train set (or locomotive)? I was four or five when I got my first train set, which included a wooden steam locomotive with four or five cars that ran on wooden track. When I was nine, I got my first HO electric Snap-Track set with a Varney F3 diesel and a […]
Colorado considering legislation to limit train lengths, introduce other regulations
DENVER — A Colorado legislative committee has advanced a bill that would limit train lengths within the state and draws other elements from the federal Railway Safety Act, which has failed to pass Congress, the website Colorado Newsline reports. If approved by the Transportation Legislation Review Committee, the bill will be introduced in the state’s […]
New Golden Spike Monument en route to Utah
SALT LAKE CITY — Today, at the Kentucky studio of sculptor Douwe Blumberg, a crane gently lifted a gold spike measuring 43.3 feet long and weighing just under 7,000 pounds, onto a decorated semitrailer. The spike, commissioned by Utah’s Golden Spike Foundation, is a new memorial commemorating the workers who built the Transcontinental Railroad. Starting […]
Never too many Denver & Rio Grande Western narrow gauge books
Does the world need another book about the Denver & Rio Grande Western narrow gauge? Someone might reasonably ask. Of all railroads with a literature disproportionate to its relative economic importance, the D&RGW is Exhibit A. To underscore the point, I stopped into the Kalmbach Media library to do some rudimentary research: when […]
Colorado changes team for Moffat Tunnel lease negotiations
DENVER — The state of Colorado has changed its negotiating team addressing the expiring lease for the Moffat Tunnel, with the state’s Department of Transportation taking over from the Department of Local Affairs to lead negotiations with Union Pacific over use of the state-owned bore through the Rocky Mountains. The website Colorado Newsline reports that […]