From the Cab: Freight locomotives on passenger trains

A dark-colored freight engine is coupled ahead of a silver Amtrak locomotive next to a concrete walkway.

Freight locomotives on passenger trains can happen for a variety of reasons and make for memorable images. Early in Amtrak’s history, locomotives painted in the colors of freight-hauling railroads were common. In Amtrak’s “rainbow era” days, 50 years ago, the then-new National Railroad Passenger Corporation operated with leased or hand-me-down equipment, inherited from — and […]

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Metro-North union warns passengers of potential strike

Electric multiple-unit trainset rounds curve

NEW YORK — A union representing Metro-North Railroad employees has handed out flyers to commuters and placed ads in local newspapers warning of a potential strike as soon as September, the newspaper The Hour reports. Members of two locals of Transportation Workers Union, which represents approximately 600 inspectors, mechanics, and coach cleaners, voted last month […]

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BNSF completes double-tracking project at Sandpoint, Idaho

Trains on parallel bridges over river

SANDPOINT, Idaho — Thanks to an all-day work window on Aug. 6, 2023, the final track segments have been put into place to complete BNSF Railway’s 2-mile double-tracking project at the east end of its busy “Funnel” between Spokane, Wash., and Sandpoint. Completion of the new 4,873-foot bridge across Lake Pend Oreille in November 2022 […]

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Tracks cleared at site of CSX derailment in New York

Fire truck next to derailed tank cars on closed highway

AMSTERDAM, N.Y. — Tracks have been cleared and rail service can resume through the site of a CSX Transportation derailment that occurred west of Schenectady, N.Y., on Friday morning, a railroad representative told the Daily Gazette newspaper this afternoon (Monday, Aug. 7). Thirteen cars of a 157-car CSX train en route from Selkirk, N.Y. to […]

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Brightline delays new Miami-Orlando ticket sales to Sept. 15

Yellow and white passenger train at station

ORLANDO — Brightline is no longer selling tickets for Sept. 1-14 trips between West Palm Beach and Orlando, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the first day of revenue service will be Sept. 15. Responding to a Trains News Wire inquiry, Brightline issued the following statement late today (Monday, Aug. 7): “We’re working through the final […]

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CSX conductor trainee killed in Maryland yard accident

CSX logo

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A CSX Transportation conductor trainee was killed in the Cumberland, Md., yard early this morning, with the accident prompting the railroad to impose a safety stand down for its 350 conductor trainees. “CSX confirms that an employee was fatally injured in the course of working early this morning in Cumberland, Md.,” the […]

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LIRR completes repairs following derailment

Crane lifts damaged commuter EMU car after derailment

NEW YORK — The Long Island Rail Road reported early this morning it had completed all infrastructure repairs following last Thursday’s derailment at Hall Interlocking and expects to operate a regular schedule of trains for today’s morning rush hour. Some LIRR routes are currently reporting scattered delays, but the issues are unrelated to the derailment, […]

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Beech Mountain, likely nearing end of operations, leases SW1500s

Blue and yellow end-cab switcher

ALEXANDER, W.Va. — Beech Mountain Railroad has leased two former CSX SW1500s from LTEX Rail to continue moving coal from Carter-Roag Coal Co.’s Star Bridge processing plant to the railroad’s interchange with the Appalachian & Ohio at Alexander. United Coal Co. subsidiary Carter-Roag has closed its Morgan Camp mine, which fed the Star Bridge preparation […]

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CSX derailment halts Amtrak service west of Albany, N.Y.

Fire truck next to derailed tank cars on closed highway

AMSTERDAM, N.Y. — Thirteen cars of a CSX Transportation train derailed near Albany, N.Y., this morning, disrupting Amtrak service and leading to road closures. WNYT-TV reports most of the cars, part of a 157-car train en route from Selkirk, N.Y., to Buffalo, were empty tank cars. Montgomery County Sheriff Jeff Smith said there were no […]

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Worker killed in accident on Housatonic Railroad in Massachusetts

National Transportation Safety Board logo

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — A contract worker hit by a piece of track equipment on the Housatonic Railroad has died, the Berkshire Eagle newspaper reports. The worker’s name was being withheld pending notification of family, Great Barrington Police Chief Paul Storti told the newspaper. The National Transportation Safety Board, which announced on social media that […]

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No injuries reported in BNSF derailment in Minnesota (updated)

BNSF Railway logo

PERHAM, Minn. — No injuries were reported when a BNSF Railway train carrying mixed freight derailed at approximately 12 a.m. today (Aug. 4) near Perham, Minn. No hazardous material was involved. BNSF did not respond to a question regarding the number of cars involved; KEYC-TV reports 13 railcars, most of them empty auto racks, derailed. […]

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