Trains LIVE — Restoring Montana Western No. 31 — 3-15-2024 — At the root of the diesel-electric locomotive family tree is the Electro-Motive Corp. motorcar or doodlebug, as they were sometimes called. The EMC motorcar employed traction technology that today is common — an internal combustion engine turning an electric generator feeding power to axle-mounted […]
Magazine: Trains Magazine
Michigan grant helps fund improvements at CSX Detroit intermodal facility
LANSING, Mich. — The Michigan Department of Transportation has awarded $5 million to CSX Transportation to upgrade the railroad’s Detroit Livernois Intermodal Facility, the agency announced today (Friday, March 15). Improvements will include paving what is currently a dirt and gravel yard, which will help limit dust blown into surrounding neighborhoods. CSX is contributing $6.7 […]
Colorado looks to rental-car fee to raise funds for passenger rail projects
DENVER — Colorado legislators plan to introduce a bill that will increase the state fee on rental cars by $2 to $3 per day to help pay for proposed passenger rail service along the Front Range and to Craig, Colo., the Colorado Sun reports. The fee would generate as much as $50 million annually, which […]
STB orders Union Pacific to submit public versions of its employment data (updated)
WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board on Thursday denied Union Pacific’s request for a protective order that would have put a cloak of confidentiality over the temporary employment data the railroad is required to submit. In its decision, the board also directed UP to submit public versions of previously submitted data. UP submitted its petition […]
R.J. Corman facilities damaged by Ohio tornado
CELINA, Ohio — An enginehouse for R.J. Corman Western Ohio Lines was severely damaged and a warehouse was also damaged Thursday night when a tornado struck in Celina, a community of about 11,000 people in Mercer County. Nearby Auglaize and Logan counties were also struck by the storms. Logan County was the hardest hit, with […]
Museum offers prints of painting to help fund restoration of Santa Fe FP45
WICHITA, Kan. — Prints of a painting by renowned railroad artist John Winfield of Fort Worth, Texas, are now being offered by Wichita’s Great Plains Transportation Museum to help fund cosmetic restoration of Santa Fe FP45 No. 93, subject of the painting. Winfield’s work, “Warbonnet Renaissance,” shows the locomotive pulling a freight train through the […]
Oyster Bay Railroad Museum contracts for cosmetic restoration of LIRR 4-6-0
OYSTER BAY, N.Y. — The Oyster Bay Railroad Museum of Long Island, N.Y., has hired Next Generation Rail Solutions to cosmetically restore its former Long Island Rail Road class G5s 4-6-0 No. 35, the oldest surviving LIRR steam locomotive and the last to operate on Long Island, in 1955. The museum announced on March 12 […]
MBTA reports another near-miss for track workers
BOSTON — A group of Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority track workers experienced another near-miss incident on March 1, the transit agency reported Thursday, the latest in a series of safety incidents that helped lead to federal oversight of the rapid transit system. The Boston Globe reports that one flagger and four track workers were involved […]
Metrolink brings back Angels Express service
ANAHEIM, Calif. — LA-area commuter rail operator Metrolink will revive Angels Express service after a five-year hiatus, offering round-trip service to Friday, Saturday, and Sunday Los Angeles Angels baseball home games, as well as midweek games against the Los Angeles Dodgers on March 26, Sept. 3, and Sept. 4. Round trips will operate from LA […]
Milwaukee County Zoo railroad replacing steam engines
MILWAUKEE, Wis. — Dieselization came late to the Milwaukee County Zoo’s railroad, but it has arrived. The zoo announced today (Thursday, March 14), that it has sold the two steam locomotives for its 1.25-mile, 15-inch gauge railroad — No. 1916, the Henry J. Grant, a 4-4-2 built in 1961, and No. 1924, a 4-6-2 built […]
FRA awards $900,000 to three states for interstate rail programs
WASHINGTON — Projects in Illinois, Louisiana, and North Carolina have received a total of $900,000 in planning and development funding under the Federal Railroad Administration’s Interstate Rail Compacts grant program, the FRA announced today (Thursday, March 14). Compacts are agreements between two or more states to support development of intercity passenger rail services that can […]
East Broad Top starts rebuilding track south of Rockhill Furnace
ROCKHILL FURNACE, Pa. — A track crew began restoring East Broad Top Railroad’s main line south of here this week, a first step toward reopening the narrow-gauge steam tourist line’s 20-mile route to Robertsdale, Pa., a former mountain mining center that produced the semi-bituminous coal that was EBT’s revenue-freight lifeblood for more than 80 years. […]