CHICAGO — Tours of three privately owned railcars built by the Pullman Co. or Pullman-Standard will be offered on Saturday, Sept. 4, and Sunday, Sept. 5, at Metra’s 111th Street/Pullman station as part of the gand opening weekend of the Pullman National Monument. Amtrak P42 locomotive No. 161, which wears the Phase I paint scheme […]
Zone & Region: Midwest
Chinese-built 2-10-2 set for series of Iowa excursions
NEWTON, Iowa — If there wasn’t enough going on in August 2021 for the steam locomotive enthusiast, here’s one more special event to keep an eye on, or maybe even attend: An Iowa-based Chinese-built QJ 2-10-2 is starting its public tour. On Friday, Central States Steam Preservation No. 6988 made a deadhead freight move from […]
Illinois DOT announces project to unsnarl junction near St. Louis
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The Illinois Department of Transportation has announced a $10.1 million project to improve rail operations in Mitchell, Ill., northeast of St. Louis. The project will reconfigure rail lines and replace a 97-year-old interlocking tower, with funding from six sources: $5.1 million from the Federal Railroad Administration’s Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvments […]
Veteran railroader, Trains contributor Bud Bulgrin dies
BROOKLYN PARK, Minn. – Veteran railroader and well-known railfan Burdell L. “Bud” Bulgrin died Aug. 18 of complications of Covid-19. He was 82. Bulgrin’s long railroad career included stints in the communications departments at Santa Fe, Illinois Central, Soo Line, and Canadian Pacific. But he was probably best known as a life-long railfan and photographer […]
CSX train derails in Indiana (updated)
FOUNTAINTOWN, Ind. — Fourteen cars of a CSX train derailed this morning in an unincorporated area near Greenfield, Ind., blocking a state highway and knocking down some local power lines. CSX says in a statement that the derailment occurred about 8:11 a.m., and involved six empty cars and eight loaded cars. No hazardous materials were […]
Grain, the old-fashioned way
Grain, the old-fashioned way Through the end of the 1800s, a lot of grain was shipped in 100-pound sacks. Here, workers load grain sacks into wood boxcars in Minneapolis around 1900. Minneapolis Public Library collection […]
Indiana museum receives donation of ex-EJ&E locomotive
NORTH JUDSON, Ind. — The Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum will receive a rebuilt former Elgin, Joliet & Eastern locomotive, originally an SD9, from its current owner, the Chesapeake & Indiana Railroad, the museum has announced. The locomotive is currently operational and will continue to be used by the Chesapeake & Indiana until it is ready […]
Roosevelt Road
Roosevelt Road Evidence of Penn Central’s pre-1968 legacy — New York Central, Pennsylvania, and PC-painted units — is clearly visible in this 1970 view of LaSalle Street Station. Chicago’s famous Roosevelt Road provided a great view of the downtown passenger terminals. Harold A. Edmonson photo […]
Union Pacific says service is improving after wildfires closed routes in California
OMAHA, Neb. — It will take several more weeks for Union Pacific to fully recover from California wildfires that disrupted service on its I-5 and Feather River corridors. “Everyone here is focused on ensuring that we can get the system ramped back up,” says Eric Gehringer, UP’s executive vice president of operations. “It is not […]
Surface Transportation Board rules on Amtrak-Metra rent dispute at Chicago Union Station (updated)
WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation board has ruled Metra must pay Amtrak $10.7 million annually for use of Chicago Union Station — virtually splitting the difference between the figures suggested by the two parities — while declining to address a number of key operating issues which remain in dispute. In a decision reached Monday and […]
Indiana museum, short line sign new operating agreement
NORTH JUDSON, Ind. — The Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum has signed a new agreement with the Chesapeake & Indiana Railroad, allowing the museum to lease and continue to operate on 5 miles of track between North Judson and English Lake, Ind. The agreement simplifies operation protocols between the two organizations and gives the museum greater […]
Minnesota museum repairing firebox on DM&IR 2-8-0
DULUTH, Minn. — The Lake Superior Railroad Museum is moving ahead with repairs to return Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range 2-8-0 No. 332 to service. Repairs are being made to the firebox of the locomotive, where a crack had developed near an old weld. The museum plans to remove this and another existing weld in […]