Coast Line reopens at site of Starlight derailment

Heavy equipment lifting damaged locomotive onto railroad tracks

MOORPARK, Calif. — Pacific Surfliner service will be restored north of Los Angeles today, while Metrolink operations north of Moorpark will resume this afternoon, following the suspensions as a result of Wednesday’s derailment of the Coast Starlight. The Surfliner Twitter feed says track work in Moorpark has been complete, and that while slow orders may […]

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Blue Streak Merchandise

Streamlined diesel locomotive with Blue Streak Merchandise freight train

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 […]

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VRE opens new maintenance facility

Interior of new shop building with locomotive and bilevel passenger car

FREDERICKSBURG, Va. — Virginia Railway Express has opened its new Lifecycle Overhaul and Upgrade maintenance facility, or LOU, at its Crossroads Yard in Fredericksburg. The 33,500-foot, two-track structure features a drop table for removing locomotive and railcar trucks and wheelsets; a wheel truing machine; and an overhead bridge crane with two lift points, one with […]

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NTSB releases annual report

Cover of report with photo of NTSB workers at collapsed bridge

WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board has released its annual report to Congress for 2022, which outlines the board’s work during the calendar year, as well as providing an overview of its structure and mission. Board chair Jennifer Homendy, in her message accompanying the report, notes that the board issued 1,864 investigation reports during […]

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Can CPKC’s hydrogen fuel cell locomotives doom the diesel?

Green and gray cowl locomotive with blue trim

KANSAS CITY — You know the story: In November 1939 Electro-Motive FT No. 103 embarked on an 11-month, 83,764-mile demonstration tour on some of the toughest territory that American railroads could throw at the 5,400 horsepower, four-unit locomotive set. In test runs with freight and passenger trains, the experimental diesel-electric proved itself superior to even […]

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Rail service remains halted at site of Coast Starlight derailment

Equipment lifts wreckage from front of damaged locomotive

MOORPARK, Calif. — Scheduled rail service through the site of Wednesday’s derailment of Amtrak’s Coast Starlight remains disrupted while an investigation and clean-up continues. The derailment occurred about 11:15 a.m. Wednesday when the train hit a water truck at private, unprotected grade crossing near Moorpark [see “Coast Starlight derails after hitting truck …,” Trains News […]

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News photos: CPKC derailment in Iowa

Aerial view of derailment at yard

DAVENPORT, Iowa — Clean-up is under way after 21 cars of a CPKC train derailed Tuesday evening at Nahant Yard in Davenport, Iowa. A CPKC representative reports 21 cars derailed in a slow-speed incident; no injuries or spills of hazardous materials occured. Three cars involved were carrying liquid asphalt but did not leak any of […]

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More than 20 rail-related projects included in RAISE grant awards

Rendering of mixed-use development next to railroad track

ORANGEBURG, S.C. — More than 20 rail-related applicants — ranging from grade-crossing separation studies to a small piece of the Gateway Tunnel to funding for high-speed rail stations in California — are among the 162 projects to receive Department of Transportation grant funding announced today (Wednesday, June 28) under the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability […]

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