Digest: N&W 611 makes move to Strasburg

Streamlined steam locomotive

N&W 611 heads to Strasburg for lengthy stay Its stoker repaired, Norfolk & Western Class J steam locomotive No. 611 made the move from the Virginia Museum of Transportation on Monday and is slated to begin operation at Pennsylvania’s Strasburg Rail Road this Saturday, May 29. For security reasons, the museum did not announce a […]

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Digest: South Shore Double Track project seeks ways to reduce cost

SouthShore_MichCity_Lassen

South Shore agency studying ways to reduce cost of Double Track project The Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District is studying options for lowering the cost of its Double Track project to add a second main for South Shore Line service between Gary, Ind., and Michigan City. The Times of Northwest Indiana reports that South Shore […]

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Digest: Canadian government announces $21 million in rail safety funding

Transport Canada logo

Canadian government announces $21 million in funding for rail safety projects The Canadian government announced it would spend more tha C$21 million to help fund 135 projects across Canada under the Rail Safety Improvement Program — Infrastructure, Technology, and Research. The funds will address grade crossing improvements, small projects such as fencing and pedestrian crossings, […]

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Illinois steam survivor

Profile of steam-powered freight train on truss bridge over wide river

Illinois steam survivor Wabash 2-6-0 576 creeps west across the Illinois River at Meredosia, Ill., in September 1954. The bridge famously limited the use of diesel locomotives on the railroad’s branch to Keokuk, making this operation a late era Midwest steam outpost. Philip R. Hastings photo […]

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Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum adds two BL2 locomotives

Blue, gray, and yellow semi-streamlined diesels

NORTH JUDSON, Ind. — The Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum will add two rare EMD BL2 locomotives to its collection through a lease with the engines’ private owner. The two locomotives, built in 1949 for Maine’s Bangor & Aroostock Railroad, previously operated on New York’s Saratoga & North Creek Railway. Only 59 of the locomotives were […]

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Digest: Restoration of Illnois Amtrak routes set for July

Amtrak_WSprings_Lassen

Full restoration of state-supported Amtrak routes in Illinois set for July 19 The state of Illinois announced plans to restore all service on its four state-supported Amtrak lines as of July 19 as part of the Rebuild Illinois capital plan. The restoration of full schedules on the Chicago-Quincy, Chicago-Carbondale, and Chicago-St. Louis routes in July […]

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Railfanning Chicago: BNSF’s shoofly (updated)

Amtrak passenger train passes Metra commuter train in view from bridge across tracks.

Trains Senior Editor David Lassen spends much of his free time in the Chicago area. This is the first in a series of Trains.com articles on his favorite rail photography locations. UPDATED Dec. 15, 2021, with removal of shoofly. BNSF Railway’s celebrated “racetrack” — the triple-track mainline of the Chicago Division between downtown Chicago and […]

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Midwest memories

Black diesel switcher with boxcar

Midwest memories The sun shines down on Northern Pacific-painted S2 705 at Jamestown, N.Dak., on NP S2 705 in early 1970, just eight weeks after the creation of Burlington Northern. J. David Ingles photo […]

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News photos: UP Lenox Tower demolished

Heavy equipment tearing down brick buidling

Demolition work began Monday on Union Pacific’s Lenox Tower in Mitchell, Ill., about 20 miles north of St. Louis. The tower is being razed to streamline the interlocking and remove a troublesome puzzle switch as part of a realignment project that will allow increased speeds for Amtrak Lincoln Service trains between Chicago and St. Louis. […]

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