BELINGTON, W.Va — The Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad has unveiled a GP8 locomotive repainted to honor the Western Maryland Railway in that railroad’s red and white “Railblazer” paint scheme, known to fans as the “circus” scheme. The locomotive, repainted at Durbin & Greenbrier Valley’s Belington Shop, was built for the Wabash Railroad as a […]
Section: News Wire
Chicago CREATE project receives both Mega, INFRA grants
WASHINGTON — A piece of Chicago’s CREATE project and an element of California’s high speed rail construction are among the 11 recipients of Department of Transportation National Infrastructure Project Assistance, or Mega, grants announced today. Also, the same CREATE project and infrastructure improvements on the Paducah & Louisville Railway are among the 36 projects selected […]
U.S. Sugar introduces new locomotive image
CLEWISTON, Fla. — U.S. Sugar Corp., operator of more than 300 owned and leased miles of railroad radiating from its Clewiston headquarters, has rolled out a new Kelly green and “U.S. Sugar yellow” locomotive paint scheme. The company relies on rail to move all sugarcane from its 240,000 acres of fields to its large processing […]
Groundbreaking set for Amtrak facility in Mobile
MOBILE, Ala. — Another step in the long-running effort to launch Amtrak service between Mobile and New Orleans is set for Tuesday, Oct. 22, when officials including U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg take part in a groundbreaking ceremony for an Amtrak layover track and platform in Mobile. The ceremony is set for 2 p.m. at […]
San Francisco Muni to replace floppy-disk train control system
SAN FRANCISCO — The floppy-disk era is nearing an end on the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. KGO-TV reports that the Muni board has approved a $212 million contract with Hitachi Rail for a train control system that will replace the more than 30-year-old system that still runs on outdated floppy-disk technology. The Automatic Train […]
Portland, Ore., puts Union Station up for sale
PORTLAND, Ore. — Following years of failed efforts to come up with money for a local match to apply for federal grants to help fund needed upgrades, the city of Portland has renewed efforts to sell Union Station. Built in 1896 and on the National Register of Historic Places since 1975, the station’s signature clock […]
Permits for grain trains to Mexico resume
EAGLE PASS, Texas — Mexican railroad Ferromex will resume issuing permits for unit grain trains entering Mexico through the Eagle Pass and El Paso, Texas, gateways “as a result of the improved ag unit train crossing cadence and pipeline” beginning today (Monday, Oct. 21), Union Pacific has informed customers. On Oct. 12, UP announced that […]
FTA updates rules regarding safety oversight of rail transit
WASHINGTON — The Federal Transit Administration has finalized regulations giving state agencies overseeing rail transit more authority to conduct inspections and clarifying existing rules. An updated final rule regarding State Safety Oversight Agencies published on Friday, Oct. 18, allows those oversight agencies to conduct inspections of rail transit operations without advance notice, and requires them […]
RRHMA debuts repainted Santa Fe GE locomotive
SILVIS, Ill. — Santa Fe No. 537 sparkled in the paint booth of the Railroading Heritage of Midwest America shops during a Friday night dinner and unveiling of the repainted GE B40-8W at the former Rock Island Railroad Silvis Locomotive Shops. The RRHMA hosted its “Trains & Tractors” event on Friday and Saturday, October 18-19, […]
Date set for Supreme Court arguments in Uinta Basin Railway case
WASHINGTON — Oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court are set for Dec. 10 regarding the appeal of the lower-court decision blocking construction of the Uinta Basin Railway, the Grand Junction (Colo.) Daily Sentinel reports. The Supreme Court agreed in June to hear the appeal from the Seven County Infrastructure Coalition, the Utah governmental body […]
News Wire recommended reading: Railroads’ impact on classical music, and more
Trains News Wire offers the latest in an occasional series of links to articles elsewhere on the internet that you might find worthwhile (or amusing): — The BBC Music Magazine offers a different look at the impact of the Transcontinental Railroad: how it triggered an era that transformed classical music in the U.S. — It’s […]
New Orleans Public Belt announces agreement for management of new transload facility
NEW ORLEANS — The New Orleans Public Belt Railroad and Heniff Transportation Systems LLC have signed an agreement for Heniff to manage rail transloading services at the newly opened New Orleans Transloading Industrial Park. The facility, located on Terminal Road in New Orleans East, is designed to offer shippers multimodal options for moving dry and […]