Menards Santa Fe diesel program launched a little more than a year ago with its first beta test. The company has released several more iterations of its F units, which it markets as “Santa Fe Diesel Locomotive,” soliciting customer feedback. The latest iteration, beta 4.0, is an A-A set in Santa Fe’s “bluebonnet” paint scheme […]
Zone & Region: Plains & Texas
BNSF near permission to replace Bismarck-Mandan bridge
BISMARCK, N.D. — BNSF Railway’s long-delayed effort to replace its aging bridge between Bismarck and Mandan, N.D., is on the verge of getting federal and state approval — but the preservation group that wants to save the structure is considering mounting a legal effort to stop demolition of the existing structure. The Bismarck Tribune reports […]
KCS breaks ground for second span of international bridge at Laredo
LAREDO, Texas — With simultaneous ceremonies in Laredo and Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, Kansas City Southern marked the start of construction on a second span of the International Railway Bridge across the Rio Grande. KCS CEO Patrick Ottensmeyer led the ceremony in Laredo on Monday, Oct. 31, while KCS de Mexico President Oscar del Cuento hosted […]
Man killed in Texas railcar accident
BEAUMONT, Texas — A 66-year-old Beaumont man has died in what is being described as “a railcar accident” at an ExxonMobil plant in Beaumont on Friday. The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said it has ordered an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death for Richard Garza, a contractor at the plant. No other information […]
Wabtec marks 10th anniversary of Fort Worth plant
FORT WORTH, Texas — Wabtec has celebrated the 10th anniversary of its manufacturing operations in Fort Worth, having opened a 1-million-square-foot locomotive plant and 250,000-square-foot mining-equipment facility in October 2012. The mining facility opened first, delivering its first product in 2012, with the first locomotive being delivered to BNSF in 2013. Since then, it has […]
UP plans move of Challenger, other donated equipment Nov. 11-19
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Union Pacific has announced plans for its “Heritage Donation Special,” moving two steam locomotives, its Centennial diesel, and other equipment, from Cheyenne to the Railroading Heritage of Midwest America facility in Silvis, Ill., Nov. 11-19. The schedule was announced in an email to UP Steam Club members. The train will include Challenger […]
Kansas City Southern to hold Laredo bridge groundbreaking ceremony
LAREDO, Texas — Kansas City Southern will hold a groundbreaking ceremony on Monday for the second span the railway is building over the Rio Grande at Laredo. The current International Railway Bridge linking Laredo with Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, is the busiest railroad freight gateway in North America. The U.S. ceremony will take place just south […]
Union Pacific: Video of KCS train misled federal regulators about Houston terminal
WASHINGTON — Union Pacific has taken issue with a video that Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern showed federal regulators of a KCS grain train “breezing through Houston.” The railroads played the video, shot from the lead locomotive, for the Surface Transportation Board on the sixth day of their merger hearings earlier this month. CP […]
Canadian National receives first diesel in Wabtec remanufacturing order
FORT WORTH, Texas — On a sunny Thursday afternoon, officials from Canadian National Railway and Wabtec gathered outside Wabtec’s Fort Worth locomotive factory to celebrate the delivery of a brand new locomotive for Canadian National Railway. Or so it appeared. In fact, the officials were posing for photos with AC44C6M No. 3300, the first of […]
Last months of the Rock
Rock Island train 34 rocks and rolls its way into the yard at El Dorado, Ark., in February 1980, a few months before the troubled carrier shut down. Paul D. Schneider photo […]
1940s Union Pacific steam locomotives
A childhood memory led me to chasing 1940s Union Pacific steam locomotives around Omaha has a teen. That story had its origin when I was around eight years of age. Like other boys of those times, I was fascinated by the sight and sound of a steam locomotive, but rarely saw one, since there were […]
ENSCO to test Stadler equipment at Pueblo facility
SPRINGFIELD, Va. — ENSCO Rail will conduct operational testing on new Stadler diesel multiple-unit trainsets at the Transportation Technology Center in Pueblo, Colo., ENSCO has announced. The new trainsets are being built for Dallas Area Rapid Transit for its Silver Line (also known as the Cotton Belt Corridor), a 26-mile rail line from DFW Airport […]