N&W No. 611 to remain at Strasburg Rail Road

Streamlined steam locomotive at station next to tower

STRASBURG, Pa. — Norfolk & Western Class J locomotive No. 611 will remain at the Strasburg Rail Road this winter, undergoing an annual inspection and maintenance, following the conclusion of its operations on the Pennsylvania short line. The Virginia Museum of Transportation’s 4-8-4 had operated at Strasburg since May, wrapping up its schedule of excursions, […]

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Buckingham Branch petitions to acquire line leased from CSX

Buckingham Branch Railroad logo

WASHINGTON — Virginia’s Buckingham Branch Railroad seeks to acquire a line that it presently leases from CSX Transportation. It encompasses 164.22 miles of line from milepost 276 in Clifton Forge to milepost 111.78 at Doswell. The railroad has leased the line, part of which hosts Amtrak’s Cardinal, since 2005. It was originally Chesapeake & Ohio. […]

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Geared for success

Geared steam locomotive reverses with coal cars

Geared for success Brimstone’s 3-truck Shay No. 35 pulls coal in Tennessee. Lumber railroads were the primary users, but a few coal-haulers used Shays and/or the two other popular geared locomotives in North America, Heislers and Climaxes. Dwight Smith, Jim Wrinn collection […]

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Indiana museum, short line sign new operating agreement

Black and white locomotive pulls two blue and white locomotives as train crosses bride

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 […]

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OmniTRAX names Higgins as chief commercial officer

Smiling man in coat and open-collared shirt

DENVER — Ryan Higgins has been named chief commercial officer of OmniTRAX, the shortline and transportation affiliate of the Denver-based Broe Group. Higgins comes to OmniTRAX from CSX Transportation, where he held multiple sales, marketing, business development, and operations positions. Most recently, he was senior director of merchandise sales. “Ryan is a dynamic team leader […]

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Railroad man

Man in caboose cupola

Railroad man Gainesville Midland Railroad conductor L. C. Birchfield is perched in a caboose cupola in the late 1950s. The railroad ran between Gainesville and Athens in northern Georgia and one time had a branch to Monroe. Seaboard Air Line purchased the road in June 1959. Philip R. Hastings photo […]

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Shortline savior

Red-and-white diesel switcher locomotives in a road crossing

Shortline savior North Carolina’s Laurinburg & Southern was a GE 70-tonner bastion in the Southeast. A pair works Dixie Guano in Laurinburg in September 1984. The GE small locomotive line enabled great savings for short lines that adopted them, keeping some of them running for years longer than if powered by steam. Jim Wrinn photo […]

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Digest: Colorado governor signs major transportation bill

Colorado state flag

Colorado transportation bill helps advance Front Range rail plans Colorado Gov. Jared Polis has signed a major transportation bill including a provision allowing creation of transportation planning organizations to exercise the powers of a regional transportation authority — a step toward creation of a Front Range Passenger Rail Authority. Full text of the bill is […]

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Acquisition unlocks growth for Canadian Pacific in Eastern Canada

Railroad map of northern New England and eastern Canada

CALGARY, Alberta – A year after acquiring regional railroad Central Maine & Quebec – and regaining a part of its historic shortcut linking Montreal and the Atlantic – traffic growth is exceeding Canadian Pacific’s expectations. CP’s plans to gain transatlantic international intermodal business from Port Saint John, New Brunswick, have come to fruition. New finished vehicle traffic […]

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