Montreal Locomotive Works DL535E diesel locomotives

Montreal Locomotive Works DL535E diesel locomotives have proven to be versatile narrow-gauge haulers made famous by a garden railway staple.     In 1969, American Locomotive Co. of Schenectady, N.Y., was building seven six-axle, 1,200-hp DL535E diesel locomotives, Nos. 101-107, for the White Pass & Yukon when the builder abruptly shut down its manufacturing operations. […]

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Genesis of Amtrak Superliner cars

Amtrak Superliner cars are derived from the old Santa Fe El Capitan Hi-Level car fleet. The cars, which operate on all Western long-distance plus a few others in the East, had a long gestation period.   On July 3, 1973, Roger Lewis, Amtrak’s first president, sent a request for proposals to 13 companies — six […]

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Shippers and railroads square off over STB’s service-based reciprocal switching proposal

WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board’s controversial service-based reciprocal switching proposal faced another round of criticism this week, with many shippers saying it doesn’t go far enough and railroads saying it’s an unworkable, unrealistic rule that goes too far. The proposal, unveiled in September, would allow shippers located in terminal areas to seek access to […]

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U.S. and Canada pledge to work together on zero-emissions locomotives

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The United States and Canada will work together to develop a common vision for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from locomotives, officials announced today at the United Nations COP28 conference. The nations will create a Rail Decarbonization Task Force, U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer M. Granholm, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and […]

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Competition heats up under the English Channel

LONDON — Since the Channel Tunnel connecting Britain and France opened in 1994, a high speed passenger service operated by Eurostar has connected London, Paris and Brussels (extended to Amsterdam in 2018). Although competition on the route has been theoretically possible for decades, none has started — but this may be about to change as no […]

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Louisiana, Amtrak advance Baton Rouge-New Orleans rail project

BATON ROUGE, La. — Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner joined outgoing Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards on Thursday to ink a service development agreement that is the first step in launching service between Baton Rouge, the state capital, and New Orleans. After a ceremony at New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal, Gardner and Edwards, along with Amtrak […]

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CPKC revenue and earnings decline amid soft volume

CALGARY, Alberta — Canadian Pacific Kansas City today lowered its outlook for the year after a third quarter that saw broad-based volume declines. “No doubt a challenging quarter as we dealt with a softer demand environment and supply-chain impacts from the strike at the Port of Vancouver,” CEO Keith Creel told investors and analysts on […]

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Elroy-Sparta State Trail: Biking Along the Route of the ‘400’

The first rail-to-trail conversion in the U.S., the Elroy-Sparta State Trail, gives riders an opportunity to traverse three tunnels.   Wisconsin isn’t usually associated with railroad tunnels, but it once had a number of them. Today only Canadian Pacific’s bore at Tunnel City is active, but next door is the closed tunnel of the Chicago […]

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CPKC signs naming-rights deal for Kansas City soccer stadium

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Canadian Pacific Kansas City has signed a 10-year naming-rights agreement for the stadium currently under construction for the Kansas City Current of the National Women’s Soccer League, which the team says is the world’s first stadium built for a women’s professional sports team. CPKC Stadium, under construction at Berkley Riverfront Park, […]

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Atlas O Fall 2023 Premier Catalog

The Atlas O Fall 2023 Premier Catalog was recently posted on the manufacturer’s website. The 32-page catalog features a mix of locomotives, commuter cars, and rolling stock from the Premier, Master, and Trainman product ranges. The last four pages of the catalog include previously announced track, structures, and accessories. Two models that will be making […]

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