Editor’s Note: This is an abridged version of a feature that will run in the October issue of Trains Magazine that will examine intermodal developments on both BNSF Railway and Union Pacific. It’s not easy for railroads’ domestic intermodal customers to jump ship, which is why their partnerships tend to endure for decades. Yet change […]
ALEXANDER, W.Va. — The Carter-Roag Coal Co. plans to close its Morgan Camp mine, the last coal mine in Randolph County, W.Va., as well as the Star Bridge coal preparation plant, likely spelling the end of the company’s Beech Mountain Railroad. Local news reports say Carter-Roag, a subsidiary of United Coal Co., announced last week […]
Southern No. 722 BRYSON CITY, N.C. — The Great Smoky Mountain Railroad has announced plans to restore operation Southern Railway No. 722, a 2-8-0 built by Baldwin in 1904. Plans are to convert the locomotive from coal to oil firing in a process estimated to be completed in 2026, the railroad said in a press […]
AUGUSTA, Maine — The Maine Legislature is considering a bill that would repeal an earlier act that created confidentiality for information about hazardous material transported on railroads. LD1937, sponsored by House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross (D-Portland) and co-sponsored by Sen. Richard A. Bennett (R-Portland), would repeal the bill passed in 2015. The Bangor Daily News, […]
SCRANTON, Pa. — Alco PA Nickel Plate 190 has arrived at its new home. Completing its cross-country journey from Portland, Ore., the locomotive is now in Scranton, handed over to new owner Genesee Valley Transportation by Norfolk Southern this evening. GVT and the Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad will restore the locomotive, which has an operable prime mover […]
CHICAGO —The Historic Pullman Foundation’s annual “Railroad Days” open house at Pullman National Historical Park on Saturday and Sunday will again host passenger cars that were built at the plant on Chicago’s South Side. Cars displayed this year, at Metra’s 111th Street station, date from 1923 to 1950. Heavyweight business car New York Central #3, […]
Big Boy trip 2023 OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific Big Boy No. 4014 will travel to Omaha, Neb., for 11 days of display during the NCAA College World Series baseball championship tournament, the railroad announced today. The locomotive and its train of heritage passenger cars will depart Cheyenne, Wyo., on the “Home Run Express Tour,” […]
ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern has launched a Rail Emissions Report tool that, in an industry first, uses fuel burn data directly from locomotives. “Fuel burn can be applied to each shipment based on the weight as it travels across the Norfolk Southern network,” a railroad spokeswoman says. “Combining fuel burn with other estimates for yard […]
OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific is promoting Chief Information Officer Rahul Jalali to executive vice president, effective June 1. He joined UP in 2020 and has most recently been a senior vice president and chief information office, and is credited by the railroad with a pivotal role in the company’s modernization efforts and leading development, […]
SCRANTON, Pa. — Genesee Valley Transportation and the Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad plan to provide a public viewing area for the arrival of Alco PA Nickel Plate 190, scheduled for today (Friday, May 19). GTV posted Thursday on its Facebook Page that the locomotive is expected to arrive about 5:30 p.m. and the viewing area will be […]
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — A hopper car loaded with 30 tons of ammonium nitrate — a chemical used as fertilizer and as a component in explosives — was empty by the time it arrived at its destination last month, triggering investigations by state and federal authorities, as well as the manufacturer and Union Pacific, the railroad […]
WASHINGTON — Record funding for large-scale infrastructure spending will make Amtrak more vulnerable to fraud, the passenger operator’s Office of Inspector General says in a report released this week, identifying four areas in which the company will be particularly at risk. “Industry research estimates that 10% of infrastructure investments could be lost to fraud,” Inspector […]
