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TREGO, Wis. — A rainbow formed in the sky as work neared completion on putting the five-car set of the shovel-nose streamliner Mark Twain Zephyr back on its rebuilt truck sets at the Wisconsin Great Northern Railroad yards Monday. When the power car Injun Joe, No. 9903, was trucked here 3 years ago, after the […]
NEW YORK — Following a 13-year delay, it appears construction will begin in October on the initial steps leading to a new rail tunnel under the Hudson River to Midtown Manhattan, according to a story in the New York Times. The Gateway Program, which will address infrastructure needs on 10-miles of the Northeast Corridor, is […]
GSTAAD, Switzerland — I believe I may have had the single finest train-riding experience of my life today. I have only one significant criticism: it wasn’t nearly long enough. The experience in question was on the GoldenPass Express, the gauge-changing passenger train that runs between Interlaken and Montreux. As part of our Swiss Tourism group […]
BALTIMORE – Clark Construction/Stacy and Witbeck Joint Venture has been selected by Amtrak as the construction contractor for the Southern Approach Package (package B) of the Frederick Douglass Tunnel Program, according to an Amtrak news release. This is one of three major contracts to be awarded in work on the tunnel project. The Frederick Douglass […]
LAGUNA BEACH, Calif. – In one of his first moves as Union Pacific’s new CEO, Jim Vena took a full day out of the railroad’s premium cross-border interline intermodal service with Ferromex, including the new Falcon Premium service that connects the Canadian National intermodal network with Mexico via Chicago. Since the schedules were improved shortly […]
CINCINNATI — While most people who follow trains and railroads realize that Cincinnati owns a railroad line, there is a good chance most local residents aren’t aware of what their city holds title to. The Cincinnati Southern Railroad, a 336-mile route connecting Cincinnati and Chattanooga, Tenn., was built by the city in the late 1870s. […]
Portland & Western’s classic SP power The Portland & Western Railroad, a Genesee & Wyoming-owned short line, operates in the bucolic splendor of Oregon’s Willamette and Columbia River valleys. Utilizing a series of ex-Southern Pacific and Burlington Northern branch lines, the road stretches from Astoria southward to Eugene, passing through Portland, McMinnville, and Albany along […]
OMAHA, Neb. – Union Pacific says the results of the Federal Railroad Administration’s focused inspections of its freight cars and locomotives raised more questions than answers. “Typically, inspections by the FRA include a focused audit close out with clear findings and action steps, as well as a meeting to discuss any findings and mitigation approaches,” […]
WASHINGTON – The Federal Railroad Administration has issued a safety bulletin to ensure that railroads are aware of a Sept. 1 switching accident that resulted in the amputation of a conductor’s leg. The FRA is investigating the incident, which occurred on a railroad that the agency did not identify. “A switching crew, comprised of a […]
LUCERNE, Switzerland — Measured strictly by height, Mount Rigi is not one of Switzerland’s great mountains. Measured by view, it’s another story. Our Swiss Tourism group trekked to the top of Mount Rigi today, which is an interesting trip from a railroading standpoint because the trip to the top of the 1,798-meter (5,988-foot) summit is […]
CASS, W.Va. — Former Western Maryland Railway geared steam locomotive No. 6 (“Big Six”) has recently completed its FRA 1,472-day inspection and boiler recertification. According to the Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad (DGVR), the massive Shay-type will undergo final break-in runs and adjustments before returning to excursion service on the Cass Scenic Railroad. “Big Six” […]
With remarkable timing — the process had been underway for years — but the Gotthard Base Tunnel derailment may have convinced any remaining doubters, the Swiss government announced on Aug. 16, a week after the tunnel was shut following a derailment, that it had approved the completion of the other major Swiss alpine rail crossing […]
