Track defect went unrepaired before CN derailment, investigation finds

Photo of track with notations on derailment details

GATINEAU, Quebec — A “near-urgent” track defect was detected but not repaired several days prior to the June 2021 derailment of a Canadian National train at a remote location on the railroad’s Chetwynd Subdivision in British Columbia, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada said in an investigation report released Monday. Thirty-eight cars of a two-engine, […]

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Union Pacific train derails in Colton, Calif.

Union Pacific logo with Building America slogan

COLTON, Calif. — Three locomotives and 12 cars of a Union Pacific train derailed Monday morning, leading to a brief fire and a spill of diesel fuel from the locomotives. The derailment occurred near the Colton Flyover, where UP’s tracks cross those of BNSF Railway. The San Bernardino Sun reports the derailment occurred shortly after […]

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Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad freight trains remembered

Streamline diesel locomotives with freight train among green grass and trees

Classic Trains editors are celebrating the history and heritage of Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad all through March 2022. Please enjoy this photo gallery of Lackawanna freight trains selected from the archives of Kalmbach Media’s David P. Morgan Library. The Delaware, Lackawanna & Western’s main line extended from Hoboken, N. J., northwest through Scranton, Pa., […]

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An extra freight train runs on a rainy March day

view of garden railroad from a caboose camera

Name: Ray Wheeler Railroad Name: Jericho & Mt Zion Railway Location: Lynnwood, WA Scale: G scale Theme: Tourist railroad with freight operations in the modern era. Description: The J&MtZ No. 20 runs an extra freight train for railfans on a rainy March day. Ride along on J&MtZ Caboose 02 as we tour the railroad. Watch […]

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Santa Fe’s Argentine freight house

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The Santa Fe built a large, new freight station at Argentine, Kan., in 1961. The office building portion included offices for agents, the railroad’s transportation company, and division freight traffic personnel. The facility featured indoor tracks and automated cart tracks for more efficient operation. Santa Fe photo […]

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Canadian Pacific shutdown begins in Canada (updated)

Canadian Pacific Railway beaver logo

CALGARY, Alberta — With each side blaming the other, a dispute between Canadian Pacific and the union representing 3,000 train crew members and yard workers has led to a halt of the railroad’s operations in Canada. Canada’s Minister of Labor, Seamus O’Regan, confirmed the stoppage had begun in a Twitter post at 12:01 a.m. EDT […]

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Adventures of a railroad station agent

Orange and red diesel locomotives

I’d been hired as second-shift railroad station agent at Channing, Mich., for the Escanaba & Lake Superior Railroad in June 1980. The railroad had taken over operation of the Milwaukee Road’s lines north of Green Bay, Wis., three months earlier. I was 23 years old and had no qualifications for the job, other than I […]

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STB seems likely to move ahead with a new reciprocal switching rule

Woman with glasses in office

WASHINGTON — Federal regulators seem likely to impose a new reciprocal switching rule that would open up more carload traffic to competition between Class I railroads. During two full days of hearings that wrapped up on Wednesday night, the Surface Transportation Board was sympathetic to shipper complaints about a combination of high rates and poor […]

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Metra opposes CP-KCS merger in regulatory filing

Passenger train passing wooden passenger station

WASHINGTON — Chicago-area commuter rail operator Metra has come out against the Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger, telling the Surface Transportation board in a 946-page filing that the merger would bring delays, prevent expansion of service, raise safety issues, and increase Metra’s infrastructure costs. The communter operator also says its traffic modeling indicates the operating […]

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