SIOUX CITY, Iowa — Landowners at the site of a 2018 derailment near Doon, Iowa, are suing BNSF Railway, seeking damages for cleanup costs and reduced property values from oil spilled in the incident. The Sioux City Journal reports Philip, Kirsti, John, and Helen Kooima of Rock Valley, Iowa, have sued BNSF for negligence over […]
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – The Oklahoma Railway Museum has taken delivery of a historic alternative fuel testbed locomotive, donated by BNSF Railway after use as a hydrogen fuel cell switcher in Southern California. Built as Canadian Pacific GP9 No. 8637 in 1957, the unit was rebuilt by CP in the mid-1980s and utilized in regular […]
SANDPOINT, Idaho — Thanks to an all-day work window on Aug. 6, 2023, the final track segments have been put into place to complete BNSF Railway’s 2-mile double-tracking project at the east end of its busy “Funnel” between Spokane, Wash., and Sandpoint. Completion of the new 4,873-foot bridge across Lake Pend Oreille in November 2022 […]
OMAHA, Neb. — BNSF Railway’s second-quarter earnings slumped 24% as volume and average revenue per car both declined, the railroad’s corporate parent, Berkshire Hathaway, said on Saturday. BNSF’s operating income fell 24%, to $1.6 billion, as revenue declined 11.6%, to $5.7 billion. The railway’s operating ratio increased five points, to 68.2%. Overall volume was down […]
PERHAM, Minn. — No injuries were reported when a BNSF Railway train carrying mixed freight derailed at approximately 12 a.m. today (Aug. 4) near Perham, Minn. No hazardous material was involved. BNSF did not respond to a question regarding the number of cars involved; KEYC-TV reports 13 railcars, most of them empty auto racks, derailed. […]
BNSF Railway is now testing Kawasaki’s Locomotive-Mounted Autonomous Track Geometry Measurement System, Kawasaki has announced. The system uses sensors and cameras to provide near-real-time track geometry data for track maintenance planning, Kawasaki says in a press release. Production units of the system have been in use since 2021 and have provided over 500,000 miles of […]
Classic Trains’ series “Diesels that didn’t” explores diesel locomotives that didn’t make it to large-scale production due to a variety of factors. However, some of those diesels made it to mass-production in the scale model world. Let’s take a look at the products offered to those modeling the diesels that didn’t. Electro-Motive Division BL2 HO […]
LINCOLN, Neb. — The Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division has sued BNSF Railway in federal court, charging that — in reducing its maintenance-of-way workforce while contracting out more work — the railroad has violated its agreements with the union and is therefore in violation of the Railway Labor Act. The BMWED filed the […]
WASHINGTON — The design of the grade crossing, which made it difficult for a driver to see an approaching train, was a contributing factor in last year’s fatal collision and derailment involving Amtrak’s Southwest Chief in Mendon, Mo., the National Transportation Safety Board said in its final accident report released today (Aug. 2, 2023). The […]
Tons of Black Gold rides the rails under Big Skies. Tom Danneman is frequently there to capture these unit trains, so we’ve compiled this video of heavy haulers working the western main lines. These big trains and even bigger skies are all part of what makes Tom’s brand of contemporary railfanning so compelling to view […]
Tons of Black Gold rides the rails under Big Skies. Tom Danneman is frequently there to capture these unit trains, so we’ve compiled this video of heavy haulers working the western main lines. These big trains and even bigger skies are all part of what makes Tom’s brand of contemporary railfanning so compelling to view […]
FORT WORTH, Texas — The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen and BNSF Railway have reached a systemwide agreement on paid sick leave and schedule improvements. The tentative agreement, announced today, includes up to eight paid sick leave days and grants access to scheduled time off in an effort to improve work-life balance for BNSF […]
