How did your favorite railroad fare in traffic growth last year? Probably about the same as every other railroad. Five of the big six Class I systems ran neck-and-neck and ended 2018 with 4-percent traffic growth, according to a review of the railroads’ Association of American Railroads weekly carload reports for the final week of […]
A Metra Electric train approaches the Matteson station on a coach-yard track as maintenance equipment works on the main line in 2017. Metra’s 2019 capital budget includes $54.6 million for track and structures. David Lassen MARCO ISLAND, Fla. – Metra has been cash-starved for a long time. But if that changes, the Chicago-area commuter rail […]
MARCO ISLAND, Fla. – The introduction of positive train control remains very much a work in progress, with all the bugs and growing pains that accompany a new technology. But for all that, PTC has definitely begun demonstrating its ability to avoid accidents. Jim LeVere, BNSF Railway vice president, engineering – signals, telecommunications and network […]
Matt Rose MARCO ISLAND, Fla. – Matt Rose thinks the railroad industry is placing itself at regulatory risk with its embrace of Precision Scheduled Railroading. “We have this common-carrier obligation to provide freight service to all customers in all markets,” said Rose, BNSF Railway’s executive chairman, during a Monday morning “fireside chat” at the annual […]
BOULDER CITY, Nev. — Two well-known former Amtrak diesel locomotives that were preserved about a decade ago are on the move from their former display site in Ogden, Utah to the Nevada State Railroad Museum’s Nevada Southern Railway excursion operation and museum in Boulder City. The two locomotives, SDP40F No. 644 and F40PHR No. 231, […]
NORFOLK, Va. — Norfolk Southern will drop intermodal service in more than two dozen lanes in February, March, and April as the railroad looks to simplify its fast-growing intermodal network. “In an effort to improve service on the overall Norfolk Southern intermodal network, we are making targeted changes to our service offerings,” the railroad said […]
The Westbound Sunset Limited pauses at Alpine, Texas, in May 2016. The Sunset will be reduced to twice-weekly operation for a seven-week period beginning Jan. 20. Bob Johnston A full baggage cart greets the westbound Sunset Limited during a stop in El Paso, Texas. Bob Johnston SAN ANTONIO, Texas — The Sunset Limited will begin […]
FORT WORTH, Texas — The partial shutdown of the federal government could prevent the TEXRail commuter line from full operation on Saturday, its scheduled opening day. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports that the rail line from downtown Fort Worth to DFW International Airport needs Federal Railroad Administration certification for a junction near downtown, where the […]
HO scale freight cars Pullman-Standard 4,740-cubic-foot-capacity three-bay covered hopper. Burlington Northern (Cascade Green, three-pack features paint scheme variations); Chicago & North Western (green, gray, and yellow schemes); Milwaukee Road (gray); Montana Rail Link (gray); Pillsbury (gray with black underbody); and Reading, Blue Mountain & Northern (gray). Three single cars and one three-pack per scheme. Roller-bearing […]
Video via YouTube posted by “Carmen Garcia” PASADENA, Calif. — There’s no word yet on what caused a Chinese-American and Transcontinental Railroad-themed parade float to catch fire in California on New Year’s Day. Attendees of the Tournament of Roses parade in Pasadena, Calif., recorded video of smoke coming from a float that re-created, in flowers, […]
President Donald Trump The White House When Trains editors look at the Top 10 stories of the year, it’s always a close call on which stories make it and which do not. Here are the stories that came close, but didn’t quite make the Top Ten cut for 2018. California High Speed Rail: Seemingly on […]
Leviathan will get a new role in Pennsylvania this spring. Trains: Jim Wrinn ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. — Good bye Central Pacific No. 63, Leviathan! Hello Pennsylvania Railroad No. 331. The operating 4-4-0 replica of one of the locomotives in the first transcontinental railroad 150 years ago is being redecorated to represent the PRR engine that pulled […]
