CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Union Pacific has announced plans for its “Heritage Donation Special,” moving two steam locomotives, its Centennial diesel, and other equipment, from Cheyenne to the Railroading Heritage of Midwest America facility in Silvis, Ill., Nov. 11-19. The schedule was announced in an email to UP Steam Club members. The train will include Challenger […]
Zone & Region: Mountain West
Utah agency selling Comet commuter cars
SALT LAKE CITY — If you’ve ever wanted your own Comet, here’s your chance. A Comet commuter coach, that is. KSTU-TV reports the Utah Transit Authority is selling its 25 ex-NJ Transit Comet commuter cars at auction. TNT Auction is offering the cars in an online auction through Nov. 1, with an opening bid of […]
Rio Grande F7s on a freight
An A-B-B-A set of Denver & Rio Grande Western F7s heads west out of Granby, Colo., west of the Moffat Tunnel, with a train heavy with refrigerator cars in 1959. D. J. Davidson photo […]
Cleanup continues after shortline derailment in Idaho
TWIN FALLS, Idaho — Cleanup continued Thursday after about a dozen cars of an Eastern Idaho Railroad derailed Wednesday night, KMTV reports. No injuries or hazardous-materials situation were reported as a result of the accident, which blocked Hankins Road in the southern Idaho community. The Eastern Idaho Railroad, a Watco property, operates 385 route-miles in […]
OmniTRAX finalizes deal for San Luis & Rio Grande
DENVER — OmniTRAX has completed an agreement to purchase the assets of the bankrupt San Luis & Rio Grande Railroad, which will become the company’s 26th short line. Bankruptcy trustee William Brandt had said last month that the company had signed an agreement in principle to purchase the 155-mile Colorado railroad, a former Denver & […]
ENSCO to test Stadler equipment at Pueblo facility
SPRINGFIELD, Va. — ENSCO Rail will conduct operational testing on new Stadler diesel multiple-unit trainsets at the Transportation Technology Center in Pueblo, Colo., ENSCO has announced. The new trainsets are being built for Dallas Area Rapid Transit for its Silver Line (also known as the Cotton Belt Corridor), a 26-mile rail line from DFW Airport […]
BNSF’s new Sandpoint, Idaho, bridge nears opening
SANDPOINT, Idaho — BNSF Railway’s nearly mile-long second bridge across Lake Pend Oreille near Sandpoint is now structurally complete and tracklaying has begun. BNSF spokeswoman Lena Kent says, “The new bridge will have trains operating over it by the end of November.” Initially, the second main will be laid from a point near the northwest […]
Savage to open new transload facility in Southern Utah
CEDAR CITY, Utah — Logistics and supply-chain firm Savage will open a new transloading facility in Southern Utah, the company has announced. The Savage Railport-Southern Utah will be northwest of Cedar City in Iron County, Utah. Served by Union Pacific, it will provide transloading for agricultural products, construction materials, and other commodities. The new facility, to […]
BNSF derailment in Montana leads to gasoline spill
BRIDGER, Mont. — Residents near Bridger, Mont., were issued an evacuation warning late Friday night after a BNSF derailment that spilled about 31,000 gallons of gasoline, KTVQ-TV reports. Fifteen cars were reported to have derailed in the accident at about 11:30 p.m. about a half-mile east of Bridger. No injuries were reported. In addition to […]
Rail service to Denver airport to be reduced in October
DENVER — The Regional Transportation District A-Line, which connects Denver International Airport to Denver Union Station, will operate at a reduced frequency for most of October, the RTD has announced. Trains will run at 30-minute intervals between Oct. 3 and Oct. 29 to accommodate right-of-way repairs, departing Union Station on the hour and half-hour, and […]
Rocket at Denver Union Station
An E7 backs Rock Island’s Rocky Mountain Rocket into Denver Union Station in the early 1950s. Meanwhile, five tracks to the right, a Union Pacific switcher pulls a consist from the station. Donald Sims photo […]
New FTs on the Rio Grande
Denver & Rio Grande Western FT set No. 541, purchased in 1942, hauls a freight up the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains at Arena, later renamed Rocky, Colo. John W. Maxwell photo […]