Last train marks closure of Orangeville-Brampton Railway

Blue and black locomotive leads freight cars along line surrounded by trees

ORANGEVILLE, Ontario — GIO Rail operated the final train on the 34-mile Orangeville-Brampton Railway on Dec. 17, 2021, ending service on a line dating to 1879. The final train departed Orangeville for Streetsville, Ont., at about 9:15 a.m., with about 100 people on hand, following a brief ceremony and photo opportunity including GIO President Gerry […]

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NS intermodal train derails, closing Georgia highway

Double-stack cars derailed across roadway

SYCAMORE, Ga. — Some 14 cars of a Norfolk Southern intermodal train derailed Friday near Sycamore, closing an adjacent highway. No injuries were reported and no hazardous materials were involved. Turner County Fire/Emergency Management Agency reported U.S. 41 had been blocked by the derailment, which occurred about 7:30 a.m. Friday. Part of the route was […]

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Pennsylvania approves funding for 25 freight rail projects

The pennsylvania state seal

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania’s State Transportation Commission has approved $33 million in spending for 25 projects to improve freight rail operations in the state, Gov. Tom Wolf announced last week. Eleven railroads, as well as shippers and local government agencies, will receive state funding in amounts ranging from $87,000 to $9 million for track improvements, […]

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Meet the Modeler: Peter Atonna

A scene on Peter Atonna’s layout

    Hi-rail O gauge modeler Peter Atonna’s work last graced the cover of Classic Toy Trains in October 2017, but his relationship with the magazine goes back at least two layouts to the May 1997 issue. His current one, the detail-packed Seligman & Paulden Lines, showcases the best of long passenger and freight trains […]

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New Sherman Hill line conquers gravity for Union Pacific

The new Sherman Hill line in 1953 was Union Pacific’s latest improvement over the massive undertaking of building and maintaining a transcontinental railroad begun about 90 years earlier. Since the first surveyors ventured into the uplands west of Cheyenne in 1865, the Union Pacific has been waging intermittent war against the geography of southeastern Wyoming. […]

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Analysis: Do railroad mergers match their rosy growth projections?

Red, yellow, and black locomotive at grade crossing

Do railroad mergers live up to the hype? It’s a question that’s been rattling around in my head as federal regulators review the Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger, the first between Class I railroads in two decades. First, the projections. Within three years of the merger, Canadian Pacific Kansas City expects to gain 80,000 carloads […]

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BNSF to pay $1.5 million over oil spilled by derailment

BNSF Railway logo

OMAHA, Neb. — BNSF will pay a $1.5 million settlement to the Environmental Protection Agency over a 2018 derailment that led to an Iowa oil spill, the Associated Press reports. About 160,000 gallons of oil reached floodwaters near Doon, Iowa, in June 2018 after heavy rains washed out a BNSF line and flooded the Little […]

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Sierra Northern to operate line formerly used by Fillmore & Western

Train with two locomotives on low wooden bridge

FILLMORE, Calif. —California short line operator Sierra Northern Railway will be the new operator of Ventura County’s Piru to Montalvo, Calif., rail line, the Ventura County Transportation Commission has decided. By a 13-1 vote, the commission approved the contract for operation of the 30-mile, county-owned former Southern Pacific branch, to be known as the Sierra […]

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Chicago suburbs express concerns over CP-KCS merger (updated)

Locomotive next to wood station building

ROSELLE, Ill. — Eight Chicago suburbs are forming a coalition to voice concerns over the potential increase in rail traffic through their communities if the Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger is approved. The suburban Daily Herald reports Roselle, Elgin, Barlett, Hanover Park, Schaumburg, Itasca, Wood Dale and Bensenville are asking residents to submit comments to […]

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Chain-reaction vehicle crash in Wisconsin leads to derailment

Covered hopper cars on their side

POUND, Wis. — One person was killed and an unknown number of cars of an Escanaba & Lake Superior train were derailed after a chain-reaction highway accident at a grade crossing in the Town of Pound on Wednesday. WBAY-TV reports Marinette County Sheriff Jerry Sauve says the accident occurred in dense fog and involved vehicles […]

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STB clears path for Uinta Basin Railway project

Map showing proposed rail route in Utah

WASHINGTON — A Surface Transportation Board decision has cleared the way for construction of Utah’s Uinta Basin Railway. In a decision issued Wednesday, the board granted the exemption sought by the Seven County Infrastructure Coalition to construct the 85-mile line to connect oilfields in western Utah to the national rail network at a junction with […]

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Greenbrier joins Rail Pulse technology consortium

Greenbrier Companies logo

LAKE OSWEGO, Ore. — Railcar manufacturer The Greenbrier Companies has joined the Rail Pulse coalition, becoming the first company beyond the five founding members to join the effort to develop GPS and telematic technology for railcar tracking and other applications. Norfolk Southern, Genesee & Wyoming, Watco, GATX Corp, and TrinityRail formed Rail Pulse in 2020. […]

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