Rail safety experts question conclusions of long-train derailment study

Derailed cars on curve leading onto bridge

Railroad safety experts are questioning the conclusions of a study released this week that found that a 200-car train is 24% more likely to derail than a 50-car train. The study, by researchers from Brigham Young University, Georgetown University, and Virginia Tech, analyzed Federal Railroad Administration rail equipment accident data from 2013 through 2022. The […]

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Pacific Surfliner adds service for X Games in Ventura

Bilevel passenger car wrapped with advertising for X Games sporting event

VENTURA, Calif. — For the second straight year, Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner is adding service to Ventura while the city hosts the X Games sporting competition. The additional trains will run June 28-30; during the same period, reservations will be required on the Surfliners because of anticipated additional ridership, and the Rail 2 Rail and Metrolink […]

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Railroad-theme artists’ workshop slated at Station Inn in Cresson, Pa.

Bed-and-breakfast structure near railroad tracks

CRESSON, Pa. – Noted railroad painter and illustrator J. Craig Thorpe will conduct a three-day artists’ workshop at The Station Inn railfan bed & breakfast in Cresson Aug. 23-25. Open to artists of all levels, the event will combine working experiences with discussions of approach, style, composition, form, lighting, and perspective. Those attending will visit the nearby Railroaders […]

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Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad CEO announces retirement

Man sitting in passenger car

PENINSULA, Ohio — Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad President and CEO Joe Mazur will retire from the heritage railroad as of Sept. 30, the railroad announced Thursday. Mazur joined the railroad in March 2017 following a career in arena management and as President/CEO of International Soap Box Derby, the Akron, Ohio, organization where he had worked […]

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University of Illinois celebrates opening of National University Rail Center of Excellence

URBANA-CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign officially opened the National University Rail Center of Excellence with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday (May 29). The center is the first academic rail research and education center of excellence to be supported by the Federal Railroad Administration with the help of […]

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Railfan weekend on the Vermont Rail System

green train passing end of covered bridge

Railfan weekend Join Trains Magazine staff members Kevin Gilliam (video producer), Carl Swanson (editor), and Nastassia Putz (production editor), for a railfan weekend photo charter event in Rutland, Vt., on Sept. 28 and 29. We are celebrating Vermont Rail System’s 60th anniversary of the Green Mountain Railroad (Bellows Falls Line). We will be exploring the […]

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News photo: Mexico, meet La Empresa

Steam engine on bridge

LAREDO, Texas — The Final Spike Steam Tour has entered the third country on its itinerary. This morning, the train celebrating the Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger crossed into Mexico, a historic moment underscoring the three-nation linkage created by the CPKC merger and marking the first trip into that country for CP 4-6-4 No. 2816. […]

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Record number of short lines earn Jake Safety Awards

Red and white locomotive brings freight cars over bridge

A record number of short lines qualified for the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association’s Jake Safety Award this year, with 340 railroads earning the “with distinction” honor for having zero reportable injuries for 2023. Overall, 385 railroads qualified for the safety award program, the industry group said yesterday. Nineteen member railroads will be […]

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