MBTA Red Line work eliminates 37 speed restrictions

Wooden ties undergoing replacement on transit line

BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority eliminated 37 speed restrictions on an 18-mile section of track during a 24-day shutdown of a portion of its Red Line Braintree Branch, the transit agency says. Work was conducted between the JFK/UMass stations from Sept. 6 to Sept. 29, with one day of work also extended onto […]

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Thinking about Appalachia’s railroaders: Commentary

CSX train passing through small town

ERWIN, Tenn. — Railroaders take pride in the work they do. They provide for their families. They play an irreplaceable role in the movement of goods in the U.S. economy and they re-invest their hard-earned wages into the communities they live and work — building homes, shopping local, and supporting small communities where railroads have […]

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New feed mill opens on Pennsylvania’s North Shore Railroad

Short train passes in front of silos at new feed mill

NEW COLUMBIA, Pa. — A ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday, Sept. 27, marked the completion of a new feed mill to be served by the North Shore Railroad’s Union County Industrial Railroad. The $47 million mill for Country View Family Farms, a division of Clemens Food Group LLC, was completed following two years of construction. The […]

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CSX’s former Clinchfield largely unrecognizable after historic flood

Town and rail line showing flood damage

ERWIN, Tenn.  — CSX Transportation’s ex-Clinchfield Railroad mainline has seen devastating impacts from Hurricane Helene’s once-in-a-generation flood. It is still too early to determine the full extent of damages, but photos along the famed Clinchfield route are revealing extensive damage exacerbated by the region’s remoteness. High waters are prohibiting emergency responders and railroad officials from […]

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Once-in-a-generation floods hit North Carolina mountain railroads (additional update)

Flood waters and debris at railroad bridge

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Communities along the former Southern Railway and Clinchfield Railroad in western North Carolina have seen record-setting rainfalls in the days prior to Hurricane Helene. Now, tropical weather is pouring additional rainfall into the area, creating what local meteorologists are calling a once-in-a-generation storm. Places along NS’ former Southern S-Line on the French […]

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Mt. Rainier Scenic acquires cars from North Carolina museum

Side view of green heavyweight passenger car

ELBE, Wash. — The Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad has purchased three ex-Reading Co. passenger cars from the North Carolina Transportation for use in its steam heritage rail operations. Mt. Rainier Scenic said in a press release that the museum determined the cars, built between 1922 and 1927 by the Standard Steel Car Co. and Bethlehem […]

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MBTA sets October maintenance shutdowns

Map of rail lines

BOSTON — A series of shutdowns on the rapid transit Orange Line and a week of disruptions for the Mattapan Line trolley operationare the primary focal points for Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority track work in October, part of the agency’s ongoing efforts to address a maintenance backlog. Two weekends of shutdowns on the Green Line […]

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