A refrigerator car rolls into the bowl of Union Pacific’s North Platte, Nebr., hump yard. The box to the right contains a radar speed-monitoring device. Union Pacific photo […]
Modern railroading
Type of Train: Freight
Orange oasis
Santa Fe mechanical reefer No. 51164, built in 1966, is from the railroad’s largest group of mechanical cars, the 700 57-footers of class Rr-89. It wears the late all-orange scheme. J. David Ingles collection […]
Engineer’s eye view
A clear signal over track 2 beckons the Pennsylvania’s St. Louisan near Radebaugh, Pa. On track 1, a J1 2-10-4 pushes on an eastbound freight while a set of Baldwin Sharknose helpers approaches on track 3. Philip R. Hastings photo […]
Intermodal pioneer
New York Central’s Flexi-Van system, unveiled in spring 1956, employed truck trailers with detachable wheels that locked on special flat cars, saving time, weight, and height. Other railroads that bought into the concept included Illinois Central and Milwaukee Road. Jim Shaughnessy photo […]
Trains News Wire Digest for Thursday, March 12 NEWSWIRE
Passengers pour from an NJ Transit commuter train with Arrow III equipment at Elizabeth, N.J. The 1970s-era equipment is subject to frequent breakdowns, according to a New York Times article. TRAINS: David Lassen Thursday morning rail news: — New Jersey State Senate President Stephen Sweeney is questioning the fitness of NJ Transit’s CEO to run […]
AAR: US railroad intermodal traffic dives more than 14 percent for the week ended March 7 NEWSWIRE
Association of American Railroads WASHINGTON — The Association of American Railroads today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending March 7, 2020. For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 462,303 carloads and intermodal units, down 9.1% compared with the same week last year. Total carloads for the week ending March 7 were […]
Rail executives expect international intermodal volume to fall because of virus NEWSWIRE
A Pacific Harbor Line train works at the Port of Los Angeles in January 2018. Traffic at the port was down significantly in February, and railroad officials anticipate a significant decrease in international intermodal traffic, because of the coronavirus. TRAINS: David Lassen NEW YORK – The full impact of the global coronavirus epidemic will soon […]
Union Pacific’s Tennessee Pass could become short cut for Utah crude oil NEWSWIRE
WASHINGTON — Union Pacific has been negotiating a sale of its dormant Tennessee Pass route with Rio Grande Pacific, the short line holding company that would operate a new railroad proposed to haul heavy crude oil out of Utah’s Uinta Basin. The information was accidentally disclosed in a filing posted briefly to the Surface Transportation […]
Trains News Wire Digest for Wednesday, March 4 NEWSWIRE
The Wednesday morning rail roundup: — In a significant blow to the fledgling commuter rail service, California voters in Sonoma and Marin counties have turned down a measure extending the quarter-cent sales tax that funds Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit. Approval of the measure would have guaranteed funding through 2059, the Santa Rosa Press-Democrat reports; without […]
Midwest Association of Rail Shippers elects new officers NEWSWIRE
New MARS President Stefan Loeb, left, is congratulated by outgoing president Tom Surma, who was honored for his leadership at the 2020 Winter Meeting in January. MARS submitted photo CHICAGO — The Midwest Association of Rail Shippers (MARS) elected its 2020 slate of officers at the annual winter meeting earlier in January. The 2020 MARS […]
Announcements begin on rail infrastructure grants NEWSWIRE
WASHINGTON — Local legislators and recipients are beginning to announce that they have been awarded Federal Railroad Administration grants for infrastructure projects. The Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvement (CRISI) grants can be used for passenger projects, grade-crossing improvements, capacity projects and other rail projects. Among those announced so far: — $21.5 million to the […]
Class I operating ratios reach new lows in 2019 NEWSWIRE
A CSX train passes through Blue Island, Ill., in September 2019. CSX led Class I railroads in operating ratio in 2019. TRAINS: David Lassen The operating ratio at every Class I railroad fell below 65% for the first time in 2019 as the industry average improved to an all-time low of 61.9%. The increased profitability […]
