Senators call for study of additional Amtrak service in Northwest

Logo of the Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority

WASHINGTON — In a boost to efforts to reestablish Amtrak service along the former North Coast Hiawatha route, a bipartisan group of eight U.S. senators have asked the Federal Railroad Administration to establish a group to study additional passenger service in the Pacific Northwest. The Missoula Current reports the senators — Republicans Mitt Romney (Utah), […]

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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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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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Amtrak employee sues over ‘Empire Builder’ accident

Three men in hard hats and safety vests in front of derailed passenger train

GREAT FALLS, Mont. — An Amtrak on-board service attendant injured in September’s derailment of the Empire Builder has become the latest to file suit over the accident. The Billings Gazette reports Tarrick Peyton filed suit in U.S. District Court in Great Falls against Amtrak and BNSF Railway for negligence in the Sept. 25 accident that killed […]

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‘Dragon’ train makes debut in New Mexico

Train with elaborate paint scheme and flatcar with giant Christmas packages in desert scenery

LAMY, N.M. — It’s been over 18 months since George R.R. Martin, Catherine Oppenheimer,  Bill Banowsky, and several others bought the Santa Fe Southern Railroad and started the transformation to what is now Sky Railway.  Based in Lamy, the railroad has seen several owners since the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe ended operations in 1992 […]

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UP train derails in Idaho

Union Pacific logo with Building America slogan

HAMMETT, Idaho — Approximately 28 cars of a Union Pacific train derailed early Sunday morning in Hammett, shutting down the railroad’s main route between Utah and the Pacific Northwest. No injuries were reported. KBOI-TV quotes a railroad representative as saying the accident occurred about 1:30 a.m. west of Hammett, which is about 73 miles southeast […]

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Back to business travel aboard Amtrak

Travel aboard a long-distance train for business? Before you set your time machine back to 1951, you might want to consider the perks of booking an overnight trip on a present-day Amtrak train! That’s precisely what Trains.com staffers did when they needed to get themselves, plus all their photography and video gear, from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, […]

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Back to business travel aboard Amtrak

Travel aboard a long-distance train for business? Before you set your time machine back to 1951, you might want to consider the perks of booking an overnight trip on a present-day Amtrak train! That’s precisely what Trains.com staffers did when they needed to get themselves, plus all their photography and video gear, from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, […]

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Nevada Northern Railway’s 2-8-0 No. 81 in steam

Steam locomotive with white smoke plume seen from a low angle.

In Fall 2021, Nevada Northern Railway celebrated the return of 2-8-0 Consolidation-type steam locomotive No. 81 after sitting cold for decades. No. 81’s return also coincided with the 81st anniversary of Trains Magazine, whose staff cancelled most celebrations in 2020 because of the on-going pandemic. Join Trains Editor Jim Wrinn, Nevada Northern crews, and a […]

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Rocky Mountaineer Colorado Adventure

In the fall of 2021, Trains.com staff rode Amtrak train no. 5, California Zephyr from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Denver, Colorado, with the expressed intent of capturing seasonal operations of Rocky Mountaineer’s Colorado-Utah excursion. While best known for day treks into the Canadian Rockies, this new Rocky Mountaineer route offers patrons a similar mountain canyon experience […]

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Remembering Milwaukee Road locomotives

Broadside of streamlined steam locomotive in valley

Milwaukee Road locomotives All through November, Classic Trains editors are celebrating the multi-faceted Milwaukee Road. Please enjoy this photo gallery of Milwaukee Road selected from the image archives of Kalmbach Media’s David P. Morgan Library. The Milwaukee Road operated with steam, electric, and diesel motive power in its Midwest-to-Northwest service area. There are examples in […]

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