Norfolk Southern donates an additional $400,000 for hurricane relief

Norfolk Southern logo

ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern has donated an additional $400,000 to the American Red Cross to add in relief efforts following Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton, the company announced today (Oct. 10). The company had previously donated $100,000 to the organization for Helene relief on Oct. 1 [see “Norfolk Southern donates …,” Trains News Wire, Oct. […]

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Passenger, commuter rail operations resuming in Florida

Passenger train meets commuter train with station in background

MIAMI, Fla. — Passenger and commuter rail services in Florida are making plans to resume now that Hurricane Milton has passed through the state — although the storm has left significant damage in its wake. Amtrak, Brightline, and South Florida commuter operator Tri-Rail will all resume at least some service on Friday, Oct. 11 Tri-Rail […]

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Amtrak to end bus substitutions on Harrisburg Line ahead of schedule

Track maintenance equipment at work with track with new concrete ties in foreground

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Amtrak’s track renewal project on its Harrisburg Line is progressing ahead of schedule, allowing replacement bus service to end Nov. 7, two weeks earlier than originally projected, the passenger operator announced. Booking tools on the Amtrak website and app have been updated accordingly, with ticketing for Nov. 8 and beyond now available. […]

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Foraging for model railroad scenery materials

A city skyline is sen through a parting of trees in a forest, with a field of goldenrod and a bay of blue water between the forest and the city

It’s no secret that model railroading can be expensive. Big-ticket individual items, such as locomotives, can carry price tags which climb north of $500. For good reason, too; it’s all too easy to forget how far model locomotive technology has come in recent years, with detail better than ever thanks to simultaneous advances in scanning, […]

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Norfolk Southern line into Asheville, N.C., to be closed at least three months

Map of Norfolk Southern line between Morristown, Tenn., and Salisbury, N.C.

ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern says its line between Asheville, N.C., and Newport, Tenn. — heavily damaged by Hurricane Helene — will be out of service until at least late January, while assessment of the route between Asheville and Old Fort, N.C., is ongoing. In the area hardest hit in late September, on the AS Line […]

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Amtrak says Union Pacific could address most causes for Sunset Limited delays

WASHINGTON — Delays to the Sunset Limited were largely due to causes that could be addressed by Union Pacific, which failed to provide the statutory right of preference required for passenger trains, Amtrak says in the document containing its opening argument in the Surface Transportation Board’s investigation into the Sunsets poor on-time performance between Oct. […]

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Weekly U.S rail traffic ends long run in positive territory

Weekly table showing U.S. carload rail traffic by commodity type, plus overall intermodal volume

WASHINGTON — For the first time in more than nine months, U.S. weekly rail traffic has dropped below 2023 levels. For the week ending Oct. 5, total U.S. traffic was 486,187 carloads and intermodal units, a 2.5% decline from the same week a year earlier, according to statistics from the Association of American Railroads. It […]

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Railroads have no choice but to rebuild after Hurricane Helene: Commentary

Rail line dangling along river bank

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Skepticism spread throughout the railroad community after Hurricane Helene’s devastating once-in-a-generation floods wiped out roadbeds, destroyed bridges, and left most of western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee unrecognizable. Some in the industry expressed doubt that CSX and Norfolk Southern would invest the dollars needed to repair widespread damages. More than 40 miles […]

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CPKC announces schedule, performers for 2024 Holiday Train

Locomotive and railroad cars decorated with holiday lights

CALGARY, Alberta — Canadian Pacific Kansas City has released the schedule and list of performers for the annual CPKC Holiday Train, which begins its tours through the U.S. and Canada on Nov. 20. The railroad’s holiday train will also continue to include the Holiday Express, originated by Kansas City Southern, which will make a 13-stop […]

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CSX, short lines wind down operations at Hurricane Milton approaches landfall

Blue and yellow locomotives with boxcars

TAMPA, Fla. — Locomotives and freight cars are being moved to higher ground and railroad operations are winding down as Hurricane Milton is only a few hours from making landfall between Tampa Bay and Sarasota on Florida’s Gulf Coast. CSX is bracing customers for delays in the Tampa area as Hurricane Milton nears landfall later […]

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Ready for the spotlight: New York Central 3001

Man at podium surrounded by cameras in front of steam locomotive

The steam community is in a happy state of shock this week with the news that New York Central 3001, one of the NYC’s famed 4-8-2 Mohawk engines, might be restored to operating condition by the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society, operators of famed Nickel Plate Road 2-8-4 No. 765. The announcement came Oct. 9 […]

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New York Central Mohawk No. 3001 joins Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society fleet for potential return to steam

ELKHART, Ind. — The stage is set for a new partnership between the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society, the City of Elkhart, and the National New York Central Railroad Museum, announced in a press conference at the museum campus today (Oct. 9, 2024). The society — owner and operator of Nickel Plate Road 2-8-4 No. […]

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