Diesel locomotives today generally have either two- or three-axle trucks, a wheel arrangement called B-B and C-C. The B-B wheel arrangement indicates a two-axle truck with both axles powered, while C-C means a truck with three powered axles. This naming convention uses letters for powered axles and numerals for non-powered “idler” axles — found on older […]
AEI data tags and readers enable rail cars to be tracked as they move across the North American rail system. The AEI (Automatic Equipment Identification) system consists of passive tags mounted on each side of rolling stock and active trackside readers. The system uses radio frequency and replaces an unsuccessful older optically-based car tracking system […]
Another little piece of the Milwaukee Road is fading away in Tacoma, Wash. Tacoma Rail aka Tacoma Municipal Belt Line Railway consisted of three divisions. The Tidelands Division, the Mountain Division and the Capitol Division, now known as the Lakewood Division. The Capitol Division included lines in the Olympia, Wash., area and industries in South […]
STRASBURG, Pa. — Norfolk & Western steam locomotive No. 611 debuted for its 2023 operating season last weekend with a series of events and excursions on the Strasburg Rail Road. The J-class 4-8-4 returned to the tourist railroad earlier this month after spending the beginning of the year as an exhibit at the next-door Railroad […]
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – WATCO’s Alabama Southern Railroad will construct a new yard in Tuscaloosa. The company plans to invest around $9.8 million in a new yard facility in the Tuscaloosa County Airport Industrial Park to support operations currently conducted at the company’s facility near downtown Tuscaloosa. The second facility will provide additional capacity and reduce […]
MADISON, Mo. – A truck driver was killed Sunday after he failed to stop at a crossing and struck a Norfolk Southern rock train, causing it to derail, KCRG News reported. Russell Minnis, 65, of Higbee, Mo., was killed after his semi-truck did not stop at the U.S. Route 24 crossing 2 miles east of […]
ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Minnesota Legislature has approved a transportation measure that includes nearly $195 million in funding for the Northern Light Express passenger rail service from the Twin Cities to Duluth, Minn. If implemented, it would be the first passenger service to Duluth since Amtrak’s North Star was dropped in 1985. The 152-mile […]
NEW CANAAN, Conn. – The Connecticut Department of Transportation (CDOT) will begin track work on the Metro-North Railroad New Canaan Branch May 30. The electrified 8-mile single-track branch carries 41 trains each weekday. Service includes several New Canaan-Grand Central Terminal through trains; others include New Canaan-Stamford shuttles, connecting with New Haven Line trains. CDOT owns […]
Tehachapi: An oasis in the mountains Planning a trip to the Tehachapi Mountains in California? Thinking about watching and photographing trains at the Loop, Cable, Caliente, Bealville, maybe as far down as Edison on the Bakersfield side? They are all great places. But don’t forget Tehachapi, the town. Geographically, the little city of about 15,000 […]
Wabtec In the rail world today, Wabtec is viewed as the company that bought General Electric’s locomotive production. This is the simple version of the story. When we trace Wabtec to its roots, we find that, as many of us know, the company is also known for an invention that revolutionized railroad safety — the […]
Editor’s Note: This is an abridged version of a feature that will run in the October issue of Trains Magazine that will examine intermodal developments on both BNSF Railway and Union Pacific. It’s not easy for railroads’ domestic intermodal customers to jump ship, which is why their partnerships tend to endure for decades. Yet change […]
ALEXANDER, W.Va. — The Carter-Roag Coal Co. plans to close its Morgan Camp mine, the last coal mine in Randolph County, W.Va., as well as the Star Bridge coal preparation plant, likely spelling the end of the company’s Beech Mountain Railroad. Local news reports say Carter-Roag, a subsidiary of United Coal Co., announced last week […]
