ALTOONA, Pa. — Norfolk Southern’s Lackawanna heritage locomotive, SD70ACe No. 1074, has emerged from the Juniata Locomotive Shop with a fresh coat of paint. NS, which showed off the locomotive on social media yesterday, says it took 10 carmen 750 hours to blast, prep, and paint the unit. More than 105 gallons of primer, color […]
Type of Train: Freight
Grain cars derail on UP train south of Dallas
MEXIA, Texas — About a dozen cars of grain derailed on a Union Pacific train Wednesday evening near Mexia, KCEN-TV reports. KXXV-TV places the incident in Shiloh, Texas, about 5 miles southeast of Mexia, and says it occurred about 6:45 p.m., after heavy rains and flooding in the area led to a washout, according to […]
STB chairman takes a parting shot at activist investor’s plans for Norfolk Southern
CHICAGO — Surface Transportation Board Chairman Martin J. Oberman on Wednesday blasted activist investor Ancora Holdings, saying that its plans for Norfolk Southern are a threat to rail service and the U.S. economy. Ancora and NS are trying to woo the railroad’s shareholders in a bitter proxy battle that will end May 9 at the […]
Gulf & Atlantic Railways becomes Pinsly Railroad Co.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Gulf & Atlantic Railways has changed its name to Pinsley Railroad Co. following its October 2023 acquisition of Pioneer Valley Railroad, the last Pinsly-owned short line. The company announced it was adopting the name of the second-oldest shortline holding company in North America, dating to 1938, on Wednesday, May 1. “It is […]
U.S. rail traffic up in April, third straight month with gains
WASHINGTON — Overall U.S. rail traffic was up 1.2% in April, the third straight month of gains compared to 2023, according to statistics from the Association of American Railroads. Traffic for the week ending April 27 was also up, marking the 14th straight week traffic exceeded levels of a year earlier. April’s figures included a […]
Union Pacific train derails in West Texas
PYOTE, Texas — About 20 cars of a Union Pacific intermodal train derailed today (May 1) near the West Texas community of Pyote, KMID/KPED-TV reports. The Ward County Sheriff’s Office reported it responded about 3 p.m. to a report of a derailment adjacent to Interstate 20. No injuries were reported and no hazardous materials have […]
Union approves strikes against CN, CPKC in Canada (updated)
Members of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference have authorized strikes against Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Kansas City, the union has announced today (May 1). Some 93.3% of train and engine crews at CN returned ballots, with 97.6% voting in favor of a strike. At CPKC, 91.7% of train and engine crews returned ballots, with […]
STB adopts final reciprocal switching rule for inadequate rail service
WASHINGTON — Shippers who are served by just one Class I railroad and receive substandard service will be able to seek access to a second railroad under a final reciprocal switching rule that federal regulators released today. The Surface Transportation Board’s final rule — the first to set minimum standards for rail service — tightened […]
Proxy advisory firm backs Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw and five of activist investor’s board candidates
Norfolk Southern shareholders should elect five of an activist investor’s seven board candidates but retain embattled CEO Alan Shaw, proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services recommended today. If institutional shareholders follow the ISS guidance at the NS annual meeting on May 9, it would leave Ancora Holdings two seats short of a majority on the […]
Effects of New Mexico derailment could last up to 10 days, BNSF says
FORT WORTH, Texas — BNSF has informed customers that it will take a week to 10 days for service to “improve and fully normalize” on its Southern Transcon in the wake of the derailment and fire that closed the line near the Arizona-New Mexico state line for three days. In a Monday service advisory, the […]
Latest CSX heritage locomotive wears Pere Marquette passenger livery
Pere Marquette is the newest heritage unit to join the growing CSX fleet of locomotives honoring its predecessor railroads. “Here is our latest CSX Heritage Locomotive celebrating the Pere Marquette line,” CEO Joe Hinrichs wrote on LinkedIn Monday night. “Locomotive #1899 represents the three Michigan-based railroads that merged to form the Pere Marquette to serve […]
Oberman to speak at NARS meeting
CHICAGO — Surface Transportation Board Chairman Martin J. Oberman has joined the list of speakers scheduled to appear at the North American Rail Shippers Conference, beginning tomorrow, April 30, and running through May 2 in Chicago. Oberman last week announced he would retire from the STB chairmanship on May 10 [see “STB’s Oberman sets May […]