Strasburg collision damages No. 475, no one hurt

Steam locomotive passes standing passenger cars

PARADISE, Pa. — Strasburg Rail Road’s 4-8-0 steam engine No. 475 collided with a tracked excavator or “trackhoe” parked on a spur Wednesday morning, Nov. 2, punching a hole in the engine’s smokebox. No injuries resulted and the engine, running light, remained on the track. A combination of a misaligned switch — apparently left open when […]

Read More…

SoundTraxx TSU-N18 decoder with narrow profile

Small digital sound decoder on white background

TSU-N18 sound decoder Price: $124.95 Manufacturer: SoundTraxx, 141 Burnett Dr., Durango, CO 81301; 970-259-0690; soundtraxx.com Features: Sound library including 10 exhaust chuffs, up to 12 diesel engines per profile, up to 12 bells, 90 whistles, and more than 40 airhorns Plugs into models equipped with Next18 socket Additional couplers, dynamos, cab chatter, and more Dimensions: 25 x 9.5 […]

Read More…

Ottawa light rail extensions fall further behind schedule

Map of Ottawa light rail system

OTTAWA — Extensions to Ottawa’s light rail lines continue to fall behind schedule, with the western extension of the electrified Confederation line now likely to be completed 17 months late, and the southern addition to the diesel-powered Trillium line at least a year overdue. The CBC reports a city committee was told Tuesday that the […]

Read More…

Norfolk Southern train derails near Akron, Ohio

Norfolk Southern logo

RAVENNA TOWNSHIP, Ohio — Approximately 18 cars of a Norfolk Southern train derailed Tuesday evening in northeast Ohio, WKYC-TV reports. A railroad representative told the station that no injuries were reported and no hazardous materials were involved. The Portage County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management reported on its Facebook page that the derailment […]

Read More…

Illinois Railway Museum acquires SD50

Yellow and green diesel locomotive

UNION, Ill. — Former Chicago & North Western Railway SD50 No. 7009 is headed to the Illinois Railway Museum after two benefactors provided the funds to purchase the locomotive from the dead line at National Railway Equipment in Silvis, Ill. IRM says the locomotive is the first SD50 to be preserved by a museum. The […]

Read More…

MBTA general manager announces resignation

MBTA_Poftak

BOSTON — Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority General Manager Steve Poftak has announced his resignation, effective Jan. 3. The Boston Globe reports the resignation comes nearly a full year ahead of the end of his contract, but will coincide with the arrival of a new governor. It will end four years during which Poftak has led […]

Read More…