WASHINGTON — Continuing the trend for the year to date, U.S. rail traffic remained down for the week ending Feb. 4, according to the latest statistics from the Association of American Railroads. Volume for the week was 449,586 carloads and intermodal units, down 1.9% compared to the same week in 2022. So far, traffic has […]
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — The evacuation order for those living within a mile of the site of last week’s Norfolk Southern derailment and fire has been lifted, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced this afternoon (Wednesday, Feb. 8). Residents within the evacuation zone will be offered air-quality checks of their homes, the Akron Beacon Journal reports, […]
Here at one of the Western Pacific’s last diesel locomotive shops is a great collection of rolling stock. The focus is on one of the West’s most beloved railroads, Western Pacific, which traveled through beautiful mountain scenery and hosted the legendary California Zephyr. The setting couldn’t be more appropriate at the Western Pacific Railroad Museum. […]
The RailGiants Train Museum houses an outstanding collection of significant locomotives and rolling stock. The site is on the grounds of the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds. The collection includes locomotive No. 9000, the only UP 4-12-2 in existence, locomotive No. 5021, the only Southern Pacific 4-10-2 in existence, rare Santa Fe 4-6-4 No. 3450, and […]
The Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad is a 1-hour, 4-mile narrated railroad excursion at Yosemite National Park’s south gate. The ride allows you to see what it was like when geared steam locomotives hauled massive log trains through the Sierra Nevadas. It is a restored segment of the old narrow gauge Madera Sugar Pine Lumber […]
The Nevada Northern Railway Museum is often hailed as the best-preserved standard-gauge railroad in the country. The operating railway museum is headquartered on a 56-acre complex with 66 historic buildings, set amid the vastness of the Great Basin. The railroad was completed in 1906 to haul copper, and most cars and locomotives have been on […]
The Nevada Southern Railway offers a train ride with a historical twist. This was part of the construction railroad from Las Vegas to Hoover Dam, with tracks having been laid in 1931. It’s a nice ride in the desert and a break from the hustle of Las Vegas. Choices Along the 35-minute round trip of […]
The Canadian customs agent checks your passport and gives you a puzzled look when you explain that you just landed in Vancouver so that you can head to Toronto tomorrow. The poor young chap cannot wrap his head around the concept of taking VIA Rail Canada’s Canadian 2,800 miles simply for the fun of it. […]
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — The first lawsuit has been filed in the wake of last week’s derailment of a Norfolk Southern train and the subsequent fire and evacuation. WFMJ-TV reports residents and a business owner in the evacuation area have filed a class-action civil liability suit in U.S. District Court against Norfolk Southern, alleging negligence, […]
Rail yard basics What are rail yard basics? Think of a yard as a giant sorting machine. It’s a place where freight trains are put together and taken apart. In the railroad industry, freight pays the bills. The faster cars are sorted and back on the road the sooner the cargo is delivered and an […]
Ronald C. “Ron” Hill, a prolific photographer of Western railroad subjects but also other forms of transportation, died Jan. 23, 2023, at age 85. His work constitutes “an incredible body of both color and black-and-white photography,” said Scott Lothes, executive director of the Center for Railroad Photography & Art, which had a close relationship with […]
SANFORD, Fla. — Both Amtrak Auto Trains scheduled to run later today (Wednesday, Feb. 8) have been cancelled after the Monday southbound departure from Lorton, Va., arrived at its destination in Sanford some 12 hours late on Tuesday. The cancellations reflect the domino effect of significantly delayed arrivals, and come at the end of a […]
