Amtrak Wolverine to Chicago delayed more than 13 hours

Passenger train approaching grade crossing

CHICAGO — Some details have emerged from an ill-fated Friday, Oct. 7, trip of Amtrak Wolverine No. 351, the morning departure from Pontiac, Mich., which arrived in Chicago more than 13 hours late. The trip, scheduled for a trip of 5 hours, 49 minutes with a 10:32 a.m. arrival finally reached Chicago Union station at […]

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Advocacy group says MBTA Orange Line service is slower than before maintenance shutdown

People on station platform next to subway train

BOSTON — Service on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s rapid-transit Orange Line is slower than it was prior to a 30-day shutdown for major repairs, the Boston Herald reports, citing data from Boston-area advocacy group TransitMatters. Combined with service cuts reflecting the agency’s shortage of dispatchers — a response to directives from the Federal Transit […]

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BNSF’s new Sandpoint, Idaho, bridge nears opening

Front view of train crossing bridge with second bridge under construction at left

SANDPOINT, Idaho — BNSF Railway’s nearly mile-long second bridge across Lake Pend Oreille near Sandpoint is now structurally complete and tracklaying has begun. BNSF spokeswoman Lena Kent says, “The new bridge will have trains operating over it by the end of November.” Initially, the second main will be laid from a point near the northwest […]

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UP-sponsored training center to open in New Mexico

Union Pacific logo with Building America slogan

SUNLAND PARK, N.M. — Ceremonies to mark a new workforce training center funded through a grant from Union Pacific are set for Wednesday, Oct. 19, at Dona Ana Community College in Sunland Park, near Santa Teresa, N.M., and El Paso, Texas. The ribbon-cutting will be held at 10 a.m. The Las Cruces Bulletin reports the Union […]

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CP’s experimental 2-10-4

Canadian Pacific Class T4a No. 8000

In 1931, two years after placing in service a fleet of 20 conventional 2-10-4s, Canadian Pacific constructed an experimental version. Class T4a No. 8000 had three cylinders and a multi-pressure boiler that supplied 250 PSI steam to the two outside cylinders and 850 PSI steam to the inside cylinder. It was retired in 1936. Classic […]

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Rail bridge linking Crimea and Russia damaged in major explosion

Train at arches on bridge in golden hour

The nearly 12-mile-long railway bridge connecting Russia with the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia has illegally occupied since 2014, was seriously damaged Saturday, Oct. 8, by an explosion that destroyed part of the parallel road bridge. The explosion occurred just after 6 a.m. local time. The exact cause of the explosion remains unclear although it appears […]

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Chessie the railroad kitten

a drawing of three sleeping kittens

Chessie’s story is a unique one. Born to the world in 1933, from the imagination of many, Chessie’s tale begins innocently with her asleep, one eye slightly opened, and a paw stretched out from underneath a blanket. Her story, as it develops, flooded the mainstream media, creeping into people’s homes during a painful and uncertain […]

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What regulations govern hauling steel?

A black coil steel gondola car loaded with five steel coils rolls by a station in a freight train

Q: I was wondering, what regulations govern hauling steel? What are the rules for hauling steel beams, sheet metal, and rolled steel? With steel beams, do they go by the weight of the beam or the thickness? What about sheet metal loads; do they go by thickness or quantity of the load? With rolled steel, […]

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Sabotage blamed for disruption to German rail operations

Two white high-speed trains at station

BERLIN — German national rail operator Deutsche Bahn says sabotage shut down its rail network in northern Germany for several hours Saturday, broadcaster DW reports. Investigators said communications cables were cut at one location near Berlin and another in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, leading Interior Minister Mancy Faester to say that officials “have to […]

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News photos: Aerial views show extent of Seminole Gulf damage

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Aerial photos from Trains News Wire contributor Sol Tucker provide some indication of the extent of the damage sustained by southwest Florida’s Seminole Gulf Railway as a result of Hurricane Ian. The photos were taken Friday (Oct. 7). Railroad officials said earlier this week that at least a half-dozen bridges on […]

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City of New Orleans, Crescent resume seven-day operation

Passenger train on curve

NEW ORLEANS — Amtrak will finally restore daily service to and from New Orleans on the Crescent and City of New Orleans, among the last of the routes that have only offered five-day-a-week operations since service cuts in January. Saturday and Sunday service on both the Chicago-New Orleans City route and the New York-New Orleans […]

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