In reversal, CSX Santa Train to run in November

Train greeted by large crowd of people

KINGSPORT, Tenn. — The CSX Santa Train will run this year after all. In a reversal of an earlier decision, the Santa Train Facebook page announced this morning (Tuesday, Sept. 27) that the train will mark its 80th anniversary year by running on Saturday, Nov. 19. “Feedback and community support, in addition to positive developments […]

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Machinists’ union reaches second tentative agreement with railroads

Numerous yellow locomotives parked in service area. Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena asks FRA for rolling stock inspection data.

WASHINGTON – The machinists’ union has reached a second tentative agreement with Class I railroads, just under two weeks after the rank and file rejected the union’s first tentative deal. “We are pleased to announce that the nation’s freight railroads have reached a tentative agreement with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM),” […]

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Return of InnoTrans draws more than 137,000 (updated)

View from above of large, crowded display area for one company at trade show

BERLIN — While not quite matching the record numbers it set in 2018, the 2022 InnoTrans trade fair, which concluded Friday, made a strong return after a four-year pause. A total of 137,394 people attended the four-day event, according to the event’s closing report, with visitors from 131 countries attending the world’s largest rail industry event. […]

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Patriot Rail to acquire Louisiana’s Delta Southern Railroad

Logo of Delta Southern railroad

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Patriot Rail, which concluded its acquisition of Pioneer Lines earlier this month, will expand further through acquisition of Delta Southern Railroad, the companies announced Monday. Delta Southern operates more than 40 miles of track in two line segments about 60 miles apart in Monroe and Tallulah, La., serving two Mississippi River ports: […]

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Nashville Steam raise more than $200,000 for restoration of No. 576

Steam engine being worked on in shop building

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Nashville Steam raised more than $200,000 toward restoration of Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis No. 576 during a matching-grant fund drive this summer, the organization has announced. Beginning in May, all donations of $250 or more toward work on the 4-8-4 built by Alco in 1942 were matched through a program sponsored by […]

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Silver Star, Auto Train cancelled in advance of Hurricane Ian

Train waiting to leave station

WASHINGTON — With Hurricane Ian bearing down on Florida and the Southeast, Amtrak has cancelled Auto Train in both directions Tuesday and Wednesday, Sept. 27 and 28. Amtrak also says in an online advisory that the New York-Tampa-Miami Silver Star that departed today (Monday, Sept. 26) is terminating at Jacksonville, Fla., Tuesday morning; its northbound […]

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Florio, key legislator in passage of Staggers Act, dies

Man in coat and tie in front of New Jersey flag

Jim Florio, a former New Jersey congressman and governor credited with a key role in passage of 1980’s Staggers Act, which partially deregulated railroads, has died. He was 85. Florio’s death on Sunday, Sept. 25, was announced on Twitter by law partner Doug Steinhardt. No cause or place of death was given. While the bill […]

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Colonial house kit from Walthers Cornerstone

Model of colonial-style house

Colonial house kit Scale: HO (1:87:1) Price: $39.98 Manufacturer: Wm. K. Walthers Inc., 5601 W. Florist Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53218; 414-527-0770; walthers.com Colonial house features: Injection-molded plastic construction Attached one-car garage with interior wall framing Covered front porch Ornate trim Separate windows and shutters Molded in four colors Measures: 6-3/4” x 5” x 4-3/4” Release date: Winter 2023 […]

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