Any way you look at it, Canadian Pacific’s proposed acquisition of Kansas City Southern is a blockbuster deal. It creates the first railroad to link the U.S., Mexico, and Canada. It gives shippers from both railroads more single-line service options. And it will boost competition – with other railroads and, more importantly, trucks – in […]
Railroad: Canadian National
Digest: Alabama port agency asks regulators to deny Amtrak bid for Gulf Coast service
Alabama port agency asks STB to deny Amtrak effort to start Gulf Coast service The Alabama State Port Authority has asked the Surface Transportation Board to turn down Amtrak’s request for an order allowing it to start passenger service between New Orleans and Mobile, Ala., instead requesting the board compel Amtrak to complete the traffic […]
Digest: Amtrak to end 50% limit on seat sales in May
Amtrak to lift capacity limits on seat sales in May Amtrak will end its 50% capacity limit for ticket sales on May 24, a company spokesman has confirmed to Trains News Wire. The passenger railroad will continue to display information on the percentage of seats available on the Amtrak.com website for those wishing to seek […]
Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range Railway: A History
No. 231, one of Missabe’s famous 2-8-8-4s, passes two brand-new successor SD9s at Proctor Yard in May 1959. Marvin Nielsen History of the Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range From 1938 until it was purchased by Canadian National in 2004, the Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range Railway was “King of the Iron-Ore Haulers.” Its job was […]
Digest: Progress Rail ends manufacturing at La Grange, Ill., plant
Progress Rail closes La Grange engine plant Progress Rail has closed its La Grange, Ill., engine facility, ending manufacturing at a site that had been part of locomotive production since EMD broke ground for its main plant there in 1935. Progress, which announced plans to close the plant in 2018, said it anticipated the transition […]
Watco purchases lines in Wisconsin, Michigan, Ontario from CN (updated)
MONTREAL — Watco will buy 650 miles of branch lines in Wisconsin and Michigan from Canadian National, along with 250 miles of the company’s Soo Subdivision in Ontario, the companies announced today. In Ontario, where it acquires the line between Sault Ste. Marie and Oba, Ont., Watco will provide freight operations and continue the […]
Digest: Contractor warns of new delays in California High Speed project, citing land-acquisition issues
Contractor informs California high speed agency of new delays A contractor on California’s high speed rail project has told the state high speed rail agency that it will not complete a 65-mile section of the railway in the Central Valley until at least April 2025, almost two years after the target date in the agency’s […]
Digest: Judge rules for ‘Cascades’ engineer in suit against Amtrak
Judge grants Cascades train 501 engineer partial summary judgment in suit against Amtrak A judge in Washington state has ruled that Amtrak is strictly liable for the fatal 2017 derailment of an Amtrak Cascades train in DuPont, Wash., meaning a trial later this year over a claim by the train’s engineer will only be to […]
Rapido Trains HO scale MLW M420 diesel locomotive
Rapido Trains is bringing the comfort, Canadian style. We recently received a sample of the company’s new Montreal Locomotive Works (MLW) M420 locomotive, and it’s a beauty, eh? The prototype When Alco locomotive production ceased in Schenectady, N.Y., in 1969, locomotives continued to be built in Canada by former subsidiary Montreal Locomotive Works until […]
Digest: LA Union Station to be one of two sites for Academy Awards
LA Union Station to host part of Oscars ceremony Los Angeles Union Station will be one of the two venues for this year’s Academy Awards ceremony, Variety reports. The station, built in 1939, is a frequent setting for films, but has never been part of the Oscars. It will be used this year, along with […]
Digest: Plymouth, Minn., derailment could be cleaned up in weeks, CP says
CP says Minnesota derailment could be cleaned up in weeks Just days after city officials said cleanup of a March 7 Canadian Pacific derailment in Plymouth, Minn., could last into the summer, a new estimate says the work could be done in about four weeks. The Sun Sailor newspaper reports the change reflects a determination […]
CN acquisition of CSX Massena Line remains in limbo
Canadian National’s proposed acquisition of CSX Transportation’s Massena Line linking the Syracuse, N.Y., area with Montreal remains in limbo, two weeks after the Surface Transportation Board refused to reconsider a condition it placed on the deal. The railroads have declined to comment and they have not updated U.S. regulators. The railroads previously said they would […]