Auto-Train caboose departs California for Georgia

Auto carrier with caboose cupola on siding

SANTA PAULA, Calif. — A 1970s automobile carrier and caboose freight car built for Auto-Train service between Lorton, Va. and Sanford, Fla. is being moved to St. Marys, Ga., for restoration. Purchased by Florida Adventures in Railroading, a non-profit company headquartered in St. Augustine, it had been owned by the defunct Fillmore & Western Railway. […]

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Transport Canada announces new rules regarding train brakes

OTTAWA — The Canadian government will require railroads to revise rules regarding inspection and maintenance of air brakes and develop a winter operating plan under a ministerial order announced Monday. The move is one of several undertaken by Transport Canada as a result of Transportation Safety Board findings into the February 2019 runaway of a […]

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‘Unintentional’ move of MBTA train causes commuter delays

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority logo

BRAINTREE, Mass. — A Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority rapid-transit trainset rolled out of a storage yard and onto station tracks after an operator lost control, disrupting Monday morning Red Line rush hour operations, the Boston Globe reports. The incident at the Braintree station occurred about 5:30 a.m. and led to delays of up to 30 […]

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Catenary damage from storm disrupts Ottawa light rail system

ottawa_o_train

OTTAWA — Damage to sections of catenary from a lightning strike led to disruption of light rail service on the O-Train Confederation Line on Monday, and the problems will take several days to repair, OC Transpo’s general manager has told city council members. The Ottawa Citizen reports catenary wires were downed between the uOttawa and […]

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New York short line locomotive overturned after hitting derail

MILO, N.Y. — A Finger Lakes Railway locomotive overturned Monday after striking a derail protecting a track project, injuring the engineer, the Finger Lakes Daily News reports. The locomotive was running light when the accident occurred about 8 a.m., injuring its engineer, 48-year-old Thomas Lewis of Dresden, N.Y., and causing a fuel spill. Lewis was […]

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Union Pacific redesigns locomotive paint scheme

Yellow and gray locomotive with red trim

OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific is making the biggest change to its locomotive paint scheme in more than 20 years. It’s by no means a radical change. The traditional Armour Yellow and gray with red trim remains. But departing is the large American flag decal on the long hood. A smaller flag will be placed […]

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New study makes case for Peoria-Chicago passenger service

Short passenger train with red and yellow E-unit diesel passes small station

PEORIA, Ill. — Officials from Peoria and nearby communities have announced results of a feasibility study for a Chicago-Peoria passenger rail corridor over former Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific tracks that last saw passenger trains in 1978. The clear intent of last week’s announcement is to compete for $1.8 billion in the Federal Railroad Administration’s […]

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News photos: New look for UP?

Yellow and gray locomotive with red trim

ANAHEIM, Calif. — A new Union Pacific locomotive paint scheme has surfaced, although it is unclear whether the design represents a change, a test, or a one-off for some other purpose. Photographer Bruce Jacobs photographed the ES44AC — a C45ACCTE in UP terminology —in Anaheim on July 18. Differences from the current standard UP scheme […]

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Ontario Northland train visits southern Ontario for TV production

Blue and yellow passenger equipment on bridge

An Ontario Northland Railway passenger train is working its way back to Cochrane, Ontario, after several days use in filming of the Hulu TV series “The Handmaid’s Tale,” which has been shooting at locations around Southern Ontario. Filming occurred on GIO Rail’s Trillium Railway July 20-23, with the train initially parked at the Ceres Global […]

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CSX sues over 2019 flood, derailment in Baltimore tunnel

CSX logo

BALTIMORE — CSX Transportation is suing the City of Baltimore and Maryland Transit Administration over a broken water main that flooded the Howard Street Tunnel in 2019, leading to a derailment. The Maryland Daily Record reports the suit in federal court seeks $2.5 million in damages resulting from the water-main break, as well as court […]

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