WASHINGTON — Members of a key congressional committee on Wednesday expressed frustration with widespread railroad service problems and the Surface Transportation Board’s response. “The facts are undeniable. Freight service in the United States of America … is abysmal,” said Rep. Peter DeFazio, the Oregon Democrat who chairs the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. DeFazio said […]
Magazine: Trains Magazine
Chicago’s Metra passenger killed when commuter train strikes truck on BNSF Railway
CLARENDON HILLS, Ill. – A woman passenger was killed here Wednesday morning and four other people were injured when a Chicago-bound Metra commuter train hit a box truck that was stalled at a crossing on the triple-track BNSF Railway main line. Metra train No. 1242 struck the vehicle at Prospect Avenue about 8:10 a.m., according […]
MBTA passenger sues after being left behind on train
BEVERLY, Mass. – A passenger who fell asleep and missed his station has sued commuter-train operator Keolis, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. He injured an arm while trying to leave the train in a storage yard, according to the suit. Filing the action in Salem Superior Court last week was […]
Railroading Heritage of Midwest America announces double matching grant
MINNEAPOLIS – Railroading Heritage of Midwest America (RRHMA) has announced a Double Matching Grant program to aid in the restoration of its two recently acquired Union Pacific steam locomotives, Challenger No. 3985 and 2-10-2 No. 5511. Under the program announced this week, all donations to RRHMA’s Steam Restoration Fund will be matched with $2 for […]
North Carolina museum transports 10 cars to its property
BONSAL, N.C. – The North Carolina Railway Museum is orchestrating the 5-mile highway movement of 10 landlocked railroad cars — both passenger and freight — from a nuclear power plant site to its headquarters here. The cars were the subject of NCRM’s “Save the Ten” campaign, which successfully raised nearly $200,000, $50,000 of which came […]
Where do you find charts with information on specific locomotives?
Cody Grivno explains the resources available in this video of Ask Trains. Do you have other questions about full-size trains, or would you like to learn more about your model railroad? Send us an email at: AskTrains@trains.com ………………………………… Ask Trains is a regular video feature of Trains.com for magazine subscribers and Trains.com members, where editors answer […]
Where do you find charts with information on specific locomotives?
Cody Grivno explains the resources available in this video of Ask Trains. Do you have other questions about full-size trains, or would you like to learn more about your model railroad? Send us an email at: AskTrains@trains.com ………………………………… Ask Trains is a regular video feature of Trains.com for magazine subscribers and Trains.com members, where editors answer […]
Bowing to pressure from DC, FRA revises Union Station plan
WASHINGTON — Responding to citizen and District of Columbia criticism that its plan for redevelopment of Washington Union Station was too automobile-centric, the Federal Railroad Administration has revised its blueprint by eliminating a six-story, 1,575-space parking garage, according to the Washington Post. More than a year ago, D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser and other city […]
U.S. rail traffic dips slightly in first week of May
WASHINGTON – For the week ended May 7, U.S. rail traffic registered 504,927 carloads and intermodal units, a 3.5% decline over the same period in 2021. Figures from the Association of American Railroads show the total number of carloads at 231,737, down 1.9% over the same week in 2021, while intermodal volume was 273,190 containers […]
California governor, House Democrats locked in high speed rail dispute
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – California Gov. Gavin Newsom is deadlocked in a dispute with Democratic colleagues in the state House over the next steps in the future of the state’s $105 billion high speed rail project, according to CalMatters, an online, nonprofit news agency that covers public policy in the Golden State. The California High-Speed Rail […]
Lake State buys first comfort cab locomotives
Lake State Railway has recently acquired six SD70Ms to add to its all-EMD fleet of power. The Michigan-based railroad operates approximately 375 miles of track in the eastern half of the state. The six units were chosen from a group returned by Union Pacific to the lessor. These units had a solid reliability record on […]
Wisconsin Great Northern resumes operations after long pandemic closure
TREGO, Wis. — Wisconsin Great Northern Railroad opened its scenic bed and breakfast and dinner trains May 10, 2022, after being closed to passenger operations for 784 days due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The popular scenic train operates over two former Chicago & North Western Railway lines in Northwest Wisconsin, based out of Trego, just […]