State of New Hampshire seeks to sell ‘Flying Yankee’ streamliner

Streamlined passenger train in snow

LINCOLN, N.H. — The state of New Hampshire is looking to sell the Flying Yankee, the 1935 articulated New England streamliner built by Budd Co. for the Boston & Maine Railroad that is virtually identical to Burlington’s Pioneer Zephyr. The Concord Monitor reports the state has issued a Request for Proposals for sale of the […]

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SMART-TD ratifies BNSF agreement on scheduling, sick time

Logo of SMART-TD union

INDEPENDENCE, Ohio — SMART-TD members have ratified a tentative agreement with BNSF Railway on scheduling and sick days reached in September, the union said Friday. Approximately two-thirds of the members of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers-Transportation Division voted in favor of the agreement, which includes paid sick days and […]

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Hudson Tunnel project lands more federal funding, marks start of work

Man speaking at podium in front of large crowd outdoors, with overpass in background

NEW YORK — The much-delayed Hudson Tunnel project to build a new connection between New Jersey and New York’s Penn Station has received an additional $3.8 billion in federal funding. The additional funding brings the federal commitment to the $16.1 billion tunnel project to more than $11 billion, Bloomberg reports. It was announced Friday by […]

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Connecticut heritage railway acquires Frisco 2-8-2

Steam locomotive on temporary track

ESSEX, Conn. — The Essex Steam Train & Riverboat, a heritage railroad operated by the Valley Railroad Co. on a former New Haven rail line, has purchased Frisco 2-8-2 No. 1352 from the American Steam Railroad Preservation Association, the group restoring Reading Co. T-1 4-8-4 No. 2100. The locomotive was built by Alco in 1912 […]

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Federal regulators set schedule for review of CPKC and CSX acquisition and operation of Meridian & Bigbee short line

Intermodal train led by one gray locomotive and one with red, yellow, and black paint.

WASHINGTON — Federal regulators have accepted the applications Canadian Pacific Kansas City and CSX Transportation have filed seeking permission to acquire and operate Genesee & Wyoming short line Meridian & Bigbee. The 168-mile MNBR will connect the CPKC and CSX systems via a new interchange at Myrtlewood, Ala., that will create a shortcut linking Mexico […]

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STB moves ahead with small shipper’s common carrier complaint against Union Pacific

WASHINGTON – The Surface Transportation Board has denied Union Pacific’s request to dismiss a common-carrier case filed by a small shipper in the Twin Cities. In a 3-2 decision issued Thursday, the STB also ordered the shipper, Sanimax, to provide evidence for damages allegedly incurred when UP unilaterally curtailed local service to three days per […]

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News photo: New York Central electric locomotives moved

Aerial photo of flatbed trucks with electric locomotive bodies and running ear

GLENMONT, N.Y. — Two historic New York Central electric locomotives, saved last year after long facing a threat of scrapping, have been moved from their site on an Island in the Hudson River after more than three decades, the Danbury Railway Museum has announced. The museum released a photo today of the locomotives on flatbed […]

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CPKC sued under Illinois genetic privacy act

Crude oil train pulling a long line of cars

CHICAGO — CPKC is the target of a class action lawsuit under Illinois’ Genetic Information Privacy Act for asking job applicants about their family medical histories, the legal news site Cook County Record reports. The suit, filed last month in Cook County Circuit Court, says the state law bars employers from seeking genetic information, and […]

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Republicans delay House vote on transportation spending bill

Trains Washington Watch logo

WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives has delayed its planned vote on an appropriations bill for the Department of Transportation amid Republic concerns the bill would not pass, the website The Hill reports. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) said during Thursday’s session that the House would try next week to pass H.R. 4820, to […]

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California State Railroad Museum to restore ‘Death Valley Scotty’ locomotive to operating condition

Steam locomotive in shop building

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The California State Railroad Museum and its support group, the California State Railroad Museum Foundation, have launched an effort to restore Santa Fe steam locomotive No. 1010, a 2-6-2 built by Baldwin in 1901, for use on the museum’s Sacramento Southern excursion railroad. The project — the largest steam restoration project undertaken […]

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British government backtracks on ticket-counter closures

Ticket office at train station in England

LONDON — Plans to close almost every ticket counter at English railway stations have been dropped after public consultation rejected the proposals. In an unusual success for citizen participation, over 750,000 people responded to the public consultation — a record for any public consultation in England, not just one related to the rail industry. About […]

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