Regulators pause environmental review of proposed Union Pacific line near Phoenix

Union Pacific logo with Building America slogan

WASHINGTON – Federal regulators have put a hold on their final environmental assessment of Union Pacific’s proposed 6-mile branch to a new industrial park being built outside Phoenix. The Surface Transportation Board’s Office of Environmental Analysis, in a decision released on Thursday, said it was delaying a decision indefinitely due to the discovery of “significant […]

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Massachusetts legislator seeks to revive commuter rail service to Cape Cod

Side view of pasenger train in grassy field

HYANNIS, Mass. — A Massachusetts legislator has announced plans for a bill that would revive daily commuter train service to Cape Cod, currently served by the summer-weekend-only CapeFlyer service. The Cape Cod Times reports state Rep. Dylan Fernandes said this week that the service would ease congestion on the Cape’s major roadways and bridges across […]

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Mid-Continent Railway Museum celebrates milestone, continued progress

Mid-Continent Railway Museum NORTH FREEDOM, Wis. — Mid-Continent Railway Museum celebrated its 60th anniversary earlier this year, marking the milestone with special events as well as reminiscences of the Wisconsin museum’s growth from a fledgling museum to one with some 500 volunteer members who share their interest in and knowledge of the “Golden Age of […]

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News Photo: A quiet finale for Pan Am Southern

Train with two blue locomotives passes tower at yard

Pan Am Southern quietly wrapped up operations on Thursday. Shown is one of the final trains, EDBF, making a late-afternoon departure from the former Boston & Maine yard at East Deerfield, Mass., for to Bellows Falls, Vt. Effective today (Sept. 1, 2023), Pan Am Southern lines in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, and New York […]

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NJ Transit engineers vote to strike (updated)

Electric locomotive hauls commuter train through S curve

NEWARK, N.J. — NJ Transit engineers have voted overwhelmingly in favor of a strike, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen has announced. The union said in a Thursday press release that 81% of those eligible to vote returned their ballots, and 100% of those ballots supported a strike authorization. The exact breakdown: 494 members […]

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NTSB releases preliminary report on track worker death in Great Barrington, Mass.

Aerial view of railroad track in rural area with notation showing accident site.

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — The worker who died in an Aug. 4 accident on state-owned tracks in Great Barrington was operating a leaf blower on those tracks when he was struck by a maintenance-of-way machine, the National Transportation Safety Board said in its preliminary accident report issued on Thursday. The accident victim was identified in […]

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Caltrain energizes second major power substation for electrification project

Two trainsets parked at station

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — Caltrain has energized the second traction power substation for the electrification of its San Francisco-San Jose main line, another step toward the planned launch of electrified operation in fall 2024. The agency announced the substation, built by Balfour Beatty and its partners had been powered up by Pacific Gas & […]

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Georgia Railroad: A good and unique ‘Family’ member

Blue-and-white Georgia Railroad diesel locomotives on passing freight trains

In its rich 150-year history, the Georgia Railroad was touched and torched by the rich and famous. During the process, the company morphed from a railroading pioneer and leader in the Peach State to an interesting combination of Class I and short-line operation.   Started as The Georgia Railroad in 1833, the ambitious company hired […]

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All about LEGO train track

Gray LEGO train track with silver rails on top

If you have LEGO trains, you probably have LEGO train track. Different kinds of LEGO train track have appeared in train sets from the very beginning and have evolved to the gray track that we have today. What parts can you buy in the store today? Come along on this journey as I share all […]

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Frisco caboose ride remembered

Black-and-yellow diesel locomotive handling freight cars during Frisco caboose ride

A Frisco caboose ride provided a much needed railfan break during my military assignment near Kansas City.   My spirits fell when I received orders for my first U.S. Air Force permanent-duty assignment, at the Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base just south of Kansas City, Mo. I had hardly been west of the Appalachian Mountains, and […]

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Union accepts latest Wabtec offer, ends strike at Erie locomotive plant

Locomotives under construction

ERIE, Pa. — Members of the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE) voted today to accept Wabtec’s latest offer, ending a 10-week strike at the company’s locomotive manufacturing plant in Erie. Workers, who had walked out on June 22, ratified a four-year agreement including raises of 3.65%, 3%, 3.25%, and 3%, as […]

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Ask Trains.com August 2023 compilation part two

Two men standing behind a table

Ask Trains.com August 2023 compilation part two: In part two of the August AskTrains.com compilation, Cody Grivno answers viewer questions about well car gladhand connections, is joined by Roger Carp of Classic Toy Trains to answer why the most valuable Lionel steam locomotives aren’t always the most powerful pullers, and more! Are you looking to […]

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