Metra begins rehab project at Blue Island station

Commuter train at aging brick station

BLUE ISLAND, Ill. — Metra has broken ground on a $3.8 million rehabilitation of the Vermont Avenue station in Blue Island, a structure dating to 1868 on Metra’s Rock Island District. A Thursday, July 28, ceremony including Metra CEO Jim Derwinski and other state and local officials marked the start of a project including a […]

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North Carolina Railroad Co. to buy, restore Greensboro station

Vintage postcard of brick railroad station

GREENSBORO, N.C. — The North Carolina Railroad Co. will purchase a 123-year-old Southern Railway station in Greensboro for “preservation and beneficial redevelopment,” the company announced Monday. The masonry structure at 400 S. Elm Street, currently owned by Norfolk Southern, was built in 1899 and is in a downtown district listed on the National Register of […]

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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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Officials approve $1.5 million for Tampa Union Station rehab

Brick building with arched windows

TAMPA, Fla. — City of Tampa officials have voted to spend $1.5 million to refurbish Tampa Union Station, a 1912 structure which remains in use for Amtrak service. WTSP-TV reports the funds will go for updating restrooms, repairing windows and doors, and replacing the intricate façade. Once those repairs are complete, the city plans to […]

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New York City sells ‘Last Redbird’ subway car

Red subway car on display on short section of track in park

NEW YORK — The subway car termed “The Last Redbird” has been auctioned off for almost a quarter-million dollars by the City of New York. The car had been displayed outside Queens Borough Hall in Queens, N.Y., since it was acquired by then-Borough President Helen Marshall in 2005, and was employed as a welcoming center. […]

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Owner of railcar repair company sentenced in fraud case

Logo of Wasatch Railroad Contractors

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — The owner of a now-defunct railcar repair company has been sentenced to 30 months in prison, and he and the company have been fined for wire fraud and endangering employees at the facility. John Eldon Rimmasch, 47, of Cheyenne, was sentenced in a July 5 hearing by Federal District Court Judge Alan […]

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Vintage NYC subway cars make second summer excursion trip

Dark green vintage subway train in station

NEW YORK — Historic R-1 through R-9 subway cars built for the IND (Independent) line in the 1930s operated to Coney Island on Sunday in the second of three excursions planned for this summer using equipment from the New York Transit Museum. The R-1 through R-9 “City Cars” operated with in combination with the “Standards” […]

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FRA approves return to service for Minnesota 2-8-0

Steam locomotive and freight cars under large plume of smoke

DULUTH, Minn. — After a two-year hiatus due to COVID-19 and necessary repairs, the Federal Railroad Administration has approved the return to service of the Lake Superior Railroad Museum’s Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range Railway 2-8-0 No. 332. The locomotive was fired up this week and inspected, including setting its three sets of safety valves. […]

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Site identified for Southern Pacific Railroad History Center

Logo of the Southern Pacific Railroad History Center

ROCKLIN, Calif. — A group seeking to preserve and promote the history of the Southern Pacific Railroad has a identified a site for a proposed museum and archives. The Gold Country Media website reports the proposed Southern Pacific Rail History Center has identified a 7.6-acre site in Rocklin and plans to make an offer on […]

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