What was your first train set (or locomotive)? In the late in 1960s my dad worked for an auto parts store. Champion Spark Plug had a sales promotion that if you sold a certain number of spark plugs, you would receive a Lionel train set. Apparently my dad was a great salesmen, as he sold […]
GATINEAU, Quebec — No evidence links railway operations to the fire that destroyed the town of Lytton, British Columbia, in June, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada said in a Thursday news release. This means the TSB’s role in the investigation is complete “unless new information establishes that a TSB reportable event occurred.” The fire […]
CHICAGO — Deputy Federal Railroad Administrator Amit Bose released the agency’s Midwest Regional Rail Plan at a Chicago Union Station media event Wednesday, characterizing it as “a 40-year multi-state framework and vision for restoring, modernizing, and expanding the existing intercity passenger rail network in the Midwest.” The blueprint, a culmination of two years collaborative work […]
ARLINGTON, Va. — The National Transportation Safety Board will take a lead role in the investigation of Tuesday’s derailment of a DC Metrorail Blue Line train, with a spokeswoman telling the Washington Post the NTSB chose to investigate because it could “advance a known safety issue,” based on previous Metrorail incidents. The accident occurred shortly […]
WASHINGTON — Intermodal issues reflecting broad supply-chain problems continue to drag down U.S. freight rail volume, according to the latest statistics from the Association of American Railroads. Figures for the week ending Oct. 9 found overall traffic down 2.6% against the same week in 2020. The total volume of 506,642 carloads and intermodal units included […]
Thomas A. Davis, proprietor and innkeeper of The Station Inn Bed & Breakfast in Cresson, Pa., passed away Oct. 5, 2021, at the age of 90. He was best known as the owner of the world-famous Inn, which was located along Norfolk Southern’ s ex-PRR main line, 9 miles west of Horseshoe Curve at the […]
WASHINGTON — A Canadian Pacific train operating without functioning positive train control triggered August’s three-railroad, three-train collision in St. Paul, Minn., according to a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board. The preliminary report, released Wednesday, lays out basic facts of the accident but does not draw any conclusions or recommend any actions. The […]
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Sameh Fahmy, Kansas City Southern’s executive vice president, precision scheduled railroading, will leave KCS by year’s end, the railroad has announced. Fahmy joined KCS in January 2019. Since then, the railroad says it has increased train velocity by 37%, decreasing freight car dwell by 18%, enacted double-digit reductions in equipment, and […]
LOS ANGELES — Amtrak Pacific Surfliner and Coast Starlight service has been altered because of wildfires in the Santa Barbara, Calif., area. The Alisal fire, burning northwest of Santa Barbara and south of the town of Solvang, has closed the Union Pacific rail line and a portion of U.S. Route 101. KCBS-TV reports the fire, […]
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Schedule changes are coming later this month for Amtrak San Joaquin and Pacific Surfliner service. Beginning Monday, Oct. 18, the San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority will again offer direct Amtrak train service between Sacramento, the state capito,l and Bakersfield, Calif., when it adds a sixth San Joaquin round trip south of Stockton, […]
ARLINGTON, Va. — Service on a portion of the DC Metrorail Blue Line will remain suspended Wednesday (Oct. 13) after a derailment Tuesday afternoon sin a tunnel between the Rosslyn and Arlington Cemetery stations in Virginia. The Washington Post reports 300 to 400 people were on board when the derailment of one car occurred shortly […]
WALLULA, Wash. — Tiger Cool Express, a temperature-sensitive intermodal service, has signed a letter of intent to acquire the former Union Pacific Cold Connect warehouse in Wallula and develop an adjacent intermodal rap. The facility will provide service for international containers between Wallula and the ports of Seattle and Tacoma, as well as domestic service […]
