Victims identified in ‘Empire Builder’ derailment

Three men in hard hats and safety vests in front of derailed passenger train

JOPLIN, Mont. — The passengers killed in Saturday’s deadly Empire Builder derailment have been identified as a tech engineer from Illinois and a husband and wife from Georgia. According to media reports, the three people killed when Amtrak’s westbound Empire Builder derailed Saturday afternoon in northern Montana have been identified as 28-year-old Zach Schneider, of […]

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Santa Fe 2926: A grade crossing ahead for the big 4-8-4

People admire restored steam locomotive

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The buzz at an open house for Santa Fe 4-8-4 No. 2926 wasn’t all about the locomotive last run in 1953 and moved for the first time under its own power on July 25. A grade crossing and a spur track also figured into the conversations. With the restoration of the locomotive […]

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FRA launches separate ‘Empire Builder’ investigation

Federal Railroad Administration logo

WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration is launching its own investigation into the Saturday derailment of Amtrak’s westbound Empire Builder in northern Montana. Specifically, FRA has sent a team of 18 dispatched to the scene consisting of technical experts in track, motive power & equipment, signal and train control, and operating practices. The agency has […]

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Amtrak CEO Flynn makes statement on Montana derailment

Head shot of gray-haired man in suit

WASHINGTON — Amtrak CEO Bill Flynn has issued a statement on Saturday’s fatal derailment of the Empire Builder in Montana. “We are in mourning today for the people who lost their lives due to the derailment of the Empire Builder train Saturday, near Joplin, Montana, on the BNSF Railway, as well as the many others […]

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NTSB investigators arrive on scene at Montana Amtrak derailment

National Transportation Safety Board logo

GREAT FALLS, Mont. — Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board have arrived at the site of Saturday’s derailment of Amtrak’s Empire Builder passenger train near Joplin, about 50 miles west of Havre. The NTSB is the lead agency in the investigation of the derailment, which occurred at about 3:55 p.m. Saturday in a remote […]

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Amtrak confirms three fatalities in Montana derailment

Rail passenger car askew on tracks

HAVRE, Mont. – Amtrak confirms three deaths in the Saturday derailment of the westbound Empire Builder near Joplin, about 50 miles west of Havre. The train, which originated in Chicago on Friday, had 141 passengers and 16 crew members onboard. The train consisted of two locomotives and 10 cars, with eight of those cars derailing, […]

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Federal regulator says railroads must improve service to grow

Man in suit in front of U.S. flag

PORTLAND, Maine — Surface Transportation Board Vice Chairman Robert Primus says railroads need to improve service in order to regain traffic lost to trucks over the years. “One of the biggest areas of concern that I have … is in the area of service,” Primus told the North East Association of Rail Shippers on Thursday. […]

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Sherman Hill: the first Rocky Mountain railroad pass

A yellow Union Pacific locomotive leads a freight trains over grasslands.

Sherman Hill is one of the landmarks on the transcontinental railroad. It was the first major obstacle for the railroad as it headed west. It’s the highest point on the first transcontinental railroad with the original summit topping out at 8,247 feet above sea level. A 1901 line change shaved over 200 feet off the […]

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BNSF offers weekend container incentive for LA-Long Beach

BNSF Railway logo

LOS ANGELES — In an effort to help kick start the Port of Los Angeles’ and Long Beach’s recently announced Accelerate Cargo initiative to expedite freight flows from the Long Beach/Los Angeles port complexes, BNSF Railway will offer a new weekend in-gate incentive at its Los Angeles Hobart and Commerce Intermodal Facilities. Ocean carrier customers […]

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