STRASBURG, Pa. — Norfolk & Western J-class 4-8-4 streamlined steam engine No. 611 (Roanoke Shops, 1950) wrapped up a two-year stay at the Strasburg Rail Road tourist and short line over the weekend, and will soon be headed back to its home state of Virginia. Owned by the Virginia Museum of Transportation, the engine had […]
Locomotive headlights and class lights Aside from required ditch lights on most locomotives today, extra lights are essentially gone from freight locomotives, but if you look hard enough you can still find traces of the past when additional lights were ordered by railroads. Before the era of locomotive standardization, many railroads chose to equip their […]
ALBANY, N.Y. — Following a nationwide legislative trend in the wake of February’s derailment and toxic-chemical release in East Palestine, Ohio, the New York state Senate has passed a series of bills seeking to regulate the way railroads operate in the state. The wide-ranging bills address everything from crew size for a mandate for positive […]
WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board has declined to rule in a long-running case in which the operator of San Diego-area commuter trains sought an order affirming its right to proceed with bluff stabilization and safety fencing along the Del Mar Bluffs. In a decision reached May 22 and announced the following day, the board […]
BOSTON — A Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority safety plan for track workers has been turned down by the Federal Transit Administration, which has ordered a new plan to be submitted by June 5. The May 19 letter to MBTA General Manager Phillip Eng from Joe DeLorenzo, FTA associate administrator and chief safety officer, Office of […]
WINDSOR, Ontario — The Essex Terminal Railway will receive up to C$12.5 million for construction of a new warehouse and expansion of the shore wall at the Port of Windsor, Canada’s transport minister announced Friday. The funding announced by Minister Omar Alghabra, from the National Trade Corridors Fund, is intended to help shift cargo traffic […]
LOS ANGELES — Southern California commuter rail operator Metrolink is bringing back its $15 Summer Day Pass — offering unlimited one-day rides on the Metrolink system — as of today (Tuesday, May 30) through Friday, Sept. 1. The Summer Day Pass complements existing $10 Holiday Pass and $10 Weekend Day Pass programs. The pass […]
MONTREAL — The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, representing approximately 6,000 Canadian National locomotive engineers, conductors, and yard workers, has ratified its new contract with the railroad, CN announced Friday. Some 70.7% of those voting were in favor of the contract, the union said. “I want to graciously thank the members who took the time to […]
Head-end power: Dinner is about to arrive at table 7 in the Southwest Chief’s Superliner dining car. Outside, the late afternoon sun illuminates exhaust blasting skyward as the locomotives up front struggle to maintain speed up the more than 3% grade leading to the top of Raton Pass in New Mexico. Downstairs in the kitchen, […]
Locomotives are the power of railroading and the industries’ most potent and popular symbols. The major types that have been used in North America are steam (now confined to museums, tourist lines, and the occasional excursion), diesel-electric (the standard of the industry), and straight electric (always a tiny minority). Steam locomotives burn coal, oil, or […]
CHICAGO — Some Amtrak long-distance and regional trains outside the Northeast Corridor experienced rare detours and extraordinary delays prior to and during the Memorial Day holiday weekend. On most routes, though, trains were operating on time as a result of lighter freight traffic. California Zephyrs rerouted Early Saturday, May 27, a washout on BNSF Railway’s […]
Railroad photography It can be intimidating sometimes, waiting to photograph a train with your camera and the 18-55 mm kit lens, standing next to a fellow fan sporting a monstrous telephoto zoom that in some cases costs more than the car that got you here. That person is going to get a shot you couldn’t […]
