CHICAGO – Nationally known railroad artist J. Craig Thorpe will appear at Chicago Union Station on Wednesday, April 26, as the kickoff event of an Eastern book tour to promote his new autobiography Railroads, Art, and American Life (Indiana University Press. 2023). At each stop, he will discuss his artwork and sign books and posters. […]
The publicly traded U.S. Class I railroads are putting more of an emphasis on service and volume growth in the annual incentive plans they offer to their executives. It’s a clear sign, analysts say, that the railroads are shifting into growth mode after years spent concentrating on reducing their operating ratios in a quest for […]
Trains are just as American as baseball, hot dogs, and apple pie. What’s even better is combining these. Imagine sitting back in the stands, munching a hot dog, watching a ballgame, and a train rumbles past outside the right-field fence. Could summertime be any better? This is high iron baseball — exploring independent leagues More […]
We continue our look at the best ballparks to catch a game and a train with a few stops on the AAA minor league circuit. High iron baseball — AAA minor league stadiums More than half of the nation’s 240 professional baseball stadiums have a railroad connection — built next to a railroad, located on […]
Alaska is a state like no other. It is the largest in the Union but has fewer than 800,000 residents. There is only one currently operating “mainline” railroad. Local trains still stop in the middle of nowhere for off-the-gridders needing transportation to and from traditional towns. Outside its cities, villages, and oil exploration sites, it […]
WASHINGTON — Eleven Amtrak routes in 2023 will again feature commentary about the regions the trains are passing through. The program, staffed regionally with volunteers sponsored by National Park Service historical sites, monuments, and national parks, began in 2000 and has enriched journeys aboard many long-distance trains. There were cutbacks in 2018 when Amtrak stopped […]
MONTREAL — Canadian National Railway and the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference have reached a tentative labor agreement, the parties announced Sunday. The agreement covers approximately 6,000 locomotive engineers, conductors, and yard workers in Canada, who now must ratify the deal. A ratification vote will be held via electronic secret ballot May 5-26. The union said […]
KEOKUK, Iowa — Patriot Rail, which acquired the Keokuk Junction Railway last year, has begun upgrading the railroad’s locomotive roster. The new owner has moved in a former CSX Transportation GP38-3, now LTEX No. 3048, and GP40-2 No. 6437, both in the Patriot Rail corporate paint scheme honoring veterans and troops. The cab sides include […]
MIAMI — Miami-Dade County officials are attempting to revive a long-dormant proposal for commuter rail service west and south of downtown using existing CSX Transportation tracks, the Miami Herald reports. The western line would run from Miami International Airport — the current terminus of Tri-Rail service north to West Palm Beach — to the Doral […]
MONTREAL — The first segment of the much-delayed Réseau express métropolitain light rail system will open this summer, says the head of operations for the company building the 42-mile, 26-station system. The Montreal Gazette reports Denis Andlauer, vice-president of operations for CDPQ Infra, promised there will not be another delay in opening during a […]
BUFFALO, Iowa — Two people suffered minor injuries early Saturday morning when their single-engine airplane crashed onto CPKC railroad tracks in Buffalo, WQAD-TV reports. Responding to a report of a vehicle accident about 1:40 a.m. on State Route 22, officers from the Buffalo Police Department found a single-engine aircraft had crashed. The pilot was attempting […]
SANDWICH ACADEMY GRANT TOWNSHIP, Maine — The Maine Department of Environmental Protection has notified CPKC of its dissatisfaction with clean-up efforts following last week’s derailment and fire involving a CPKC train in northern Maine, and warned it could step in to take over that cleanup at the railroad’s expense. CPKC says it is fully cooperating […]
