UP, KCS restore service to New Orleans

Union Pacific logo with Building America slogan

NEW ORLEANS — Union Pacific has reopened its line between St. James, La., and New Orleans, after Kansas City Southern restored service on Thursday. In a Friday notification to customers, UP said it has generators in place to operate signals and crossing gates until power is restored. The railroad’s Avondale, La., intermodal terminal remains closed […]

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Lane Cutoff

Streamlined passenger train split semaphore-type signals with overpass in distance

Lane Cutoff Brand-new in mid-1936, one of the two City of Denver trains poses on the Lane Cutoff west of Omaha, a favorite spot for Union Pacific publicity photos. The portholed cab and booster units rode on two trucks each, but were connected by a span bolster, not couplers. Union Pacific photo […]

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Norfolk Southern reports flooding issues in Northeast

Norfolk Southern logo

NORFOLK, Va. — Norfolk Southern is experiencing storm-related disruptions to freight service in the Northeast even as it and other railroads continue to recover from the effects of Hurricane Ida in New Orleans. In a service alert, the railroad said several NS facilities and lines are experiencing flooding and in some cases are inaccessible because […]

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Analysis: Merger hopes dashed, CN now faces fierce backlash

JJ Ruest standing in front of trains

There is no joy in Mudville – er, Montreal – today because the mighty CN has struck out. Canadian National suffered a stinging defeat on Tuesday when U.S. federal regulators effectively killed its proposed merger with Kansas City Southern. CN won’t get to create the first railway connecting Canada, the U.S., and Mexico. And it […]

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Fire destroys former Rio Grande Burnham Shops building

Firemen and burning building

DENVER — A  fire Monday has gutted the former Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad Burnham Shops coach building. The Denver Fire Department reports it responded “an abandoned warehouse fire” early Monday. The building was fully involved by the time firefighters arrived. No injuries were reported and the cause is under investigation. The building had […]

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‘San Francisco Overland’

Smoking steam locomotive leads a passenger train across open terrain by a water spout

‘San Francisco Overland’ Dressed in two-tone gray, FEF-1 816 and FEF-2 824 make 55 mph up Sherman Hill near Otto, Wyo., on October 21, 1949. Green flags and “1-27” in the 4-8-4s’ train indicator boxes tell that at least one other section of the San Francisco Overland is following. Ross B. Grenard Jr. photo […]

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NTSB to investigate three-train collision in Minnesota

National Transportation Safety Board logo

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The National Transportation Safety Board is sending investigators to the site of a Wednesday collision involving Canadian Pacific, Union Pacific, and BNSF Railway trains. The Associated Press reports the accident occurred about 5 p.m. Wednesday, with a Canadian Pacific spokesman saying it led to the derailment of two CP locomotives, one […]

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NARS meeting adds online option

North American Rail Shippers logo

CHICAGO — The North American Rail Shippers Association has added an online participation option to its annual meeting, to be held in Chicago Sept. 7-9. “To make attending as convenient as possible we have added online options because we know there is still uncertainty about traveling due to COVID-19,” NARS President Tom Tisa said in a […]

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Big Boy Mississippi crossing, August 2021

  The Union Pacific Big Boy Mississippi River crossing is one for the history books. So far as Trains editors know, this is Union Pacific Big Boy 4014’s first foray to the “Big Easy,” New Orleans! Join Trains contributor Steve Smedley for this portion of Big Boy’s 2021 tour through Texas and the Mid-South with […]

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