Lonely Rock Island An inbound Rock Island commuter train arrives at the mostly vacant LaSalle Street Station on Dec. 27, 1972. The Chicago skyline shown here is drastically different from what visitors today would see. Denny Hamilton photo […]
Subscription: Metered
Norfolk Southern locomotive conversion program continues to expand A.C. traction fleet
NORFOLK, Va. – Norfolk Southern continues to convert older D.C.-traction locomotives into A.C.-traction units at a pace of just over 100 locomotives per year. Some 54% of the NS road fleet is now A.C. traction, Chief Financial Officer Mark George told an investor conference today. That’s up from a third of the fleet at the […]
STB seeks more detail on CN-KCS merger, sets timeline for voting trust comments
WASHINGTON – Federal regulators today asked Canadian National to provide more detailed financial information regarding its proposed merger with Kansas City Southern. The Surface Transportation Board, saying that it wants to take a cautious approach to CN’s request to put KCS into a voting trust while their $33.6 billion deal is under review, also set […]
Analysis: Tourist lines fall back on freight business
The year 2020 was not a good one for tourist railroads. The COVID-19 pandemic closed some lines and forced others to run at greatly reduced capacities. Amazingly, there have been few casualties among the well-established ranks of U.S. tourist railroads. Let’s look at how one immensely popular scenic railroad made it through. John Smith, president […]
Digest: Wabtec begins operations at facility for additive manufacturing, 3D printing
Wabtec opens facility at Pittsburgh additive manufacturing process Wabtec has begun operations at Pittsburgh’s Neighborhood 91, becoming the first and anchor tenant for industrial complex devoted to additive manufacturing and 3D printing. The 11,000-square-foot facility will produce brake parts, heat sinks for locomotives, and other components. It is part of a company effort to produce […]
Sketching with Steve: What is a station?
If you ask a layman to define a train station, they’ll describe a big building where people buy tickets and wait to board passenger trains. A slightly more knowledgeable person might also mention the presence of freight and baggage facilities and railroad offices. But when we talk about railroad operations – whether of the full-size […]
Lobbying group seeks to keep China’s CRRC on Department of Defense watch list
WASHINGTON — An organization which opposes U.S. contracts for Chinese manufacturer CRRC is calling on the new Secretary of Defense to maintain the company’s place on a list of firms tied to China’s military, which can hinder its ability to land new deals. The Rail Security Alliance, funded by a rail trade group, freight car […]
The story of smoke: trial and error at Lionel
The year 1946, when both the A.C. Gilbert Co. and the Lionel Corp. brought out their first full lines of electric trains for the postwar era, saw both heralding new locomotives equipped with a mechanism capable of producing smoke. Another milestone in the quest to market more realistic miniatures had been achieved. Truth be told, […]
Digest: Death toll in Pakistan rail crash rises
Death toll in Pakistan rail accident at least 56 The death toll in Monday’s crash of two passenger trains in Pakistan has risen to at least 56, the Associated Press reports, although some news organizations are reporting a higher figure. Another 23 passengers are still being treated for injuries. The accident occurred when several cars […]
Trio of shipper groups urge STB to reject CN’s voting trust plan for KCS
WASHINGTON – A coalition of shipper groups on Monday urged federal regulators to reject Canadian National’s request to put Kansas City Southern into a voting trust while their proposed merger is under review. The Freight Rail Customer Alliance, National Coal Transportation Association, and Private Railcar Food and Beverage Association said that while they had not taken […]
Legislators call for funding for multifaceted North Atlantic Rail project
WASHINGTON — Twenty-four Democratic members of the House of Representatives have called for inclusion of the North Atlantic Rail Corp., a $105 billion plan for widespread rail improvements in the northeast, in the surface transportation bill introduced last week by House Democrats. North Atlantic Rail would create a new high-speed replacement for much of the […]
Pennsy power
Pennsy power A Pennsylvania Railroad M1 4-8-2 and a pair of PA passenger diesels, both assigned to helper service, are seen at Ralston, Pa., on a damp May 4, 1957. Note the crewman climbing the steam locomotive. Jim Shaughnessy photo […]