Crowds for Big Boy 4014’s 2019 and 2021 tours have been immense. I haven’t taken part in any concerted effort to chase for these tours, but I got a taste of the madness back in 2014 when Big Boy moved from Southern California to Cheyenne, Wyo., for restoration. I covered it for two days with […]
Magazine: Trains Magazine
BNSF calls Chicago intermodal operations ‘extremely challenged’
CHICAGO — BNSF is informing customers that conditions at its four Chicago-area intermodal facilities — Corwith, Cicero, Willow Springs, and Logistics Park Chicago in Elwood, Ill. — are “extremely challenged” because of “a substantial number of staged inbound trains and elevated inventory levels.” It is asking customers to prioritize pick-up of trailers and containers at […]
UP, KCS restore service to New Orleans
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 […]
Activist investor says it is building support for CN management changes
TORONTO — Activist investor TCI Fund Management says it is building support among other shareholders for its effort to replace Canadian National’s CEO and board chairman in the wake of the regulatory setback for CN’s effort to purchase Kansas City Southern. The Toronto Globe and Mail, in a paywalled article, reports TCI partner Ben Walker […]
Northeast transit systems recovering from Ida flooding
NEW YORK — Transit agencies gradually restored service Thursday and today after heavy rains and flooding disrupted operations from Philadelphia to Boston. In New York, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s New York City Transit subway service made major restoration gains overnight. As of Thursday night’s rush hour, just one line reported no issues while two remained […]
Builder of Montreal light rail line agrees to downtown tunnel
MONTREAL — The pension fund behind Montreal’s Réseau express métropolitain light rail network has agreed to a tunnel for part of its REM de l’est project, addressing some concerns over the visual impact of the rail line. The Montreal Gazette reports CDPQ Infra, the infrastructure arm of the Caisse de depot et placement du Québec, […]
Court turns down bid for injunction to end German rail strike
FRANKFURT, Germany — A labor court rejected national rail operator Deutsche Bahn’s effort to end a strike by train drivers on Thursday evening, turning down DB’s bid for an injunction to halt the third strike by the GDL union in less than a month. The strike began Wednesday by freight operators and widened to passenger […]
Amtrak’s New York tunnels withstand Ida’s deluge
NEW YORK — Despite more than 7 inches of rain that shut down New York’s subway system late Wednesday, the Amtrak tunnels connecting the Northeast Corridor to Manhattan survived tropical storm Ida without the debilitating damage that occurred as a result of 2012’s Superstorm Sandy. But other damage and power outages caused cancellation of all […]
Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad: How to visit
Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad: An introduction The Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad provides a family train-riding experience through scenic vistas. The tourist railroad is located on the western outskirts of Yosemite National Park, two miles south of Fish Camp, Calif. The facility at Fish Camp consists of a two-stall engine house, a museum, and […]
Federal regulators seek comments on railroads’ local service
WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board today said it is seeking comments on whether railroads should be required to report performance metrics that measure their local service. Class I railroads are required to report weekly performance data to the STB, including average train speed and average terminal dwell. But those measures do not include how railroads […]
One injured as CN trains collide in Ontario (updated)
PRESCOTT, Ontario — One person is reported injured in a collision between two Canadian National trains Thursday morning, the Ontario Provincial Police report. The collision occurred about 10:30 a.m. near an overpass at Edward Street in Prescott, about 65 miles northeast of Kingston, Ont., and just across the St. Lawrence River from Ogdensburg, N.Y. CTV […]
Norfolk Southern reports flooding issues in Northeast
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 […]
