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Magazine: Trains Magazine
Locomotive model designations explained
Locomotive builders use model designations to differentiate between products, describing major features found on them. Often, these model designations will be used by the railroads who purchase them, or they will be shortened or modified to conform to space limitations on a computer system, uniform naming schemes, or to identify features that are important to […]
Digest: Amtrak, ATF offer $10,000 reward in Beech Grove fire case
$10,000 reward offered in investigation of Amtrak shop fire Amtrak and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are offering a $10,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and successful prosecution of the person or persons responsible for the May 2 fire at Amtrak’s Beech Grove (Ind.) Heavy Maintenance Facility, WXIN-TV […]
Digest: Officials in Colorado county say they oppose passenger rail district
El Paso, Colo., county board voices opposition to passenger rail district Officials in Colorado’s El Paso County, which includes Colorado Springs, have indicated their opposition to a proposed Front Range Rail Passenger District, expressing concern that taxes raised by the district could be better used to fix local roads or could be spent elsewhere in […]
Digest: Customs agency announces $46 million upgrade for rail inspections at border
Customs and Border Protection to introduce new rail cargo scanners at 12 key border crossings The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency has announced a $46 million program to install new technology to inspect rail cargo at a dozen sites around the U.S. The new high energy scanners will us linear accelerators to generate X-rays […]
U.S. rail traffic remains well above 2020 levels
WASHINGTON — U.S. rail freight traffic continues to far outpace 2020 levels, when traffic was depressed by the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and remains stable by week-to-week measures in 2021. Statistics from the Association of American Railroads for the week ending May 8 show U.S. railroads moved 236,019 carloads, a 27.6% increase over […]
Memorial Day weekend open house will show Mark Twain Zephyr progress
TREGO, Wis. — The Wisconsin Great Northern Railroad will open its doors on Memorial Day weekend to give visitors a look at its ongoing renovation process for the Mark Twain Zephyr, the articulated Burlington Lines streamliner being brought back to life after more than 60 years of storage, inactivity, and deterioration. The open house will […]
News photos: IHB’s new salute to veterans engine
Indiana Harbor Belt has unveiled a new Salute to Veterans locomotive. Recently acquired GP38-2 No. 3800 wears an employee-designed paint scheme. It is shown on May 10 in Hammond, Ind. — Michael Miller […]
Digest: CSX acquires chemical trucking firm Quality Carriers
CSX acquires Quality Carriers, North America’s largest bulk chemical trucking firm CSX Corp. will acquire Quality Carriers, North America’s largest truck transporter of bulk liquid chemicals, in a deal announced Wednesday morning. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Quality Carriers operates a truck fleet with about 2,500 drivers and has a network of more […]
Analysis: How Kansas City Southern merger bids could affect Amtrak
CHICAGO — Canadian National has announced it intends to beef up what is currently a meandering, unsignaled 40-mph ex-Gulf, Mobile & Ohio branch to connect with Kansas City Southern’s main line to the Gulf Coast. And if Canadian Pacific gets KCS, it expects to direct Mexican supply chain business to and from Western Canada through […]
Minnesota group unveils repainted Milwaukee Road E9
MINNEAPOLIS — The Friends of the 261 has unveiled a new “retro” paint scheme for Milwaukee Road E9A 32A. The E unit, acquired by the Friends in 2019, is painted orange and maroon to fit with the majority of the Friends passenger fleet. Since Milwaukee Road E9s were only painted Union Pacific yellow, the group […]
Digest: Engineering work advances Lac-Mégantic bypass preparations
Transport Canada says engineering work is done for Lac-Mégantic bypass, on target for 2023 completion Transport Canada reports additional engineering work has been completed on the Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, bypass project and that the project still should be done by 2023. The engineering work will allow relocation of rail operations to the Lac-Mégantic business park, as […]
