Association of American Railroads WASHINGTON — The Association of American Railroads today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending July 20. For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 526,010 carloads and intermodal units, down 4.9% compared with the same week last year. Total carloads for the week ending July 20 were 254,434 […]
Q: I want to submit a question and photograph to Ask Trains. How do I do that? I can’t find a way to submit a photo. — Matt Jackson, Durham, N.C. A: The best way to submit a question and a photo to Ask Trains is by email. The email address is AskTrains@TrainsMag.com. We only […]
The Rovos Rail luxury passenger train stopped at Plumtree, Zimbabwe, in July 2010 while passengers were undergoing immigration checks. This National Railways of Zimbabwe train was en route from Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, to Capetown, South Africa, a 16-day journey. The power for this train was Sheltam Corp. General Electric U30-EMP No. 3020, a 42-inch […]
Union Pacific SD70ACe No. 4141 letter for former President George H. W. Bush led Bush’s funeral train from Houston to College Station, Texas, in Dec. 2018. 18345-3 Bradley Bates Q: Painting locomotives is expensive. I’m curious to know why railroads would spend this kind of money painting heritage units? — David Berg, Minneapolis, Minn. A: […]
Buffalo Southern’s only C424M, No. 4212, undergoes testing at the railroad’s shops in Hamburg, N.Y. Pat Connors ERIE, Pa. — Anyone who has visited the Buffalo Southern shop in Hamburg, N.Y., during the last several years likely saw a dead line comprised of several Alco and Montreal Locomotive Works locomotives in various states of disrepair. […]
A National Transportation Safety Board investigator observes activity at the site of the Amtrak train No. 188 crash in 2015. National Transportation Safety Board PHILADELPHIA — For a second time, criminal charges have been dropped against the engineer of an Amtrak train involved in a fatal derailment in Philadelphia in 2015. Charges against Brian Bostian, […]
DULUTH, Minn. — A proposal released Monday by the city of Duluth would allow for the preservation of a tourist railroad which had faced the prospect of being shorted to accommodate a recreational trail. The Duluth News Tribune reports that the plan deals with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s clean-up of toxic waste at a former […]
BALTIMORE — Maryland will receive $125 million in federal funding for the Howard Street Tunnel project — significantly less than the state and CSX Transportation had sought, but enough to start working on the project. The Baltimore Sun reports that the federal funds are more than $100 million below the figure sought by the state and […]
WASHINGTON — Brookfield Infrastructure’s proposed acquisition of Genesee & Wyoming and its 106 American short line railroads is not on the fast track. The Surface Transportation Board, in a decision issued late Monday, put an indefinite hold on the $8.4-billion deal until it can weigh whether it’s appropriate to grant the normal exemption for an […]
ROANOKE, Va. — A major railcar manufacturer says it will close a historic plant in Virginia and eliminate of hundreds of jobs. FreightCar America says it plans to close its car manufacturing plant in the former Norfolk & Western East End Shops this fall. The company, according to a Roanoke Times news report, plans to […]
CHICAGO — The North American railcar market is risky, officials of leasing company GATX say, while opportunities are booming in Europe and India. GATX, with 119,500 railcars and 644 four-axle diesel locomotives in its North American fleet, saw increased North American profits for the second quarter of 2019 compared to the second quarter of 2018 […]
New York to Miami Silver Star train No. 91 was operating on track warrants and verbal communication with CSX Transportation dispatchers when it crashed into a parked CSX autorack train about 2:27 a.m. on Feb. 4, 2018, at Cayce, S.C. Jonathan Hinely WASHINGTON — Human error combined with inadequate attention to safety risk led to […]
