McCormack with Nickel Plate Road-painted PA1 No. 190 in 2014. Justin Franz PORTLAND, Ore. – Preservationist and steam locomotive engineer Doyle McCormack has stepped down as president of the Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation after 15 years. McCormack, best known as the engineer aboard Southern Pacific 4-8-4 No. 4449, will remain on the board of directors […]
CHICAGO – Metra’s longstanding displeasure with Amtrak over problems at Chicago Union Station blew up into heated criticism – complete with some coarse language – as a result of a “human error” which shut down train operations last month. One by one, most of Metra’s board of directors took aim Wednesday at Amtrak, accusing the […]
CHICAGO — Only one month after approving a $71 million contract to purchase 15 remanufactured locomotives, Metra’s board has allocated $56 million to buy eight new locomotives that meet the latest Tier 4 federal emissions standards. Part of the money, $14 million, is coming from funds that Illinois is receiving as part of the $2 […]
Interested buyers examine a ‘Pacific Parlour Car’ at during a public inspection at Amtrak’s Beech Grove Heavy Maintenance Facility in December 2018. Bob Johnston OWOSSO, Mich. – Two Amtrak Pacific Parlour Cars will soon join Steam Railroading Institute’s passenger car fleet. The cars were built as Santa Fe Hi-level lounges by the Budd Co. in […]
NEWARK, N.J. — New Jersey commuters can expect cancellations and delays this summer for a lack of qualified locomotive engineers. After taking a tour of NJ Transit’s Emergency Operation Center in Maplewood, N.J., on Tuesday afternoon, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy told media members present that having just eight graduates in May from engineer training […]
ATLANTA — Voters in the northern Atlanta suburb of Gwinnett County rejected a proposal to expand MARTA into their county, the third time in nearly 50 years they have denied such a plan. The referendum asked voters to authorize a contract with the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, which would have added a 1 percent […]
The EventBrite page to buy Big Boy christening tickets on Friday. CHEYENNE, Wyo. – Tickets for a front row seat to see Union Pacific Big Boy No. 4014 depart Cheyenne on its inaugural run in May are going on sale March 21. The Cheyenne Depot Museum is selling tickets to a special christening ceremony scheduled […]
The spate of harsh winter weather and flooding that has wreaked havoc with operations on BNSF Railway and Union Pacific has helped submerge traffic volumes, too. UP’s carload traffic fell 12 percent in the week ending March 16, while intermodal volume was down 9 percent, amid record flooding in Nebraska and a rock slide and […]
Association of American Railroads WASHINGTON — The Association of American Railroads today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending March 16. For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 501,001 carloads and intermodal units, down 6.8 percent compared with the same week last year. Total carloads for the week ending March 16 were […]
Amtrak’s California Zephyr calls at Omaha in September 2018. Trains: Jim Wrinn OMAHA, Neb. — Faced with uncertain restoration dates on the California Zephyr’s regular BNSF Railway route owing to extensive flooding in Iowa, beginning Thursday, March 21, Amtrak is rerouting the train over the Union Pacific’s former Chicago & North Western main line between […]
Steam locomotive Tjepper works the plantation line on March 2, 2019. The name refers to a district in central Java where the loco worked 1914-1990s. Glen Beadon BRIDGETOWN, Barbados — The island nation of Barbados in the Caribbean has a brand new steam railway which was opened officially March 11 by the country’s prime minister, […]
CN No. 5080 was built by the Montreal Locomotive Works in 1914 and spent most of its career in Manitoba. CN donated the locomotive to Prince Albert in the 1960s. Aspen Crossing Cranes lift No. 5080 to begin its journey to its new home in Alberta. Aspen Crossing PRINCE ALBERT, Saskatchewan — A Canadian National […]
