AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Supreme Court took almost six months to decide that Texas Central’s proposed 200-mph rail line between Dallas and Houston was entitled to take property through eminent domain provisions that were established for “interurban electric railways” in 1907. The question now is what life is left in the organization to push […]
ROCKLIN, Calif. — A group seeking to preserve and promote the history of the Southern Pacific Railroad has a identified a site for a proposed museum and archives. The Gold Country Media website reports the proposed Southern Pacific Rail History Center has identified a 7.6-acre site in Rocklin and plans to make an offer on […]
RALEIGH, N.C. — A draft feasibility study for a 43-mile commuter rail line connecting Raleigh and Durham projects the project could cost $2.8 billion to $3.2 billion, WRAL-TV reports. The $9 million study for regional transit agency GoTriangle is now being presented to local officials for review. A final version is slated to be is […]
BONNER SPRINGS, Kan. — Twenty-five cars of a Union Pacific train, including some carrying hazardous materials, derailed Friday evening in Bonner Springs. The Kansas City, Kansas, Fire Department, which responded, reports nine of the cars were tank cars carrying isobutane, a flammable gas used to make products ranging from aviation gasoline to plastics to food […]
PARIS — French rail unions Sud Rail, CGT, and CFDT have called for a national strike by rail workers on July 6, Reuters reports. The unions said in a joint statement that workers “are sharply hit by exploding inflation. We must act to obtain wage increases.” The French call for a strike came as most […]
COHUTTA, Ga. — The small town of Cohutta, just southeast of Chattanooga, Tenn., is seeking $2 million in funding to develop railroad-themed park to attract tourism. The Daily Citizen of Dalton, Ga., reports the town has applied for grant from the Georgia Department of Community Affairs to turn a 5-acre lot adjacent to a Norfolk […]
An Amtrak Cardinal day trip to Clifton Forge is well within reach! Don’t let Amtrak’s three-day-a-week schedule on the Cardinal route deter you from a scenic Amtrak day trip through the Appalachia Mountains of southern West Virginia and Virginia along CSX Transportation’s route through the New River Gorge National Park & Preserve. This passenger rail […]
Digital or film railroad photography? Before the advent of digital technology, the photographic standard of our hobby was transparency, or slide film. While multiple manufacturers guaranteed the user the desired color temperature and punchiness, the preferred emulsions were the various flavors of Kodachrome and Fujichrome. The former was prized for its “pop,” particularly on bright, […]
HOMEWOOD, IIl. — Bringing Amtrak’s more than 500 stations into compliance with 1990’s Americans with Disabilities Act has been on Amtrak’s to-do list since the legislation was passed, but only with recent, specifically designated funding has the company prioritized the transformations. One such project was celebrated Saturday, June 25, in Homewood, Ill., with Amtrak brass […]
Former Santa Fe bicentennial diesel No. 5704 is on its way to its new home in California. Photographer William Tollett caught the SD45-2, restored to its mid-1970s paint scheme earlier this year, on Thursday, June 23, at Panhandle, Texas, on BNSF Railway train ZPLKLAC6-22. The locomotive was donated to the Southern California Railroad Museum in […]
Changing a locomotive headlight: Everything we do on the railroad is guided by FRA standards and practices. According to the portion of federal law that governs railroads – 49 CFR § 229.125 – every lead locomotive used in road service shall illuminate its headlight while the locomotive is in use. If a road unit is […]
FORT WORTH, Texas — BNSF Railway’s decision to meter a broad range of carload traffic bound for California beginning next week is aimed at preventing congestion from worsening on the busy Southern Transcon during the Fourth of July holiday period when many crews mark off. The west end of the Southern Transcon, which carries 80 […]
