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Friday morning rail industry news: Progressive Rail seeks to end 10-year deal to operate line in Santa Cruz, Calif. Minnesota-based shortline company Progressive Rail wants out of its 10-year contract to operate a 32-mile line serving Santa Cruz, Calif., after just two years, according to the government agency that owns the line. The Aptos Times […]
More Friday morning rail news: South Shore aims for October start to West Lake extension work Construction on the South Shore Line’s West Lake Corridor extension, an 8-mile commuter rail branch between Hammond and Dyer, Ind., could begin in October. The Times of Northwest Indiana reports. That date reflects an expectation that the Northern Indiana […]
The phenomenal narrow gauge of the Northeast, the East Broad Top, is coming back. Nine years after it was closed and almost six decades since it shut down in the 1950s as a coal hauling railroad, the EBT has reopened and is on track to reopen in steam in 2021. Here’s a report from our […]
Still more Monday morning rail news: Dow to sell rail operations to Watco Dow Inc. will sell its rail infrastructure and operations at six sites to Watco for more than $310 million, the chemical giant announced today. The two companies will also enter long-term service agreements to continue to provide service to Dow businesses at […]
United States Steel Corp., which is struggling amid the steep downturn in demand, is poised to sell the remaining railroads held by its Transtar subsidiary, Trains News Wire has learned. Multiple rail industry sources say the steelmaker plans to put the Transtar lines up for sale soon. A U.S. Steel spokeswoman said the company does […]
ORBISONIA, Pa. – For the first time since 2011, the narrow-gauge East Broad Top Railroad in central Pennsylvania will offer public passenger-train rides Aug. 13-15. The reopening of the National Historic Landmark coincides with the 260th anniversary of the founding of the town of Orbisonia and its twin borough, Rockhill Furnace, home to the company’s […]
Still more Tuesday morning rail news: OmniTRAX names Cameron Scott as board chairman Cameron Scott, a former executive vice president and chief operating officer at Union Pacific, has been named chairman of the board of directors for short line holding company OmniTRAX. Scott held that position from 2014 until his retirement in 2019, after previously […]
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — For the first time in 10 years, Florida East Coast Railway has handled a train of NASA rocket boosters bound for Kennedy Space Center. Friday’s move of FEC’s “NASA-12” extra brought the Northrop Grumman solid rocket boosters for the Space Launch System Artemis 1, the first of an estimated nine such […]
Longtime Georgia short line executive Benjamin Tarbutton Jr. dies Benjamin Tarbutton Jr., who spent 65 years at his family’s short line, the Sandersville Railroad Co. in Sandersville, Ga., has died at the age of 90. Tarbutton, a U.S. Navy veteran who served during the Korean War, served at president, vice president, and director during […]
More Monday morning rail news: Uinta Basin project aims to start construction in 2021 The company seeking to build the Uinta Basin Railway in Utah has filed a petition with the Surface Transportation Board seeking an exemption that would allow it to begin construction of the line in 2021. Board approval is typically required for […]
The Port Harbor Railroad in Granite City, Ill., has unveiled units honoring first responders and veterans. Steve Smedley Port Harbor’s Dominic Montero, left, designed the paint schemes for the two locomotives. He was joined at the unveiling by his father, Mario, of the St. Louis Fire Department. Steve Smedley GRANITE CITY, Ill. — The Port Harbor […]
U.S. Sugar used its restored ex-Florida East Coast locomotive on a cane train this week to mark the end of the harvest season. U.S. Sugar More Friday morning rail news in brief: U.S. Sugar uses steam locomotive on cane train, announces plans for ‘Sugar Express’ Restored U.S. Sugar 4-6-2 No. 148, a former Florida East […]
