WASHINGTON — At least $232 billion needs to be invested during the next 10 years in public transit, according to a report released this week by the American Public Transportation Association. The study draws from three sources. A U.S. Department of Transportation infrastructure status report, issued in 2015, identifies an $89.8-billion backlog of spending needed […]
Sainthood candidate’s hometown gets caboose honoring archbishop’s fondness for railroads NEWSWIRE
EL PASO, Ill. — A Roman Catholic center dedicated to the memory of the late Archbishop Fulton Sheen has added a capstone, of sorts, to its Illinois center … in the form of a caboose. Sheen was born in El Paso and lived in the Peoria, Ill.-area before receiving ordination as a priest and moving […]
UP steam tests Big Boy No. 4014 at the Cheyenne shop NEWSWIRE
UP No. 4014 was steam testing, UP said on March 20, 2019. Facebook screen shot CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Union Pacific said Wednesday it is steam testing restored Big Boy No. 4014. In a post to the company’s Official Union Pacific Steam Club Facebook page, the railroad showed a 13 second video clip taken from the […]
Discovering the Transcontinental Railroad’s completion site at Promontory, Utah
Lonely. Isolated. Desolate. Remote. The list of words to describe how this place — one of the (if not the) most sacred sites in American railroad history — feels is nowhere long enough. To come here into the high desert is to be on a pilgrimage for a glimpse into the unending sagebrush, rocks, and […]
If a Transcontinental Railroad were Built Today
Construction crews working westward on the Union Pacific encountered rough going when they reached Utah’s Weber Canyon. Trains collection If you built a transcontinental railroad today from scratch, how long would it take, given the regulatory environment of the modern world? Nobody knows for sure, but the best guess is about 57 years. Here’s a […]
Year-by-year, a timeline of completing the Transcontinental Railroad
Union Pacific trains and ocvered wagons congregate near the end of track at Archer, Wyo., in 1867 during construction westward. Union Pacific 1832: Proponents call for transcontinental railroad 1845: New England merchant and traveler, Asa Whitney begins advocacy for Pacific Railroad 1853: Congress appropriates $150,000 for survey of five routes 1855-1860: 12 volumes of findings […]
FTA releases Washington Metro to local control NEWSWIRE
WASHINGTON — More than three years after the Federal Transit Administration took the unprecedented step of assuming direct safety oversight of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Metrorail system, the FTA has returned supervision back to local control. The Washington Metrorail Safety Commission, an independent body established by Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia in […]
MBTA sets meetings on future of historic streetcars NEWSWIRE
An MBTA PCC streetcar stops in Milton, Mass., in December 2018. The MBTA has proposed replacing the 70-year-old cars. Justin Franz BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority will hold three public meetings in the coming weeks to gather input about the future of Boston’s historic Mattapan-Ashmont High Speed Line. Earlier this year, MBTA officials […]
Railroads brace for Mississippi River flooding NEWSWIRE
DAVENPORT, Iowa – Railroaders are working “around the clock” this week to restore and maintain service along water-logged routes in the Midwest, but the worst may be yet to come as communities along the Mississippi River brace for major flooding in the coming days. Over the weekend, flooding affected hundreds of miles of BNSF Railway […]
Suburban Atlanta county votes on MARTA expansion NEWSWIRE
ATLANTA — Suburban Gwinnett County is voting today on whether to fund an expansion of the Atlanta-area MARTA transit agency, including an expansion of its heavy rail system, into the county. The referendum asks voters to approve a contract between the county and MARTA that would allow MARTA to take over existing Gwinnett County transit […]
UPDATE: Union Pacific continues work on picking up Washington State rock slide NEWSWIRE
RITZVILLE, Wash. — Adding to the list of mid-March nature-related disruptions across its network, Union Pacific is cleaning up a derailment that has interrupted traffic on its Ayer subdivision between Spokane and Hinkle, Ore. A UP spokesman said a train with a Canadian Pacific locomotive derailed 23 rail cars of mixed freight near mile post […]
Drew’s Trackside Adventures: Episode 41 Gallop to the Gateway City
DTA host Drew Halverson, along with pals Kent Johnson and Charlie Conway, launch their summer-long mission to explore the hottest railroad action in the state of Missouri. But first, they have get to the Gateway to the West. Make the trip with the guys, as they chase and race trains (and rain) along a wandering […]
