Amtrak ACS-46 No. 600 at the Siemens plant in Sacramento. David Lustig Local and railroad officials speak before a crowd gathered at the Siemens plant. At the podium is Siemens Rail Systems Michael Cahill. To the right are: U.S. Rep. John Garamendi, Deputy Federal Railroad Administrator Karen Hedlund, and Amtrak President Joe Boardman. David Lustig […]
VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Capstone Mining Corp. has entered into an agreement with BHP Copper Inc. to purchase its Pinto Valley copper mining operation and the associated San Manuel Arizona Railroad for $650 million. The Pinto Valley Mine is located in the Globe-Miami mining district in Ariz., about 50 miles east of Phoenix. It is […]
Empire Builder Darin D. Larabee GRAND FORKS, N.D. – A passenger on Amtrak’s Empire Builder was arrested April 3 for carrying $44,000 worth of high-quality marijuana while the train was stopped in Grand Forks, the Grand Forks Herald reports. According to Grand Forks County Sheriff Bob Rost, the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol informed his […]
CHICAGO – Metra coaches may start looking a lot better now that the Chicago commuter railroad is hiring on 31 additional cleaning staff. The Daily Herald reports that the added positions are a direct result of recent fare increases on 10-ride passes. “As we indicated when we did the 10-ride increase or fare adjustment — […]
MINOT, N.D. – With extreme winter weather in North Dakota over the last two days closing roads and making for difficult travel conditions, BNSF Railway has resorted to moving crews using “snow coaches” – two unit light engine moves. The locomotives take the place of crew vans that normally shuttle crews to different locations. With no […]
Kristian Thompson SANTA FE, N.M. – The future for short line and tourist railroad Santa Fe Southern Railway appears bleak. The railroad’s General Manager Karl Ziebarth says the short line suspended operations on Oct. 17, 2012. The 18-mile line provides passenger and freight service between Santa Fe and a BNSF connection at Lamy, N.M. Ziebarth […]
LOS ANGELES – Amtrak is planning to detour its southbound Coast Starlight between Oakland and Los Angeles in March and April due to track work. Instead of its normal route along the California Coast, train No. 11 will travel Union Pacific’s ex-Southern Pacific route via the San Joaquin Valley and Tehachapi Loop. The detours are planned for March 13-15, March 24-30, […]
Texas City Terminal No. 36 Mike Harbour HOUSTON, Texas – Texas City Terminal, a six-mile switching line near Houston, received the first of three MotivePower MP14Bs last week. Rebuilt from TCT’s fleet of EMD MP15DCs, the units, Nos. 35, 36 and 37, feature a pair of Cummins-powered gensets and were paid for in part by […]
Boeing fuselages on BNSF train H-KCKDEN1-13 detouring near Wellington, Kan., on July 14, 2011. Keel Middleton RENTON, Wash. – BNSF Railway will add another 14 special cars to carry Boeing 737 fuselages in the coming months to match Boeing’s rising production of its most popular aircraft model, the Puget Sound Business Journal reports. The additional cars […]
RALEIGH, N. C. – Legislators in North Carolina filed a bill today calling on the state’s department of transportation to upgrade some existing rail lines and fund the restoration of 27 miles of abandoned railroad between the towns of Castle Hayne and Wallace. The line was abandoned by CSX Transportation in the 1990s. Proponents hope […]
FERGUS FALLS, Minn. – The Otter Tail Valley Railroad will lose its largest customer when the Otter Tail Power Co. shuts down its two coal fired generators at its Fergus Falls plant in 2020. However, the later date is a victory for the railroad and power company since environmental groups had urged the Minnesota Public Utilities […]
CHICAGO – The newly formed Tom E. Dailey Foundation Inc. is making available railroad heritage grants of up to $15,000 for projects promoting railroad heritage, history, or preservation. Dailey, a senior executive in the payment processing industry for nearly 30 years, said the foundation was created in December 2012 through a $1 million endowment. Dailey […]
