A Santa Cruz & Monterey Bay passenger special departs the Santa Cruz boardwalk in December 2012. Elrond Lawrence SANTA CRUZ, Calif. – Chicago-based Iowa Pacific Holdings is seeking to end its contract as the operator of the Santa Cruz Branch Rail Line, the Santa Cruz Sentinel reports. Iowa Pacific subsidiary Santa Cruz & Monterey Bay […]
A westbound BNSF intermodal train leans into the famous elevated curves at Siberia, Calif., in April 2014. Four photos, Drew Halverson I witnessed an endless array of trains while growing up in the Midwest. Despite the diversity of railroads, the surrounding landscape was lacking. I needed mountains and deserts to go with the ubiquitous cityscapes […]
An aerial view of charred freight train in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, following the July 2013 derailment and fire. Transportation Safety Board of Canada SHERBROOKE, Quebec — The Montreal, Maine & Atlantic’s use of one-person crews in the months before the fatal Lac-Mégantic oil train wreck that killed 47 people has become the focus of the criminal […]
Churchill, Manitoba Google Maps OTTAWA, Ont. — The Canadian federal government has launched an $18-million dollar lawsuit against Omnitrax, the U.S.-based shortline operations company. The lawsuit alleges that Omnitrax allowed tracks leading to the isolated community of Port of Churchill, Manitoba, to fall into disrepair after flooding washed away portions of the tracks. If proven […]
On June 20, 1950, seven months after the Nickel Plate Road leased the 500-mile Wheeling & Lake Erie, W&LE Berkshire 6430 rolls 75 cars toward Toledo along the Sandusky River north of Fremont, Ohio. Soon NKP would renumber the Wheeling Berks into its 800 series. Bob Lorenz photo […]
Woss, British Columbia Google Maps WOSS, British Columbia — Western Forest Products announced Tuesday that Vancouver Island’s Englewood Railway, the last logging railroad in North America, is closed for good. The decision to close the logging railroad on the north end of Vancouver Island comes six months after three Englewood employees were killed when a […]
Iowa Pacific’s E9 No. 101 operates on a Polar Express excursion out of Middleton, Wis., in 2015. Due to an ongoing dispute, Iowa Pacific will not operate Polar Express trains this year. David Lassen DURANGO, Colo. — Polar Express trains will not be stopping at tourist railroads owned by Iowa Pacific Holdings and the company’s […]
Take a look at the Albany & Eastern’s March 2017 excursion between Lebanon and Sweet Home, Ore., coinciding with the annual Winterail multimedia show and sale in nearby Corvallis. You’ll see the privately owned and restored Southern Pacific SD9 No. 5399 and the short line’s own power with an eclectic mix of passenger equipment. Also […]
Take a look at the Albany & Eastern’s March 2017 excursion between Lebanon and Sweet Home, Ore., coinciding with the annual Winterail multimedia show and sale in nearby Corvallis. You’ll see the privately owned and restored Southern Pacific SD9 No. 5399 and the short line’s own power with an eclectic mix of passenger equipment. Also […]
Ex-Pennsy H10s 2-8-0 No. 85 of the 21-mile Western Allegheny Railroad heads a train of big Bessemer & Lake Erie hopper cars loaded with coal and limestone out of Kaylor, Pa., in September 1955. Philip R. Hastings photo […]
A simple map showing Canadian Pacific’s new service to Ohio. Canadian Pacific CALGARY, Alberta — Canadian Pacific is extending the reach of its international intermodal service into the Ohio Valley through a partnership with a pair of Genesee & Wyoming regional railroads. The Chicago, Fort Wayne & Eastern Railroad and the Indiana & Ohio Railway […]
Sunray, Texas Google Maps SUNRAY, Texas — A new bulk transload facility is open for business in Texas’ panhandle near Sunray. TNW Corp., whose companies include the Texas Northwestern Railway and other transportation and logistics operations, recently opened the transload site about 50 miles north of Amarillo. The facility specializes in the transport of bulk […]
