Nevada, California legislators back federal funding for Brightline West

Illustration of high-speed Brightline West train

LAS VEGAS — Members of Congress from Nevada and California are backing Nevada’s effort to land federal funding for the Brightline West high speed rail project, writing U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to express “strong support” for the state’s grant application. Brightline West and the Nevada Department of Transportation applied for up to $3.75 billion […]

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Grand Canyon Railway No. 4960 steams up for Earth Day

Black steam locomotive pulling passenger train around curve

WILLIAMS, Ariz. — The Grand Canyon Railway and Hotel provided an Earth Day celebration with some steam added to the mix in the form of their 2-8-2 No. 4960. The former Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad steam locomotive, with assistance from F40 diesel No. 4128, pulled the railway’s round-trip excursion train from Williams to the […]

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Santa Fe 4-8-4 No. 2926 to steam up next month

Steam locomotive blowing out steam

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Santa Fe 4-8-4 No. 2926 will make a short trip next month from its restoration site to Tractor Brewing Company in Albuquerque. The short run down approximately four blocks of industrial track will operate May 6 as a fundraiser for the New Mexico Steam Locomotive & Railroad Historical Society, which restored the […]

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Bill to limit train length introduced in Nevada

CARSON CITY, Nevada — The Nevada legislature has become the latest to consider limiting the length of freight trains, through introduction of a bill which would prohibit trains of more than 7,500 feet. AB 456, introduced on March 27, sets penalties for violations beginning at $5,000 and escalating to $25,000. The bill also would set […]

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BNSF main line reopens in Arizona

BNSF Railway logo

TOPOCK, Ariz. — BNSF Railway has reopened its Southern Transcon main line near the Arizona-California state line following a Wednesday derailment, the railroad said in a customer advisory today (Saturday, March 18). That derailment occurred about 7:40 p.m. Wednesday near Topock, about 11 miles southeast of Needles, Calif., on the Seligman Subdivision. It involved eight […]

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BNSF train derails in Arizona

BNSF Railway logo

TOPOCK, Ariz. — Derailed cars of BNSF Railway train that derailed Wednesday night were carrying corn syrup, the railroad reports, correcting initial reports from the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office that hazardous materials were on board. CNN reports that BNSF spokeswoman Lena Kent told the news network that the derailment occurred about 7:40 p.m. near the […]

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Santa Fe hi-level lounge acquired by Arizona museum

Former Santa Fe high-level passenger car

CHANDLER, Ariz. — The Arizona Railway Museum has acquired former Santa Fe hi-level lounge No. 576. The car arrived at the museum last month Six hi-level lounge cars with curved glass roofs were built for Santa Fe by Budd in 1956. They were numbered 575–580 and operated on the all-coach El Capitan streamliner between Chicago […]

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Weather leads to cancellations for Southwest Chief, Empire Builder

Passenger train leaves rooster tail of snow as it runs on three-track main line

CHICAGO — Weather is taking its toll on current operations of Amtrak’s western long-distance trains. According to the Amtrak Alerts Twitter feed, the eastbound Chief scheduled to depart Los Angeles today (Wednesday, Feb. 22) has been cancelled due to severe weather conditions, while the westbound Chief that left Chicago on Tuesday, Feb. 21, will terminate […]

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Brightline West announces agreement with labor coalition

Rendering of green and white high speed train

LAS VEGAS — Brightline West, the planned high speed rail line between Las Vegas and Southern California, has announced an agreement with a coalition of 13 rail unions for the project to use union labor. In another development, a news report says a group of California agencies have agreed to build wildlife overcrossings to span […]

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