QUINCY, Mass. – RailState, which tabulates rail traffic using a network of sensors placed on public property along main lines, last week provided a snapshot of long trains rolling along BNSF Railway and Union Pacific in the Southwest. The longest train RailState spotted over a 10-day period this month: A five-locomotive UP stack train carrying […]
NORTH SIOUX CITY, S.D. — A portion of a BNSF Railway bridge connecting North Sioux City, S.D., and Sioux City, Iowa, collapsed Sunday night, as heavy rains and flooding continue to take a toll on the area. “We have been monitoring the region through our increased track inspections and had not been operating over the […]
WASHINGTON — The federal government has issued its final rule requiring railroads to provide real-time electronic information on hazardous material to first responders in the event of a derailment or other incident. The rule from the Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration is one of many regulatory actions spurred by last year’s […]
SCARBOROUGH, Maine — Jerry Angier, a prominent New England-based railroad preservationist and author, primarily involving the Bangor & Aroostook Railroad (BAR), died June 19 at his home near Portland, Maine. He was 82. Born March 1, 1942, in Washington, D.C., Gilman “Jerry” Angier Jr., attended school in Providence, R.I., summered with his family in Hyannis […]
LORTON, Va. — Amtrak has begun testing its Siemens Charger ALC42 long-distance locomotives in Auto Train service, with two of the diesels making their first appearance as part of a four-locomotive consist on the southbound train on Friday, June 21. Photographer Sol Tucker shot the locomotives putting the train together in Lorton; Nathan Richters photographed […]
DEL MAR, Calif. — As the San Diego Association of Governments considers potential routes for a rail tunnel to replace the Surf Line route along the Del Mar bluffs, it can rest assured of one thing: Whatever it does, someone will be unhappy. SANDAG recently chose three potential routes for the tunnel in order to […]
DURANGO, Colo. — Trips to Silverton, Colo., on the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad could be disrupted until at least Wednesday, June 26, after a rock slide was discovered Saturday morning, the Durango Herald reports. The slide, near Milepost 486 north of Needleton, was reported at 7:30 a.m. Saturday. It occurred sometime after the […]
FORT WORTH, Texas – BNSF Railway’s engineering crews have added a 1,300-foot wind fence to block the pesky prevailing wind on a bridge in Abo Canyon on its Southern Transcon in New Mexico. The Clovis Subdivision bridge, at milepost 874.2 near the west end of the canyon, experiences more severe winds due to the terrain, […]
WASHINGTON — There is a lot to unpack in the Federal Railroad Administration’s latest long-distance route update, as discussed at six regional meetings held between June 4-13, 2024. These were the fourth round of meetings in a planning exercise mandated by a provision of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021. The latest report […]
WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board has detailed its plans for next week’s return to East Palestine, Ohio, for community meetings and a public meeting to approve its final report on last year’s Norfolk Southern derailment and toxic-chemical release. The board will hold community meetings June 24 and June 25 at East Palestine High […]
LONDON — A British company has announced plan to convert a 1980s diesel locomotive to a prototype of a zero-emission steam powered unit. Rail equipment leasing firm Eversholt Rail Group said earlier this month it would convert a British Rail Class 60 locomotive, a C-C unit built by Brush Traction, in a partnership with Steamology, […]
OWOSSO, Mich. — The 2024 debut of Pere Marquette steam locomotive No. 1225 in June offered multiple firsts for the 2-8-4 and its owner, the Steam Railroading Institute (SRI). Ultimately, it was the first time since 2019 that the Berkshire-type operated for the public outside of its regular holiday-season North Pole Express schedule. But for […]
