CLEVELAND — The Greater Cleveland Regional Transportation Authority has extended the shutdown of Waterfront Line rail service indefinitely over safety concerns related to a bridge on the route. The 2.2-mile line has been shut down since October 2020 for a track rehabilitation project, but an RTA statement says an inspection determined the structure needed four […]
CHICAGO — Canadian Pacific’s merger negotiations with Kansas City Southern are progressing in the wake of last week’s regulatory decision that dealt a blow to the proposed Canadian National-KCS combination. “I believe, and I have high hopes, that we will come to a place when we finish these negotiations that we will be deemed superior,” […]
CHICAGO — A heavyweight business car and two lightweight sleepers will return to their birthplace as part of this weekend’s grand opening of the Pullman National Monument Visitor Center on Chicago’s South Side. The cars, built by Pullman or Pullman-Standard between 1928 and 1955, will be available for tours Saturday and Sunday at Metra’s 111th […]
CHICAGO — BNSF is informing customers that conditions at its four Chicago-area intermodal facilities — Corwith, Cicero, Willow Springs, and Logistics Park Chicago in Elwood, Ill. — are “extremely challenged” because of “a substantial number of staged inbound trains and elevated inventory levels.” It is asking customers to prioritize pick-up of trailers and containers at […]
Lane Cutoff Brand-new in mid-1936, one of the two City of Denver trains poses on the Lane Cutoff west of Omaha, a favorite spot for Union Pacific publicity photos. The portholed cab and booster units rode on two trucks each, but were connected by a span bolster, not couplers. Union Pacific photo […]
Branch line service The Milwaukee Road ordered the lightweight EMD SDL39 for use on its light-rail branch lines. The railroad bought five of the locomotives in 1969 and followed with an order for another five in 1972. The 2,300-hp unit is equipped with a 12-cylinder 645E3 prime mover and 1,200-gallon fuel tank. EMD photo […]
CHICAGO — Mirroring a song from the hit musical “Hamilton,” the formal opening of the Pullman National Monument Visitors Center on Chicago’s South Side will give participants a sense of “the room where it happened.” The “room,” in this case, is the long-shuttered Clock Tower Administration Building and grounds that were the birthplace of assembly-line […]
‘San Francisco Overland’ Dressed in two-tone gray, FEF-1 816 and FEF-2 824 make 55 mph up Sherman Hill near Otto, Wyo., on October 21, 1949. Green flags and “1-27” in the 4-8-4s’ train indicator boxes tell that at least one other section of the San Francisco Overland is following. Ross B. Grenard Jr. photo […]
NEW HAMPTON, Iowa — Canadian Pacific emergency crews remained on site Sunday, addressing a Saturday derailment of six locomotives and 11 cars of a CP train near New Hampton. Canadian Pacific reports that one car carrying anhydrous ammonia derailed into floodwaters and leaked product. “Supporting and working closely with local emergency response officials, our priority […]
Freight guidance Early covered hopper loaders were modified from boxcar loaders, often requiring workers to climb car ladders for access. This elevator is at Glenwood, Minn., in 1984. Bob Wise photo […]
WASHINGTON — As the last two of 25 Viewliner II sleeping cars departed carbuilder CAF USA’s Elmira Heights, N.Y., factory this week, an Amtrak official has confirmed that some of the new cars will replace original Viewliners on the New York section of the Lake Shore Limited after Labor Day. “I’m happy to share that […]
CHICAGO — The man killed by Amtrak police in a shootout at Chicago Union Station on Tuesday had allegedly shot and killed a man in Oakland just four days before. Jamar Jason Taylor, 33, of San Leandro, Calif., died at Northwestern Memorial Hospital after being shot in an exchange of gunfire with police on a […]
