CHICAGO — The North American Rail Shippers Association has added an online participation option to its annual meeting, to be held in Chicago Sept. 7-9. “To make attending as convenient as possible we have added online options because we know there is still uncertainty about traveling due to COVID-19,” NARS President Tom Tisa said in a […]
Introduction to the Beverly Branch The Beverly Branch is a unique segment of Metra’s 11-line commuter rail network. While there are other branch lines — two on the Electric District, one on the UP Northwest line — this one is essentially an alternate route, a 6-mile diversion from the Rock Island District main line providing […]
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The Federal Railroad Administration has halted work on a long-proposed new passenger station for Ann Arbor, citing high cost and unacceptable design features. MLive, the Ann Arbor News website, reports a letter from Jamie Rennert, director of the FRA’s Office of Infrastructure Development, told the city the agency would discontinue work […]
LEBANON, Ohio — The future of a Cincinnati-area heritage railroad is in doubt because of infrastructure needs that could reach $2.5 million over the next decade. WXIX-TV reports the Lebanon, Mason & Monroe Railroad is operated by the non-profit Cincinnati Scenic Railway, using track owned by the city of Lebanon, which also provides funding, as […]
CHICAGO — A murder suspect who had just arrived on the California Zephyr was shot and killed at Chicago Union Station on Tuesday evening after opening fire on Amtrak police on a station platform. The Chicago Sun-Times reports Amtrak police were waiting on the platform when the train arrived, having been informed by California authorities […]
CHICAGO — One person was shot and three others have been injured in an incident Tuesday evening at Chicago Union Station that halted Amtrak service in and out of the station for about an hour. The Chicago Tribune reports the man who was shot has been taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, about 1 ½ miles […]
SPUD switcher St. Paul Union Depot 44-ton 441, built by GE in 1941, works its namesake Minnesota passenger terminal. The locomotive’s size and weight would allow one-man operation under the “90,000-pound” rule of the 1937 National Diesel Agreement labor rules. Classic Trains collection […]
CHICAGO — Tours of three privately owned railcars built by the Pullman Co. or Pullman-Standard will be offered on Saturday, Sept. 4, and Sunday, Sept. 5, at Metra’s 111th Street/Pullman station as part of the gand opening weekend of the Pullman National Monument. Amtrak P42 locomotive No. 161, which wears the Phase I paint scheme […]
NEWTON, Iowa — If there wasn’t enough going on in August 2021 for the steam locomotive enthusiast, here’s one more special event to keep an eye on, or maybe even attend: An Iowa-based Chinese-built QJ 2-10-2 is starting its public tour. On Friday, Central States Steam Preservation No. 6988 made a deadhead freight move from […]
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The Illinois Department of Transportation has announced a $10.1 million project to improve rail operations in Mitchell, Ill., northeast of St. Louis. The project will reconfigure rail lines and replace a 97-year-old interlocking tower, with funding from six sources: $5.1 million from the Federal Railroad Administration’s Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvments […]
BROOKLYN PARK, Minn. – Veteran railroader and well-known railfan Burdell L. “Bud” Bulgrin died Aug. 18 of complications of Covid-19. He was 82. Bulgrin’s long railroad career included stints in the communications departments at Santa Fe, Illinois Central, Soo Line, and Canadian Pacific. But he was probably best known as a life-long railfan and photographer […]
FOUNTAINTOWN, Ind. — Fourteen cars of a CSX train derailed this morning in an unincorporated area near Greenfield, Ind., blocking a state highway and knocking down some local power lines. CSX says in a statement that the derailment occurred about 8:11 a.m., and involved six empty cars and eight loaded cars. No hazardous materials were […]
