Railroaders, and railfans, are always talking about engines: How many engines were on that train? Don’t those new engines look good (or bad)? Did you get the number of that engine? So, what’s the difference between a locomotive and an engine? We use both terms to describe the most compelling element of railroading: the machines […]
Diesel locomotives today generally have either two- or three-axle trucks, a wheel arrangement called B-B and C-C. The B-B wheel arrangement indicates a two-axle truck with both axles powered, while C-C means a truck with three powered axles. This naming convention uses letters for powered axles and numerals for non-powered “idler” axles — found on older […]
AEI data tags and readers enable rail cars to be tracked as they move across the North American rail system. The AEI (Automatic Equipment Identification) system consists of passive tags mounted on each side of rolling stock and active trackside readers. The system uses radio frequency and replaces an unsuccessful older optically-based car tracking system […]
Editor’s Note: This is an abridged version of a feature that will run in the October issue of Trains Magazine that will examine intermodal developments on both BNSF Railway and Union Pacific. It’s not easy for railroads’ domestic intermodal customers to jump ship, which is why their partnerships tend to endure for decades. Yet change […]
ALEXANDER, W.Va. — The Carter-Roag Coal Co. plans to close its Morgan Camp mine, the last coal mine in Randolph County, W.Va., as well as the Star Bridge coal preparation plant, likely spelling the end of the company’s Beech Mountain Railroad. Local news reports say Carter-Roag, a subsidiary of United Coal Co., announced last week […]
PORT CLINTON, Pa. — The Reading & Northern Railroad will donate $10,000 to the Downtown Pittston Partnership, a nonprofit group advancing the revitalization of downtown Pittston, Pa., the railroad has announced. “I would like to thank the owners [the Muller family] and administration of the Reading & Northern Railroad for not only their significant capital […]
OTTAWA — VIA Rail Canada no longer needs to run unoccupied “buffer” cars on trains with stainless steel Budd “HEP-1” and “HEP-2” passenger cars and rail diesel equipment, Transport Canada has announced. The order, effective at 11:59:59 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, May 17, repeals a previous order issued last October after questions surfaced about the […]
BOSTON — Norfolk Southern’s remediation work at the site of the February derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, is on pace to allow reopening of the second main line early next month, CEO Alan Shaw said today. “What’s important is we’re making progress there,” Shaw told an investor conference. To date, NS has distributed $34.5 million […]
POCATELLO, Idaho — One of Union Pacific’s main lines out of its Pocatallo railyard was blocked for a day following a derailment of about 20 cars on Tuesday evening, the Idaho State Journal reports. The derailment occurred about 8:50 p.m. No injuries were reported and no hazardous materials were spilled. Most cars were empty and […]
PALESTINE, Texas — A Texas judge has ruled for the city of Palestine and Anderson County and against Union Pacific in the railroad’s efforts to close a car repair shop in the city, continuing an ongoing legal battle underway on two levels. The Palestine Herald-Press reports that in a May 15 ruling, state District […]
KEYETESVILLE, Mo. — A Chariton County judge has ruled that a series of lawsuits by Amtrak employees over the fatal June 2022 derailment of Amtrak’s Southwest Chief may be combined for a single trial, KMIZ-TV reports. In a Wednesday hearing, the judge said lawyers for Amtrak, BNSF, MS Contracting — owner of the truck involved […]
WASHINGTON — An inbound Metra BNSF Line train was traveling at 60.9 mph when it struck a 33,000-pound box truck at a grade crossing in Clarendon Hills, Ill., in a May 11, 2022, accident that killed a passenger, according to information in the accident docket released Wednesday by the National Transportation Safety Board. The preliminary […]
