Classic Trains Film Archive | C&O, Clinchfield, NYC, and other eastern railroads, J. David Ingles Reel 0045 – Follow along with former Classic Trains Senior Editor J. David Ingles’ trackside treks in the 1960s. Here, you’ll see Eastern Tennessee & Western North Carolina standard gauge steam, the famed Clinchfield Railroad, Chesapeake & Ohio in Kentucky […]
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CHICAGO — Last year’s completion of the South Shore Line Double Track project — adding a second main line between Gary and Michigan City, Ind. — was a milestone that allowed the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District to significantly increase service and cut travel times. But the launch of those massively revamped operations did not […]
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CHICAGO — Metra is having “great luck” with its fleet of SD70MACH locomotives, Chief Operating Officer Kevin McCann told the Sandhouse Rail Group today (Wednesday, March 12, 2025). McCann and Chief Engineering Officer Scott Schiemann updated those attending the Northwestern University Transportation Center event at Metra headquarters on a wide variety of projects and initiatives […]
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CHICAGO — For most of Wednesday’s annual presentation to Northwestern University’s Sandhouse Rail Group, representatives of Metra and Northern Indiana Commuter Rail District, or South Shore Line, were able to highlight a string of positive accomplishments and coming attractions. But the tone changed dramatically as the session at Metra headquarters wound down, as someone asked […]
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CHICAGO — Metra has begun a rider survey over renaming its lines from their current names — which largely are derived from their historic operators — to one of two alphanumeric systems, one of which also uses color coding to a significant degree. The move is spurred by Metra’s upcoming operational takeover of the three […]
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Rolling through Marengo, Iowa, in May 1979 was this Rock Island freight with GP38-2 No. 4305 leading. This Davenport–Des Moines section of the Omaha main was one of the road’s busiest, but this portion was still train order territory. The railroad’s precarious financial condition is reflected in the depot’s upkeep. R.B. Olson photo […]
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The City of Miami was a vibrant orange and palm green streamliner of the Illinois Central Railroad. Operating between 1940 and 1971, the train provided service from Chicago to Miami, and was powered by a single EMD E6 diesel locomotive. The first jaw-dropping feature of Lionel’s latest rendition of the set isn’t the locomotive itself, […]
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To make their future construction efforts a bit easier, David and Bryson work to install the backdrop for the East Troy Industrial Park (ETIP) model railroad now! Don’t miss their tips and tricks for keeping this essential, scene-setting hardboard component in place along the back of the entire layout. Be sure to keep up with […]
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SIOUX CITY, Iowa — Eight months after it was devastated by a flood, the Sioux City Railroad Museum has reopened. The museum reopened on Saturday, March 1, and is currently open Thursday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 4 p.m. Its website notes that restoration and renovation is […]
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TEMPLETON, Iowa — Cleanup continues after a BNSF train derailed Thursday, March 6, in west-central Iowa, WOI and KCWI-TV report. The derailment occurred about 3:24 p.m. near Templeton. Video on the stations’ website shows heavy equipment working in deep snow around three locomotives; no information was available on the number of railcars involved, but BNSF […]
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CHICAGO — In the latest twist in Union Pacific’s long-running effort to exit Chicago commuter rail operations, commuter agency Metra has asked the Surface Transportation Board to require UP to allow Metra to continue operating on the three UP lines it serves. Metra’s filing today (March 7, 2025) asks the board to provide terminal trackage […]
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CHICAGO — The registration deadline is approaching for the 117th annual dinner of the Traffic Club of Chicago, one of the nation’s oldest associations for the transportation and logistics industry. The event will be held May 15 at the Aon Grand Ballroom at Chicago’s Navy Pier. It will be preceded on May 14 by the […]
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