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Missouri-Kansas-Texas MP15AC No. 58 is a 1980 product of EMD. The locomotive’s model designates the use of an alternator and rectifiers instead of the traditional generator to produce D.C. power for the traction motors. Other major U.S. buyers included Long Island Rail Road, Louisville & Nashville, Milwaukee Road, Seaboard Coast Line, and Southern Pacific. Lee […]
A northbound Amtrak Hiawatha passes through Northbrook, Ill., on Feb. 23, 2020. Service frequency is being reduced for the Hiawatha and other Midwest trains. TRAINS: David Lassen CHICAGO — As part of its continuing response to coronavirus-related drops in ridership, Amtrak has made the first cuts to its Midwestern service, cancelling the Chicago-Grand Rapids, Mich., […]
Florida’s Brightline has joined the list of rail operators reducing service because of the coronavirus outbreak. TRAINS: David Lassen Wednesday afternoon rail news: — U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski, chairman of the House Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials, has been defeated in the Democratic primary for Illinois’ 3rd Congressional District. Lipinski was defeated by […]
WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration has announced its full list of recipients of $248.5 million in Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) Program grants, which will fund 32 projects in 27 states. Some of the grants had been announced previously by individual recipients [see “Announcements begin on infrastructure grants,” Trains News Wire, March […]
U.S. Rep. Lipinski has introduced the Improving the Metra Commuter Experience Act of 2020 (H.R. 6226) to transfer ownership of Chicago Union Station from Amtrak to Metra. David Lassen Note: revises and updates previous version A bill introduced by U.S. Rep Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.) would transfer Chicago Union Station from Amtrak to Metra ownership — […]
Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range 332 on a 2017 photo charter. Steve Glischinski DULUTH, Minn. – The Lake Superior Railroad Museum is overhauling its steam program for 2020, sending locomotive parts out for rebuilding, purchasing others, and operating on a reduced schedule. The revamp follows a 2019 season that saw Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range […]
A Metra Milwaukee North train arrives in Deerfield, Ill., on Oct. 27, 2019. Deerfield is one of the partners with Metra in a reverse-commute pilot program on the Milwaukee North line. TRAINS: David Lassen Still more rail news for a busy Friday: — Metra’s reverse-commute pilot program on its Milwaukee District North line is exceeding […]
New MARS President Stefan Loeb, left, is congratulated by outgoing president Tom Surma, who was honored for his leadership at the 2020 Winter Meeting in January. MARS submitted photo CHICAGO — The Midwest Association of Rail Shippers (MARS) elected its 2020 slate of officers at the annual winter meeting earlier in January. The 2020 MARS […]
Santa Fe’s high-priority Super C freight between Chicago and Los Angeles debuted with much fanfare in 1968. High rates, charged to placate other Santa Fe customers, limited traffic, however. Santa Fe photo […]
Swift & Co. had a large soybean processing plant on the Nickel Plate Road at Frankfort, Ind. In this 1946 view, beans arrived by boxcar, with outbound soy meal loaded in sacks in boxcars (the boxcar in the background) and soybean oil loaded in tank cars. Nickel Plate Road photo […]
In fall 1942, Minneapolis & St. Louis 2-6-0 No. 331 heads for Story City, Iowa, northwest from Minerva Junction and Marshalltown. In the 1950s, GE and Alco diesels would replace steam and the local would run just Tuesdays and Fridays. William F. Armstrong photo […]
Culver Tower in Muscatine, Iowa, guarded the junction of Milwaukee Road and Rock Island main lines on the southwest side of town. From there trains operated on joint Milwaukee-Rock Island trackage to the Quad Cities. The tower, shown in 1950, closed in November 1977. Robert Lawler photo […]
