A Metra Milwaukee West train arrives at the Roselle station in January 2019. Roselle will be one of the 59 stations hosting a Metra “Safety Blitz” in 2019, with Metra employees offering safety information at the station on the morning of April 16. TRAINS: David Lassen CHICAGO — Metra is planning Operation Lifesaver “Safety Blitzes” […]
An inbound Metra Rock Island train passes the Robbins flagstop station in December 2018. Metra is developing a policy that would require an assessment of station use every two years, as well as establishing procedures for communities to request new stations. TRAINS: David Lassen CHICAGO — Metra is developing a plan to assess stations throughout […]
The 2-8-0 sports its new retro paint in the Duluth shop on March 26. Tim Schandel, Lake Superior Railroad Museum DULUTH, Minn. – The Lake Superior Railroad Museum’s Duluth & Northeastern 2-8-0 No. 28 has been repainted to its original Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range Railway paint scheme and number in preparation for the 2019 […]
No. 261 pulls an excursion on the Twin Cities & Western in September 2018. Steve Glischinski MINNEAPOLIS – Milwaukee Road 4-8-4 No. 261 will pull two trips for the Milwaukee Road Historical Association in June. The excursions are being operated by the Friends of the 261 in conjunction with MRHA’s annual convention being held this […]
Decatur & Eastern Illinois’s Paris to Decatur, Ill., road job creeps north at 10 mph passing an old elevator at a spot known as Harris Spur. At Chrisman, Ill., the crew on this train will swap trains with the Decatur-Paris job. Kim Heusel DECATUR, Ill. — Barely six months since taking over 126 miles of […]
A northbound Canadian Pacific empty ethanol train passes through floodwaters of the Mississippi River in Davenport, Iowa, on Saturday, March 23, 2019. Steve Smedley DAVENPORT, Iowa — Canadian Pacific’s former Milwaukee Road lines in the Midwest have suffered damage from recent flooding. In Davenport on CP’s Davenport subdivision, floodwaters from the Mississippi River are over […]
Mid-Continent Railway Museum’s proximity to the swollen Baraboo River in March 2019. Mid-Continent Railway Museum The recent deadly flooding across the Midwest has caused scores of problems for railroads, and after some close calls, railroad museums and preservation operations across the nation’s heartland continue to monitor nearby waterways for signs of trouble. Trains “News Wire” […]
CHICAGO – Metra’s longstanding displeasure with Amtrak over problems at Chicago Union Station blew up into heated criticism – complete with some coarse language – as a result of a “human error” which shut down train operations last month. One by one, most of Metra’s board of directors took aim Wednesday at Amtrak, accusing the […]
CHICAGO — Only one month after approving a $71 million contract to purchase 15 remanufactured locomotives, Metra’s board has allocated $56 million to buy eight new locomotives that meet the latest Tier 4 federal emissions standards. Part of the money, $14 million, is coming from funds that Illinois is receiving as part of the $2 […]
Nickel Plate Road 2-8-4 779 hurries west with a freight beside Lake Erie between Lorain and Vermilion, Ohio, in April 1957. The 8-year-old Berkshire was the last steam locomotive built by Lima Locomotive Works. John A. Rehor photo […]
CHICAGO — Indiana residents frustrated by train-blocked grade crossings must wonder if it will take an act of Congress to clear their commutes. Fed up with the failure of state laws and federal bureaucracy to carry freight with the railroads, local politicians are aiming to do just that. Officials at a Monday meeting of the […]
DAVENPORT, Iowa – Railroaders are working “around the clock” this week to restore and maintain service along water-logged routes in the Midwest, but the worst may be yet to come as communities along the Mississippi River brace for major flooding in the coming days. Over the weekend, flooding affected hundreds of miles of BNSF Railway […]
