What was your first byline in Trains? Mike Wilson: My first byline in Trains was “Winter in Coal Country,” published in January 2022 featuring an in-depth look at the former Norfolk & Western, now Norfolk Southern, Pocahontas Division within the backwoods of southern Virginia and West Virginia. In my humble opinion, the Pocahontas Division serves […]
The assassination of Abraham Lincoln on April 15, 1865, sent a Civil War-battered country into 20 days of national mourning. At the center of it all was a black-draped train, slowly and sadly carrying the former commander in chief’s body from Washington, D.C. to his hometown of Springfield, Ill. The U.S. rail network is no […]
PIERRE, S.D. — South Dakota’s transportation secretary has injected a note of reality into discussion of possible Amtrak service in the state. That discussion gained life in February with the inclusion of two routes serving South Dakota among the 15 in a Federal Railroad Administration report on its ongoing Amtrak Daily Long-Distance Service Study [see […]
LAS VEGAS, Nev. — The Brightline West project is about to get its official kickoff. While various surveying and other preparation work has been in progress for several months, a formal groundbreaking ceremony is set for Monday in Las Vegas at the planned site for the high-speed project’s Las Vegas station. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Brightline […]
OLD SAYBROOK, Conn. — Two people have been arrested and charged with stealing nearly a half-mile of track used by the Essex Steam Train heritage railroad and selling it for scrap, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection has announced. Jason Hubbard, 47, and Nicole Hooghkirk, 38, of Clinton, Conn., were arrested on April […]
Trains LIVE — Along the rails with JDI — 4-18-2024 — J. David Ingles — “Diesel Dave” — is among eight people to serve as editor of Trains. He was a member of the Kalmbach staff for 47 years, 1971 to 2018, when he transitioned to working as a contributing editor. Ingles was a prolific […]
SAINT-OUEN-SUR-SEINE, France — Alstom will sell its North American signal business to Knorr-Bremse of Germany for about €630 million, or about $671 million, the companies announced today. The sale, which Alstom describes as covering the conventional portion of its North American signaling business, is part of a plan announced in November to sell up to […]
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CHESTERTON, Ind. — The South Shore Line will introduce expanded schedules on Tuesday, May 14, signaling the completion of the Double Track project between Gary and Michigan City, Ind. “The final completion of Double Track allows for the addition of 14 weekday trains, revised times, reduced travel times, and new, limited-stop express service,” Michael Noland, […]
NEW YORK — The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has received a $33.2 million federal grant to help aid resiliency efforts at the Westchester Train Yard, the primary facility for the No. 6 line, the busiest line in the New York City Transit subway system in 2023. The facility in the Bronx is the home for all […]
ABILENE, Kan. — Kansas now has an official state heritage railroad and a state steam locomotive. House Bill 2481, which bestows the railroad honor on the Abilene & Smoky Valley Railroad and the locomotive distinction on the railroad’s Santa Fe Pacific No. 3415, was one of seven bills signed into law on Thursday, April 18, […]
MONTREAL —Remi G. Lalonde will become Canadian National’s executive vice-president and chief commercial officer effective April 24, succeeding Doug MacDonald, who will retire after almost 35 years. Lalonde had joined CN in January, becoming executive vice president and special advisor to the CEO while transitioning to the role he’ll assume on the 24th. He previously […]
