Operation Toy Train announces expanded schedule for 2024

Aerial view of toy-collection train stop

DINGMANS FERRY, Pa. — Operation Toy Train has announced the schedule for its 16th year collecting toy donations for the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation and other organizations that benefit underprivileged children. This year, the program has expanded to include Southern California and New York’s capitol region, joining previous operations in Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, […]

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Sale of San Luis Central nears completion

Green and yellow switch engine and crew member

MONTE VISTA, Colo. — Sale of the San Luis Central Railroad, the 13-mile Colorado short line in the state’s San Luis Valley, is expected to close today (Oct. 1), Ed Burkhardt of Rail World Inc. has told News Wire contributor Russell Sharp. The Soloviev Group, owner of the connecting Colorado Pacific Rio Grande Railroad, filed […]

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New feed mill opens on Pennsylvania’s North Shore Railroad

Short train passes in front of silos at new feed mill

NEW COLUMBIA, Pa. — A ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday, Sept. 27, marked the completion of a new feed mill to be served by the North Shore Railroad’s Union County Industrial Railroad. The $47 million mill for Country View Family Farms, a division of Clemens Food Group LLC, was completed following two years of construction. The […]

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Once-in-a-generation floods hit North Carolina mountain railroads (additional update)

Flood waters and debris at railroad bridge

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Communities along the former Southern Railway and Clinchfield Railroad in western North Carolina have seen record-setting rainfalls in the days prior to Hurricane Helene. Now, tropical weather is pouring additional rainfall into the area, creating what local meteorologists are calling a once-in-a-generation storm. Places along NS’ former Southern S-Line on the French […]

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Soybean processing plant opens on Watco’s South Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad

CHERRYVALE, Kan. – Bartlett, a Savage Company, is beginning operations at its new soybean processing plant in Cherryvale, Kan., which is served by Watco’s 458.7-mile South Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad. The plant will handle up to 49 million bushels of soybeans annually, providing sustainable soy feedstocks for refined vegetable oil, animal feed and renewable transportation […]

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Short Line Safety Institute completes its first decade of operations

Three locomotives lead train reflected in water

This month, the Short Line Safety Institute enters its tenth year of operations, having marked 155 completed safety culture assessments, and numerous introductions of programs and resources to benefit the short line industry in continuously improving safety culture. Founded in response to the tragic 2013 Lac-Megantic rail accident in Quebec, Canada, on regional Montreal, Maine […]

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Indiana port adds rail capacity, eyes container traffic

The Ports of Indiana-Burns Harbor has dedicated $25 million to infrastructure upgrades, including two new railyards and the port’s first all-new dock in two decades. “Today marks a historic day for this region, our workers and this port,” Ports of Indiana CEO Jody Peacock said in a statement yesterday. “This is the first new dock […]

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Museum restores Erie Mining hi-rail car

Yellow restored Erie Mining hi-rail car indoors

  DULUTH, Minn. – The Lake Superior Railroad Museum has restored a former Erie Mining hi-rail car — a 1957 Pontiac — to service. The Pontiac Chieftain station wagon was put into service in 1957 on Erie Mining Co.’s 74-mile main line between Hoyt Lakes and Taconite Harbor.   The vehicle traveled an estimated 110,000 […]

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