ROME, Ga. — No injuries were reported in a complex incident Saturday involving Norfolk Southern trains in the towns of Rome and Lindale, Ga. NS spokesman Connor Spielmaker said in a statement that early Saturday, “two cars from a train derailed and a passing train struck them. That train was unable to immediately stop and […]
ARLINGTON, Va. —Three more unions have reached tentative agreements on new national labor agreements, the negotiating body for the railroads, the National Carriers’ Conference Committee, has announced. The tentative agreements announced today (Sunday, Sept. 11), with the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters; the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers: […]
OMAHA — Union Pacific’s main line between California and the Pacific Northwest has been shut down in central Oregon today (Sunday, Sept. 11) as firefighters deal with a wildfire near Oakridge, Ore. In an advisory to customers, UP says a curfew on train movements has been imposed from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. local time […]
Leaders of the two major unions representing train crews have blasted the announcement by railroads that they would begin to embargo hazardous-material and other security-sensitive shipments as “corporate extortion” and “corporate terrorism” designed to force Congress to intervene in the current rail labor dispute. Jeremy Ferguson, president of the Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation […]
Mountain railroading always gave the opportunity for a runaway train. In 1949, I was working out of the small town of Avery, Idaho, on the Milwaukee Road. The railroad crossed the Bitterroot Mountains on a 1.7% grade through St. Paul Pass. The grade began just east of the Avery depot. Avery was a crew-change, engine-change, […]
WASHINGTON — The trucking industry doesn’t want a railroad work stoppage any more than railroads do. In a letter sent to Congressional leaders on Friday, the American Trucking Associations warned that trucks would be unable to replace rail service in the event of a strike or lockout. “While trucking and rail companies compete for ground […]
SILVIS, Ill. — Canadian Pacific has donated the former Milwaukee Road twin-span turntable from Bensenville, Ill., to Railroading Heritage of Midwest America (RRHMA) for use at its Silvis shop complex. On Sept. 8, the turntable, constructed in 1937, was successfully split in two and loaded onto trucks for the move across Illinois to Silvis. Project […]
BOSTON — Work on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s Orange Line, shut down since Aug. 19 to allow for major repairs, is two-thirds complete, General Manager Steve Poftak said Friday, with the project set to be completed on schedule. “We have less than 10 days to go,” Poftak said, as reported by NBC Boston. “We […]
Railroads have begun preparations to secure what they call “hazardous and security-sensitive materials” to make sure no such cargo is left on a train left unattended or unsecured in the event of a work stoppage, the Association of American Railroads, Norfolk Southern, Union Pacific, and BNSF Railway all said in news releases or messages to […]
OMAHA — Union Pacific says it expects to complete bridge repairs this weekend on the Iowa line which has been closed since a Monday derailment that sent asphalt into a creek near Hampton, Iowa. “Key bridge materials” are expected onsite today (Friday, Sept. 9), the railroad informed customers in a Thursday advisory, allowing the line […]
MECCA, Calif. — The two Union Pacific crew members killed in a Thursday collision with railcars parked on a siding were ejected from their train by the impact, the Los Angeles Times reports. The accident occurred about 3 a.m. Thursday east of the community of Mecca [see “Two UP crew members killed …,” Trains News […]
CUMBERLAND, Md. — Western Maryland Scenic Railroad excursions have been cancelled through Sept. 11 because of track damage caused by recent heavy rains, the Cumberland Times-News reports. Damage was confined to about 250 feet of track near the railroad’s shop and yard in Ridgeley, W.Va., on the West Virginia side of the North Branch Potomac […]
