A boxcar rolls though a retarder in the Pennsylvania’s vast Enola Yard near Harrisburg, Pa., in the early 1950s. Philip R. Hastings photo […]
Humping at Enola Yard
Type of Train: Freight
Plan to allow second ‘Pennsylvanian’ includes 12 new or upgraded NS interlockings
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Re-laying a third track on the historic Rockville Bridge over the Susquehanna River and building a new 5-mile-long main line track through the Altoona, Pa., yard are part of a proposed Norfolk Southern-Pennsylvania Department of Transportation plan to add a second Pennsylvanian daily passenger train. In addition, the plan would install three […]
CP, KCS launch Lazaro Cardenas-Chicago intermodal service
CHICAGO — In a preview of operations planned if their merger is approved, Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern have launched interline intermodal service between Mexico’s port of Lázaro Cárdenas and Chicago. The first train arrived at CP’s Bensenville Yard in Illinois on Tuesday. CP said in a press release the service was launched “out […]
International equity firm Antin invests in Lake State Railway
PARIS — International private equity firm Antin Infrastructure Partners has made what it calls “a strategic investment” in Michigan regional railroad Lake State Railway, the companies announced Tuesday. Lake State, founded in 1992, operates 375 route-miles in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula, primarily stretching from Plymouth in the south of the state to Gaylord and Alpena in […]
Congress gets an earful about railroad service
WASHINGTON — A combination of Precision Scheduled Railroading and pressure from Wall Street has prompted railroads to slash costs and raise rates while providing less reliable service, rail shippers and labor told Congress on Tuesday. The House Transportation & Infrastructure subcommittee hearing was focused on the reauthorization of the Surface Transportation Board and how the […]
Higher federal interest rates should have minimal effect on carloads: analysis
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Americans are expecting the Federal Reserve to quell inflation by increasing interest rates this year, but the Feds’ efforts to reel in inflation shouldn’t curb economic activity or carloads. In fact, uncertainties around higher interest rates may tame spending enough to allow the supply chain to recover after high post-pandemic demand weighed […]
Cleanup continues after Union Pacific derailment in Texas
PITTSBURG, Texas — Cleanup continues after at least 20 cars of a Union Pacific train derailed Sunday afternoon in Pittburg, Texas. KLTV reports Pittsburgh Mayor David Abernathy said a train of more than 13,000 feet was involved, with two different portions derailing. No injuries were reported. KXTW-TV reports the accident occurred about 1 p.m., and […]
DSS&A at St. Ignace, Mich.
A Duluth, South Shore & Atlantic RS1 pulls cars off the car ferry Chief Wawatam at St. Ignace, Mich., in September 1951. The Chief has crossed the Straits of Mackinac with cars that came into Mackinaw City on PRR and NYC trains; they’ll depart St. Ignace as DSS&A train 1 to Marquette, Mich. A. C. […]
Analysis: No deal-breakers emerge from barrage of comments about CP-KCS merger
Bash Canadian Pacific Kansas City Day – otherwise known as Feb. 28, the deadline for comments on the CP-Kansas City Southern merger – has come and gone. What have we learned from the flurry of regulatory filings from other railroads, shippers, and lineside communities? The Class I railroads behaved like you’d expect: Following a tradition […]
Norfolk Southern gets mediator’s approval for Pittsbugh clearance project
PITTSBURGH — A Norfolk Southern project to increase clearances to allow double-stack intermodal operations through a Pittsburgh neighborhood awaits city council ratification after being approved by a mediator. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports the project will involve raising three bridges by amounts ranging from 17 inches to 2 feet, 9 inches, while the roadbed will be […]
Utah rail line facing widespread Colorado opposition
DENVER — Widespread opposition has developed in Colorado to federal approval allowing construction of Utah’s Uinta Basin rail line, with opponents voicing environmental concerns over the rail line that could see shipment of up to 350,000 barrels of crude oil daily, or about 10 unit oil trains. The Denver Post reports 42 Colorado cities, 11 […]
Railways help rescue millions, become targets after Russia attacks Ukraine
KYIV, Ukraine — The invasion of Ukraine by Russia has led to millions of civilians, most women and children (men aged 18-60 can’t leave) fleeing bombarded cities — some to the west of the country, with well over a million crossing into neighboring European nations since the war began Feb. 24. The railway system in […]
