Saluda Grade There is a right way to build a railway up a mountain. The Swiss, for example, have covered their country with curvy, winding rack railways that start in the valleys and reach for the snow-capped peaks. There is a wrong way to build a railway up a mountain. The Porterfield & Ellis Railroad, […]
NEW YORK — About 3,500 people had to be evacuated from two disabled New York City Transit subway trains Wednesday evening after a power outage in Brooklyn — a process that took almost three hours. CBS News reports power was knocked out between the Jay Street-MetroTech and Hoyt-Schermerhorn Street stations about 5:30 p.m., disrupting service […]
HOUSTON — The mayor of Houston says the city will build a pedestrian bridge over Union Pacific tracks where a high school student was killed earlier this week, and wants the railroad to pay for at least some of the project. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Mayor John Whitmore […]
Christmas dinner in the dining car Fun travel and good food, along with presents and tasty egg nog, are essential parts of the Christmas holiday season. As noted many times previously, in today’s “get there now” expedient travel environment, the journey is no longer part of the adventure. Thus, the fun of travel combined with […]
WASHINGTON — After two weeks in which weekly U.S. rail traffic numbers showed major swings because of the Thanksgiving holiday, the latest numbers are back to normal — which is to say, showing a nominal overall increase. Statistics from the Association of American Railroads for the week ending Dec. 7 show U.S. railroads moved 520,894 […]
TRENTON, N.J. — Kris Kolluri, a former chairman of the NJ Transit board, will become the agency’s new CEO, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has announced. The current board unanimously confirmed the nomination at its meeting today (Dec. 11). Kolluri will serve for the remainder of Murphy’s term, which ends in January 2026. His selection […]
Just shy of two years after the CPKC merger, the Class I railroad has purchased its first “new” locomotives. The eight General Electric ET44ACs were originally an order for Baffinland Iron Mines located on Baffin Island in Canada. The new-build mine project to haul iron ore to seaport via rail has been delayed many times, […]
Railfanning California’s Central Valley offers diverse operations, wide-open vistas, and plenty of action. Even so, the Central Valley gets no respect. Fresno, Bakersfield and even Sacramento are the butt of jokes by Los Angeles and Bay Area citizens. Railfans make trips to Cajon, Donner and Tehachapi passes but seldom celebrate the tabletop-flat topography of the […]
CHESTERTON, Ind. — The group that has preserved a former Norfolk & Western business car is now seeking to save and restore former N&W sleeping car Hollins College. The N&W Business Car 300 Preservation Society says it is working with Norfolk Southern, the Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum, and the Morristown & Erie Railway to preserve […]
“Scratching” the surface Originating from the Italian word “graffiato” (scratched), graffiti is a practice as old as time. Its root word is Italian in origin because it dates back to the heyday of Rome, over 2,500 years ago. Looking back even further, the same concept — petroglyphs — have been dated to well over 40,000 […]
WASHINGTON — November rail traffic is signaling a positive outlook for the broader economy heading into 2025. Resilient consumer spending helped intermodal continue to lead all categories in November and year to date, according to the Association of American Railroads’ Freight Rail Index (FRI) released Monday, Dec. 9. Continued strong consumer demand and port activity […]
NOVI, Mich. — Members of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division of the Teamsters Rail Conference have ratified agreements at three railroads, the union announced. Union members at the Colorado & Wyoming Railway unanimously voted in favor of the agreement, while those at the Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis and Norfolk & […]
