CUMBERLAND, Md. — John Helmstetter, the third-generation owner of the farm from which Helmstetter’s Curve on the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad takes its name, has died at age 81. Helmstetter died Aug. 15. His family’s farm at Corriganville, Md., about 5 miles west of Cumberland, was a popular photo site almost from the time the […]
The Transportation Trades Department of the AFL-CIO today urged all six Class I railroads to join the Federal Railroad Administration’s Confidential Close Call Reporting System. The Association of American Railroads on March 2 said the Class I freight railroads would join the program, which allows railroaders to report “close call” safety incidents without fear of […]
BALLSTON SPA, N.Y. — The Federal Bureau of Investigation is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons who attempted to derail a train on the Saratoga Corinth & Hudson tourist railway, the Albany Times Union reports. At a press conference today (Aug. 16), Janeen DiGuiseppi, […]
Trains LIVE — National Railroad Museum library expands — 8-16-2023 — It was a good idea, no great idea, at first. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit. In 2016, the Merrill (Wis.) Historical Society began gathering books and ephemera, for a railroad library within its local history collection. The library was unique in North Central Wisconsin […]
SEATTLE — Amtrak and the Washington State Department of Transportation have introduced the first electric bus used as part of the Amtrak network, providing service on the Amtrak Cascades route between Seattle and Bellingham, Wash. Mid-day buses help fill the gap between the morning and evening trains on the Cascades route between Seattle and Bellingham; […]
Trains LIVE — National Railroad Museum library expands — 8-16-2023 — It was a good idea, no great idea, at first. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit. In 2016, the Merrill (Wis.) Historical Society began gathering books and ephemera, for a railroad library within its local history collection. The library was unique in North Central Wisconsin […]
KINGSPORT, Tenn. — The CSX Santa Train will return for its 81st year on Nov. 18, the railroad announced today in a video on the Santa Train Facebook Page. “The Santa Train is an integral part of CSX history, and we are proud to be a part of this longstanding tradition,” CEO Joe Hinricks said […]
Midwest tourist railroads you must visit include massive museums, mainline steam excursions, and everything in between. From Trains Magazine’s Tourist Trains Guidebook, here’s our list of tourist railroads, museums, and displays to experience across the region. Midwest Tourist Railroads and Museums Illinois Illinois Railway Museum – 7000 Olson Road, Union The Illinois Railway Museum certainly […]
The Gotthard Base Tunnel sustained far more damage than had previous been believed in last week’s derailment, and it will likely be early 2024 before both bores of the world’s longest rail tunnel are back in service, the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) announced today (Aug. 16). The tunnel has been closed since Aug. 10, when […]
WASHINGTON — A Michigan electric utility company has praised the improvement in BNSF Railway’s coal train service this year, as well as the railroad’s “accurate and timely communication” during service problems last year. Consumers Energy Co., based in Jackson, Mich., told the Surface Transportation Board this week that coal train cycle times have improved by […]
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Fixing diesel locomotives Fixing diesel locomotives: The clang of tools, the whir of grinders, and the smell of diesel exhaust greets you as you walk in the door of an engine shop. People move to and from with equipment both large and small, with the ever-present cadence of idling locomotives just outside the door. This […]
