The Pacific Harbor Line is railroading at its best. In many ways it reflects railroading as it used to be. Consider the good old days. Lots of railroads, various locomotive builders and plenty of paint schemes, not to mention open stations and friendly and courteous employees. If you didn’t like what you saw in one […]
WASHINGTON — Sixteen tank cars, 15 of them carrying hazardous materials, derailed in the Montana Rail Link incident involving the Reed Point bridge collapse on June 24, the National Transportation Safety Board said in its preliminary report on the incident released on Monday. The NTSB’s investigation is only considering the performance of DOT-111 tank cars […]
OTTAWA, Ontario — Ottawa’s light rail Confederation Line will remain closed at least another week, city officials said Monday, and a long-term fix for the bearing problems that plague the system could take a year. The Ottawa Citizen reports that Renée Amilcar, Ottawa’s general manager of transit services, said service could gradually resume beginning July […]
CHESTERTON, Ind. — South Shore Line rail service between Michigan City and Gary, Ind., which has been replaced all or in part by buses since February 2022, should resume early in 2024, South Shore President Michael Noland said Monday. Noland, speaking to a meeting of the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District board, said the Double […]
HAVRE, Mont. — No injuries were reported Monday after one car of the eastbound Empire Builder derailed Monday afternoon near Havre, Mont. Amanda Frickel, Hill County coordinator for disaster and emergency services, told MTN News that the next-to-last car derailed but remained upright, confirming what appeared to be the case, based on an image posted […]
TORONTO — Five people were sent to the hospital with injuries Monday evening after a Toronto Transit Commission subway car separated from the rest of its train and derailed, the CBC reports. None of the injuries were critical, according to Toronto Fire Services. The accident was reported about 7:30 p.m. on TTC’s Scarborough Line near […]
Slug units As avid railfans, we often find ourselves drawn to locations where we can witness a high volume of train activity. Cities like Chicago, Atlanta, or Portland boast major classification yards that serve as hot spots for freight operations. At such locations, we may encounter a peculiar sight: unusual-looking “locomotives” performing switching duties alongside […]
Half-century-old locomotives While Class I railroads continue to receive new locomotive orders from EMD and GE, older EMD GP, or Geep, locomotives that have served for several decades are still being used for switching and local service. Many of these locomotives on the BNSF Railway predate predecessor Burlington Northern, having been purchased by such fabled […]
Montana Rail Link’s main line was put back into service on Saturday after the rebuilt Reed Point bridge over the Yellowstone River was reopened more than a week ahead of estimates. The bridge collapsed on June 24, sending 10 cars into the river and derailing an additional seven cars. Asphalt was released into the river […]
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Norfolk Southern has paid $1 million to two areas in Pennsylvania as part of its efforts to address the impact of the East Palestine derailment and toxic chemical release. The Beaver County Times reports the office of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said Darlington Township will receive $660,000 and Lawrence County will receive […]
VAPARAISO, Ind. — A 39-year-old Indiana man has been arrested on charges related to the derailment of a Canadian National train in Valparaiso early Saturday, WBBM-TV reports. James Rockhill, of Kouts, Ind., was being held at the Porter County Jail on charges of railroad mischief, criminal recklessness, and leaving the scene of a crash. He […]
MONTREAL — Canada’s largest private-sector union has criticized the latest step in the high-frequency rail project, calling out the selection of two European companies to participate in the Request for Qualifications while also questioning the slow development of the plan. “The federal government continues to ignore the voice of workers throughout this process,” Lana Payne, […]
