A career in rail preservation is always possible — it’s a matter of finding where to begin. For 23-year-old Logan Smith, it all started by volunteering at the Illinois Railway Museum on Sundays. Over time, he began working more often and with increasing responsibility, from fireman to head of the Railway Post Office events, and […]
WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board has denied Metra’s request for a temporary injunction or emergency service order protecting commuter operations on three Union Pacific lines in the Chicago area, saying Metra has not shown the situation meets “the standard required for either avenue of relief.” The five-page ruling was made Tuesday, July 1, but […]
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — CSX and its contractors are nearly to the halfway mark of the Howard Street Tunnel clearance project in Baltimore. In a video update on Tuesday, July 1, CSX said crews have safely lowered 3,400 feet of the flooring in the 8,700-foot former Baltimore & Ohio tunnel beneath downtown Baltimore. The tunnel, which […]
BENSENVILLE, Ill. — Appearing far afield of the usual home of the railroad’s hydrogen locomotive testing program in Alberta and British Columbia, CPKC hydrogen H20EL No. 1002, a former GP38-2, is in the locomotive consist of train No. 146 as it approaches Bensenville from Calgary on July 1, 2025. The locomotive, one of three developed […]
UNION, Ill. — The Illinois Railway Museum has added two former Amtrak diesels — an F40PHR and SDP40F — to its collection. Dynamic Rail Preservation, or DynaRail, has donated F40PHR No. 231 and SDP40F No. 644. The latter unit went to BNSF where it was known as SDF40-2 No. 6975. No. 231 is one of […]
EAST TROY, Wis. — A new restoration with Milwaukee ties is underway at the East Troy Railroad Museum. Chicago North Shore & Milwaukee (North Shore Line) interurban car No. 162 was recently moved into the museum’s maintenance facility for the extensive project to begin. The car was built in 1915 by the J. G. Brill […]
SAN FRANCISCO — New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority and its commuter railroads received six of the 12 honors in the American Public Transportation Association’s Rail Safety, Security, and Emergency Management Awards, handed out at APTA’s annual rail conference on Tuesday (July 1), 2025. In Rail Safety, the MTA’s New York City Transit received a gold […]
MIAMI — The new Florida budget signed Monday by Gov. Ron DeSantis eliminates some $200 million in state funding for the proposed Miami-Aventura commuter rail project, the Miami Herald reports. The state money, along with Miami-Dade County funding, was intended to match $389.5 million in federal funds for the 14-mile, seven-station service planned on the […]
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Abraham Lincoln — or at least the locomotive celebrating his memory — returned to Lincoln’s hometown of Springfield, Ill., today (Tuesday, July 1). Union Pacific’s Lincoln commemorative locomotive came to Springfield to celebrate the day Lincoln signed the Pacific Railway Act authorizing construction of the Transcontinential Railroad — the day UP recognizes […]
NEW ORLEANS — Press events held today from Mobile, Ala., to New Orleans have filled in more details on the launch of two daily round trips of Amtrak’s Mardi Gras Service, beginning Aug. 18. The start date and other details were announced this morning [see “Amtrak to launch …,” Trains News Wire, July 1, 2025]. […]
WILMINGTON, Del. — AmeriStarRail, which for some time has been proposing privately owned and operated passenger service on the Northeast Corridor, has gone in a new direction with its latest proposal — literally and figuratively. The company is now proposing a long-distance train that would offer coast-to-coast service in less than 72 hours between New […]
What does it take to save historic rail equipment? It might seem like a lot, even for a simple flatcar. However, learning from the experiences of others — and getting some helpful tips — can help first-time preservationists and new organizations determine how they can get involved. Having a plan The modern rail preservation movement […]
