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PORTLAND, Ore. — The Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation, caretakers for Portland-owned steam locomotives Southern Pacific No. 4449 and Spokane, Portland & Seattle No. 700, will purchase Portland-area short line Oregon Pacific Railroad, the foundation has announced. Foundation President Rick Franklin said in a press release that the acquisition “honors Dick Samuels’ remarkable legacy while securing […]
Christmas Past gallery For train-watchers, the holidays have an appeal all their own. Many enjoy sending and receiving Christmas cards with a railroad theme. Trains Magazine explored this tradition in its December 2009 issue and looked at one train-watcher and railroad employee who has gone to great lengths (coast to coast and across the Atlantic) […]
WASHINGTON — Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch has recused himself from the pending case involving the Uinta Basin Railway, which is set to be argued before the court next week. NBC News reports that lawyers involved in the case were informed of the move in a letter sent on Wednesday, Dec. 4. The letter from […]
WASHINGTON — The Thanksgiving holiday once again made for a big change in U.S. weekly rail traffic statistics. This time, that change was negative. U.S. rail traffic was down 13.8% from the same week in 2023, a week after it showed a whopping 25.6% gain [see “Weekly U.S. rail traffic shows major bump,” Trains News […]
A new preservation group, Northeast Rail Heritage, Inc., announced Tuesday (Dec. 3) that it has purchased former Amtrak AEM7 electric locomotive No. 927, built in 1981 for high-speed passenger service on the Northeast Corridor and Keystone Corridor. It was retired in 2016. Using technology from ASEA-built Statens Järnvägar (Swedish State Railways) Rc4 B-B locomotives, General […]
Hump yards The number of hump yards operating in North America has dropped precipitously over the decades. Today there are 36 active hump yards operated by the big six Class I systems and terminal and switching railroads. That’s down from 59 in 2002, 72 in 1993, 122 in 1985, and 152 in 1975. Yet hump […]
OTTAWA, Ontario — Canadian National, Genesee & Wyoming Canada, Metrolinx, and VIA Rail Canada are recipients of the Railway Association of Canada’s 2024 Safety Awards, which honor innovations and proactive measures by the nation’s railways to maintain and improve safety. “Safety is at the heart of everything we do,” Marc Brazeau, president and CEO of […]
In every issue News, p. 4 InnoTrans brings together the rail world’s new products Bill Stephens, p. 8 Amtrak flexes legal muscles vs. its host railroads John Hankey, p. 10 First day: You never know how things will turn out Great Railfan Roads, p. 44 Across the Canadian prairies Brian Solomon, p. 48 Cool train […]
Colorado Railways Tour Special Interest Tours and Trains Magazine bring you a rail excursion tour with outstanding views of the west. Get ready to enjoy exploring the best of Colorado’s railroads from June 3-9 with Trains Editor Carl Swanson on this 7-days/6-nights adventure. This all-inclusive tour will traverse the mountains on the Cumbres-Toltec line, ride […]
ALTOONA, Pa. – Norfolk Southern has unveiled its Tennessee, Alabama & Georgia Railway heritage locomotive. The glossy blue unit, AC44C6M No. 4851, made its debut in a video that NS posed on its social media channels last night. The video shows Juniata Locomotive Paint Shop employees working on the locomotive. The Tennessee, Alabama & Georgia […]
DURANGO, Colo. — The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad has completed expansion of its shop facilities to accommodate contract work, and is seeing enough demand as a result that the railroad is looking to add five welders and machinists. The Durango Herald reports the $3.25 million, 10,000-square-foot shop expansion was completed at the end […]
I used to get a bit of grief when I was a new hire from co-workers for being a railfan. Railroaders can sniff out a rail enthusiast from 100 miles away — but I know I was not alone. Personally, I think there are more out there than would ever admit to it. I was […]
