PASCAGOULA, Miss. — A new plant to create feedstock for renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel has opened at a Pascagoula site served by CSX Transportation. The Oleo-X facility has the potential to produce up to 300 million gallons of premium feedstock per year. The innovative facility enables the processing of low-carbon, inedible oils, including […]
Amtrak Miami services have been dominated by trains from New York City. This included, at various times, the Silver Meteor, Silver Palm, and Silver Star. Additionally, at times, the Magic City has been served by its own section of the Floridian from Chicago and an extension of the Sunset Limited. Amtrak’s current Miami […]
The General Electric BQ23-7 turned out to be an odd diesel that didn’t. At the dawn of railroads eschewing cabooses as unnecessary expenses, locomotive builders were putting forth ideas to accommodate train crews. One option was the BQ23-7, the Q indicating crew Quarters. General Electric’s design team took its standard 2,250 hp […]
STUART, Fla. — A group of marine businesses in Martin County, Fla., are suing to block a request to alter operating plans for a drawbridge over the St. Lucie River to allow for operation of Brightline passenger trains between Orlando and Miami. The TC Palm newspaper reports the 13 businesses filed suit Friday in federal […]
MOBILE, Ala. — The driver of a vehicle was killed Wednesday when an Amtrak train performing crew-qualification runs for the upcoming launch of Gulf Coast service struck his car at a Mobile grade crossing. The vehicle caught fire in the collision, damaging the front of one of the locomotives. Police say they believe the driver, […]
KINGSTON, N.Y. — A railcar from the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority has joined the collection of the Trolley Museum of New York, arriving at the museum on Tuesday, April 25. Car No. 510, built in 1981 by Société Franco-Belge, will be on display when the museum opens for the 2023 season on Saturday, May […]
RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina has joined the list of states introducing new railroad safety legislation in the wake of the East Palestine derailment and toxic chemical release, with a bill addressing train lengths, crew size, wayside detectors, and blocked crossings, among other features. The Railroad Safety Omnibus Act, HB639, was introduced earlier this month […]
The newness of green-and-yellow F2 No. 401 contrasts with the antiquity of the wooden cars as the Atlantic & Eastern Carolina’s daily passenger train crosses the Trent River at New Bern, N.C., in 1946. The 96-mile A&EC had two F units, both F2s. A&EC photo […]
MIAMI — Miami-Dade County officials are attempting to revive a long-dormant proposal for commuter rail service west and south of downtown using existing CSX Transportation tracks, the Miami Herald reports. The western line would run from Miami International Airport — the current terminus of Tri-Rail service north to West Palm Beach — to the Doral […]
MIAMI – The South Florida Regional Transportation Authority (SFRTA) has approved a new look for Tri-Rail trains, changing the “blue skies, white clouds and palm trees” design for the first time since its unveiling on Tri-Rail trains in 2001. “I am excited to announce that Tri-Rail trains will be refreshed with a new design that will […]
STUART, Fla. — Starting this week, crews are beginning rehabilitation of the St. Lucie River drawbridge at Stuart, 38 miles north of West Palm Beach, that will result in periodic closures to oversize boats through May 29. It will remain the only single-track segment on Florida East Coast Railway’s main line south of Cocoa, Fla., […]
Like trilobites and brachiopods, the paper carcasses of 19th-century railroads seem forever locked away in the sediments of corporate archives and government files. They fill the pages of old Official Guides and Poor’s Manual of the Railroads by the hundreds. Nearly all of them are dormant — but some are not. Consider the case […]
