WASCO, Calif. — BNSF’s main line on the Bakersfield Subdivision in the San Joaquin Valley has been closed by a washout, the railroad informed customers in an advisory on Saturday. The washout was reported about 1:30 p.m. PST near Wasco, about 27 miles northwest of Bakersfield. BNSF’s initial estimate to reopen the route between Bakersfield […]
BOSTON — Blanket 25-mph speed restrictions remain in place on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Green Line and Mattapan Trolley Line, but have been lifted on the Red, Orange, and Blue lines, following a Thursday night announcement of the systemwide slow order. The Boston Globe reports the overall restriction was lifted by 10:30 a.m. today […]
BALTIMORE — Amtrak will begin early construction activity on the B&P Tunnel Replacement Program this Friday, March 10, with tie and rail replacement and track drainage work as part of its preparations for the $6 billion project. “This initial project will directly reduce impacts during later construction phases and maximize the benefits of the new […]
Adventures in code 55 track: I’m now building my fourth layout featuring the Tehachapi Loop, so I call it Tehachapi IV. I’d used Peco code 55 track on Tehachapi III, and liked it very much, so I was planning to use it again. Then I saw Atlas’s new code 55 flextrack and was smitten. The […]
Installing sensors on freight cars is the only way to prevent another disastrous derailment like the Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern hazardous materials wreck in East Palestine, Ohio, a wheel bearing expert says. Constantine Tarawneh, a mechanical engineering professor who heads the University Transportation Center for Railway Safety at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, […]
Norfolk Southern will take several steps to improve its wayside defect detector network in the wake of the National Transportation Safety Board preliminary report on last month’s disastrous derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. NTSB officials say the Feb. 3 wreck of train 32N was likely caused by the catastrophic failure of a wheel bearing on […]
PENINSULA, Ohio — The Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad, which had planned to resume full operations on Friday, March 3, instead has had to suspend all operations as of that date. A news release on the heritage railroad’s website says “ongoing geotechnical soil monitoring in recent weeks identified increasing erosion along the 26-mile scenic and educational […]
OTTAWA — Transport Canada will provide up to C$5.4 million in funding for 20 projects nationwide under the Rail Climate Change Adaption Program, which seeks to better prepare railroads for dealing with conditions such as flooding, fires, and more extreme operating temperatures. The program supports research, development, and deployment of innovative technologies, tools, and approaches […]
BINGHAMTON, N.Y. — The City of Binghamton is moving to hire a firm to inspect at least 28 railroad bridges in the city, citing concerns increased by the recent Norfolk Southern derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. WBNG-TV reports that Mayor Jared Kraham said concerns about aesthetic and structural deficiencies predate the Feb. 3 derailment, but […]
BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority on Friday introduced an “online safety dashboard,” allowing the public to track the agency’s progress in responding to Federal Transit Administration safety directives, as well as providing information on speed restrictions across the MBTA’s rail transit system. The dashboard, available here, shows that as of Feb. 12, the […]
PHILADELPHIA — The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority has awarded a $125 million contract for the final design phase of the King of Prussia Rail project. SEPTA awarded the contract to HNTB Corp. at its Feb. 23 board meeting. The project will add a 4-mile, five-station spur to the Norristown High Speed Line near its northern […]
Basic parts of a gauge-1 switch: Switches are necessary any time one wants to send a train in an alternate direction. They’re what makes it possible to store one train on a siding and run another around it, or any other basic operation. They’re essential if you want your trains to do more than just […]
