Kevin Hicks, Union Pacific’s associate vice president, engineering-design, reviews 2017 and announces UP’s capital spending plans for 2018 at the NRC conference in Los Angeles. TRAINS: David Lassen LOS ANGELES — A Union Pacific leader says the railroad will likely keep its capital spending right around $3 billion this year — the same as for […]
A Canadian National train heads north through Wisconsin over a bridge in 2015. Regardless of the location or railroad, bridges pose problems for track. Steve Sweeney Track can sag, bounce, and shift a bit, within reason. It flexes under the weight of heavy freight trains, but bridge ends don’t. And that’s a problem. When most […]
Horns are typically placed near the middle of the locomotive to minimize noise to the crew. New Canadian National ET44AC No. 3062 shows off its Nathan K5HLR2. Chris Guss A horn is one of the many safety appliances installed on a locomotive and is used to warn both the general public and railroad employees while […]
Auxiliary power units can be installed in a variety of locations, but are typically installed in the rear of the long hood, like this one on a Montana Rail Link locomotive. Tom Danneman Idling locomotives have been a regular part of the railroad industry since the switch from steam to diesel in the 1950s. Locomotives […]
Northshore Mining SD40 No. 651 leads a quartet of locomotives and iron ore near Toimi, Minn., in December 2010. Cold temperatures that make metal contract and ice expand are just the start of problems in winter railroading. Max Medlin “People and metal do not like cold weather,” says Mike Smith, vice president of network operations […]
Beena Vision System’s TrainView inspects an entire freight train at speeds up to 60 mph at a testing facility in Pueblo, Colo. Beena Vision Systems Inc., Transportation Technology Center Inc. On BNSF Railway’s main line through Cajon Pass in California, poles and sensors pop up along the side of an S-curve. As a group, the […]
After racing and chasing into Yellowhead Pass, Drew, Mike, and KJ now embark on a Coal Country Conquest in Alberta, Canada. That’s where they discover rugged railroad operations routing over CN’s Mountain Park and Foothills Subdivisions. The guys traverse tough terrain to capture coal and aggregate trains charging up steep grades, along mountain streams, and […]
After racing and chasing into Yellowhead Pass, Drew, Mike, and KJ now embark on a Coal Country Conquest in Alberta, Canada. That’s where they discover rugged railroad operations routing over CN’s Mountain Park and Foothills Subdivisions. The guys traverse tough terrain to capture coal and aggregate trains charging up steep grades, along mountain streams, and […]
CSX CEO E. Hunter Harrison R.G. Edmonson JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – CSX Transportation CEO E. Hunter Harrison, the influential and innovative railroader who was respected, sought after, feared, and loathed in equal measures, died today. He was 73. Harrison worked his way up through the ranks after beginning his rail career as a carman for the […]
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio – The National Conference of Firemen & Oilers became the latest union this week to ratify a new labor contract with the nation’s Class I railroads. The union is part of the Coordinated Bargaining Group coalition of unions that have been negotiating with the National Carriers’ Conference Committee for more than a year […]
NORFOLK, Va. – Norfolk Southern will be suspending operations in observance of the Christmas Day. In an announcement online, railroad officials state that NS will not accept trains for interchange from 7 a.m. Dec. 24 through 10 p.m. Dec. 25. Railroad operations will cease completely at 3 p.m. Dec. 24 through 10 p.m. Dec. 25. […]
WASHINGTON — The increasing length to which Class I railroads build trains has piqued the interest of Congress. For railroads, longer freight trains are a way to cut down expenses: CSX, the third largest American railroad by revenue, has increased its trains by 400 feet to an average length of 6,833 feet in total since […]
