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MONTREAL — Canadian National Railway announced Tuesday that it had reached a new three-year agreement with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers in Canada after concluding arbitration with the union. The new contract, retroactive to Jan. 1 of this year and running through the end of 2024, includes 3% raises each year. The union represents […]
SPRINGFIELD, Va. — ENSCO Rail will conduct operational testing on new Stadler diesel multiple-unit trainsets at the Transportation Technology Center in Pueblo, Colo., ENSCO has announced. The new trainsets are being built for Dallas Area Rapid Transit for its Silver Line (also known as the Cotton Belt Corridor), a 26-mile rail line from DFW Airport […]
CHICAGO — Metra has provided a sneak peek at the first of its new SD70MACH locomotives, providing photos Tuesday on its social media channels of locomotive No. 500 being unwrapped by shop personnel. The locomotive will also wear the newest Metra heritage paint scheme, honoring the 50th anniversary of the formation of the Regional Transportation […]
Railcar couplers Railcar couplers have been an issue since the beginning of railroading. Keeping the cars together yet making them easy enough to separate was key in the design of the rail transportation system. For many years, railroads used the link and pin coupler system, which required a trainman to be stationed between the cars for […]
Freight car wheels As railroads have developed and embraced emerging technology, the design of railcar wheelsets has remained the same for the past century. The amount of engineering that has gone into the development of wheelsets ensures a high level of safety every day. Here are five interesting things that may surprise you about how […]
SANDUSKY, Ohio — Cleanup continues but Norfolk Southern’s main line has been reopened though Sandusky following a derailment that led to reroutes and cancellations for Amtrak service. The Sandusky Register reports that the Columbus Avenue underpass, where derailed tank cars of paraffin wax fell to the railway below, remained closed as of Monday, Oct. 10, […]
ST. JACOBS, Ontario — Heritage operator Waterloo Central Railway operated its 0-6-0 locomotive No. 9 on Canada’s Thanksgiving weekend for the first time in two years, following a two-year retrofit and its 10-year boiler inspection from Ontario’s Technical Standards and Safety Authority. The locomotive, built in 1923 by the Montreal Locomotive Works for the Essex […]
ROCKHILL FURNACE, Pa.—The East Broad Top Railroad notched another first during the Oct. 7-9 annual gathering of its friends auxiliary group, carrying passengers on a mile of narrow gauge main line that’s been out of service for 66 years. As part of the Fall Reunion of the 1,777-member nonprofit Friends of the East Broad Top, EBT […]
NEWARK, N.J. — NJ Transit is planning to spend more than $8 million to replace windows on its bilevel passenger cars to address complaints about reduced visibility, NJ.com reports. While passengers often complain the windows are dirty, the problem is actually the use of a polycarbonate glazing which gradually clouds when exposed to ultraviolet rays, […]
NOVI, Mich. – Members of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees union have rejected the tentative national agreement that was reached last month with the U.S. Class I railroads. Some 56% of the rank and file voted against the contract, the union announced on Monday. Union leaders and the National Carriers Conference Committee that […]
What was your first byline in Trains? “Beyond the 100-inch isoline — Railroading in the Lake Huron snowbelt,” published in the February 1980 issue. I began reading Trains at age 8 (the September 1963 issue) and aspired from that moment to write for Trains. I was never confident enough to submit anything until the summer of […]
CHICAGO — Some details have emerged from an ill-fated Friday, Oct. 7, trip of Amtrak Wolverine No. 351, the morning departure from Pontiac, Mich., which arrived in Chicago more than 13 hours late. The trip, scheduled for a trip of 5 hours, 49 minutes with a 10:32 a.m. arrival finally reached Chicago Union station at […]
