At the beginning of 2022, no one would have considered Silvis, Ill. a center of the railroad preservation community. The massive former Rock Island shop facility had just been downgraded by owner National Railway Equipment. It was closed in March 2021 as part of a plan to consolidate NRE rail operations to its shops in […]
Continuing our countdown of the Trains News Wire Top 10 stories of 2022, as determined by a vote of Trains editors, columnists, and masthead correspondents: Rapid progress continued in the restoration of the narrow gauge East Broad Top Railroad in Pennsylvania, a once-endangered short line that is a National Historic Landmark. Owned by the EBT […]
CHICAGO — While sub-zero cold and blizzard conditions had begun to moderate somewhat across much of the Midwest toward the end of the holiday weekend, Amtrak has continued to cancel trains on less than 24 hours’ notice for “mechanical” and “manpower” issues, as well as the weather. A running list of trains not operating continues […]
MONTREAL — After two days of cancellations, VIA Rail Canada will resume service on the Toronto-Ottawa and Toronto-Montreal portions of its corridors today (Tuesday, Dec. 27), albeit with a modified schedule combining trains. All trains on those corridor routes were canceled both Dec. 25 and Dec. 26 because of the derailment of a Canadian National […]
DES MOINES, Iowa — An Iowa representative of the SMART-TD union says the union will try again next year to advance a bill that would limit freight train lengths in the state. House File 2339, introduced last February, was sponsored by outgoing Rep. David Maxwell (R-District 76). It would not allow any train “that exceeds […]
ATLANTA, Ill. — Severe weather and equipment shortages sometimes lead to atypical events on the nation’s rail passenger operator. A case in point was Monday’s northbound Amtrak Texas Eagle, train No. 22, shown in Atlanta, Ill., about 20 miles southwest of Bloomington, with P32-7BWH No. 518 leading heritage-painted P42DC No. 161. The 518 was part […]
The star of the show for 11 mainline passenger excursions on Reading & Northern in 2022 was the railroad’s newly restored former Reading Co. Class T-1 4-8-4 steam engine No. 2102 (Reading Shops, 1945). Most of the trips ran from Reading, Pa., to Jim Thorpe, Pa., about a 135-mile round-trip. All of those trains ran […]
Today, we begin our countdown of the Trains News Wire Top 10 stories of 22, as determined by a vote of Trains editors, columnists, and masthead correspondents. Up today, stories Nos. 10 and 9. The railroad industry’s search for alternatives to diesel-electric power continued to move forward in 2022, with manufacturers and railroads making inroads […]
MONTREAL — For a second straight day, VIA Rail Canada has canceled all scheduled corridor service on its Toronto-Ottawa and Toronto-Montreal routes. An advisory on the VIA web page lists 29 trains as canceled today (Monday, Dec. 26) because of the “ongoing impact of the CN train derailment which occurred on Dec. 24.” The Toronto […]
AVENTURA, Fla. — After a three-day delay caused by inspection issues, Brightline’s new Aventura station opened on Dec. 24. The passenger operator had held a ribbon cutting ceremony for its new stations at Aventura and Boca Raton on Dec. 20, only to have the Aventura opening delayed by issues regarding its elevators [see “Opening delayed […]
Trains News Wire’s review of the top stories of 2022 continues. We’ll count down the Top 10 stories of the year, as voted on by Trains editors, columnists, and correspondents, beginning Monday, Dec. 26. Today, we asked our European correspondent, Keith Fender, to look at what he considers the year’s top international rail stories. At […]
MONTREAL — VIA Rail Canada has cancelled all 25 trains scheduled to operate on Christmas Day on its Toronto-Ottawa and Toronto-Montreal routes following a derailment earlier today (Dec. 24), the passenger operator has announced on its website. The derailment reportedly involved a Canadian National train, blocking all tracks in Kingston, Ontario, according to the Toronto […]
