East Broad Top No. 16 Debut

Leaving Orbisonia, Pa., on a rainy day in February 2023, EBT steam locomotive No. 16 leads its first passenger train in nearly 67 years! To the delight of the East Broad Top Foundation, the new entity tasked with bringing this 2-8-2 back to life, No. 16 completed successful test runs in preparation for their Winter […]

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Santa Maria Valley No. 205 at Work

Newly restored Santa Maria Valley 2-6-2 number 205 is under steam at the Albany and Eastern Railroad shops as the crew readies the locomotive for a photo charter the following day. We’ll follow the 205 as she is pressed into revenue freight service for a day, March 17, 2022. The Albany and Eastern operates 64 […]

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Reading & Northern to launch Pittston-Jim Thorpe excursions

Green and yellow diesel next to tower in mountains

PORT CLINTON, Pa. — Reading & Northern will expand its passenger excursion operations in May, launching regular weekend operations between the new Wilkes Barre-Scranton Regional Station in Pittston, Pa., and Jim Thorpe, Pa. The all-day, round-trip excursions will depart Pittston at 9 a.m., making intermediate stops at Penobscot (Mountain Top) and White Haven en route […]

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Power company donates locomotive to Michigan heritage railway

Yellow center-cab diesel

OLIVE TOWNSHIP, Mich. — The Friends of the Coopersville & Marne Railway Co., a non-profit heritage rail operation, on Monday accepted the donation a GE 125-ton center cab diesel locomotive from Michigan power company Consumers Energy at its West Olive facility Built in 1979, the locomotive was repowered in approximately 2010 with two 600-hp Caterpillar […]

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Strasburg Rail Road opens six-track freight yard

End-cab switcher with car in small yar

PARADISE, Pa. — The nation’s oldest short line, the 4½-mile-long Strasburg Rail Road in southeast Pennsylvania, last week opened a $3.3 million, six-track yard to handle its growing freight business. Situated at Leaman Place Junction along Amtrak’s double-track electrified Keystone Corridor, the 7-acre site and interchange lies just off U.S. 30, the Lincoln Highway. Freight […]

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Columbia Rail to take over operations at Richland, Wash., port

Logo of shortline operator Columbia Rail

RICHLAND, Wash. — The Port of Benton has hired Washington short line operator Columbia Rail to operate the 16-mile railroad at the industrial facilities on land that once hosted the Manhattan Project nuclear weapon program. The Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business reports that the port commission has approved a 24-month agreement under which Columbia Rail […]

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State bill advances for project to rebuild South Dakota short line

Map of the Twin Cities & Western Railroad and its two related rail lines

PIERRE, S.D. — A state legislative committee has endorsed funding for a project to help rebuild the Sisseton-Milbank Railroad, moving the appropriation bill forward, KELO-TV reports. The Senate Transportation committee unanimously approved the bill that would provide $6.25 million from the state’s general fund to help rebuild the railroad from its current state, which limits […]

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News photo: New look for Alton & Southern’s SD60s (updated)

Blue and yellow locomotives on bridge with Gateway Arch in the background

SD60s from parent railroad Union Pacific, which have retained their prior numbers, show off the new paint scheme of operator Alton & Southern on Feb. 4, 2023. Photographer Nick Goedecke reports the railroad will be repainting at least six units, including some SD40Ns, and that plans are to modify this paint scheme to include bolder […]

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New larger, faster ferries boost CG Railway volume

Ship loaded with railcars at dock

CG Railway’s traffic grew 53% last year thanks to the increased capacity of its new rail ferries, the company said this week. The short line, a joint venture of Genesee & Wyoming and SEACOR Holdings, floats freight cars across the Gulf of Mexico. The route links the ports of Mobile, Ala., and Coatzacoalcos in Veracruz, […]

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Alstom’s hydrogen passenger train to debut in Quebec

Blue and white passenger train with people

QUEBEC CITY — A hydrogen-powered passenger train will make its North American debut this summer in Quebec. Alstom’s Coradia iLint, which first entered commercial service in Germany in 2018, will operate in a demonstration project on the Réseau Charlevoix rail network, following the St. Lawrence River between Parc de la Chute Montmorency and Baie-Saint-Paul, approximately […]

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