Michigan seeks federal funds to upgrade Amtrak route

LANSING, Mich. — Michigan’s Transportation Department will seek $20 million to $25 million in federal grants to repair bridges on a state-owned line used by Amtrak services. Capital News Service reports the funds would be used to repair four bridges between Ann Arbor and Kalamazoo, according to Peter Anastor, director of the transportation department’s Office […]

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Former BNSF CEO donates mansion to Illinois college

Logo of Lake Forest College

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Retired BNSF Railway CEO Robert D. Krebs and his wife Anne have donated their Lake Forest mansion, with an assessed value of $5.96 million, to Lake Forest College, the Chicago Tribune reports in a paywalled article. The 9,217-square-foot Italian-villa mansion is on 2.6 acres of land on Walden Road in the […]

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CP sets grain record in January

Canadian Pacific Railway beaver logo

CALGARY — Canadian Pacific moved 2.29 million metric tons of Canadian grain in January, setting a record for the month, the company said last week. The railroad has now moved more than 15 million metric tons in the 2022-23 crop year, an increase of more than 45% over the same point in the 2021-22 crop […]

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Vinyl chloride involved in fire from NS derailment, village says

Man speaks at podium facing TV cameras

EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — The chemical burning in the fire resulting from Friday’s derailment of a Norfolk Southern train is the flammable gas vinyl chloride, a potentially carcinogenic substance. The village of East Palestine identified the material in a news release Saturday afternoon, NBC News reports. The Environmental Protection Agency says “cancer is a major […]

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Amtrak Chicago departure delays mount

Passenger train leaves rooster tail of snow as it runs on three-track main line

CHICAGO — Lack of standby equipment and the inability of Amtrak mechanical forces to sufficiently prepare cars and locomotives for service led to the cancellation of one pair of Chicago-based trains and departure delays to 11 others on Thursday, Feb. 2. The cancellation of one Chicago-Milwaukee Hiawatha round trip, and the cumulative delays to the […]

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Matt Bumgarner, historian, author, publisher, dies at 56

Man in overalls on steps of railroad car

HICKORY, N.C. — Matt Bumgarner, founding member of the Southeastern Narrow Gauge and Shortline Museum, historian, author, publisher, entrepreneur, and restorer of wooden railroad cars, died Jan. 26 after a brief illness. He was 56. Bumgarner was a director of the museum in Newton, N.C., an organization spearheaded by the Newton Depot Authority, a non-profit […]

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Norfolk Southern derailment in Ohio continues to burn (updated)

Large fire as seen from a distance

EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — The mayor of the town of East Palestine has declared a state of emergency as a fire continues to burn, following Friday night’s derailment of about 50 cars of a Norfolk Southern train near the Ohio-Pennsylvania state line. WKBN-TV reports Mayor Trent Conaway issued the emergency declaration just before 9:30 a.m. […]

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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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Trains LIVE — Articulated locomotives

man crossing arms

Trains LIVE — Articulated locomotives Trains LIVE — 2-1-2023 — Flexible is good, especially when it comes to large steam locomotives negotiating a curve. Today, we are talking about articulated steam locomotives with Trains video producer Kevin Gilliam today. Kevin is currently working on the next DVD in the Great American Steam Locomotive series. This […]

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Trains LIVE — Articulated locomotives

man crossing arms

Trains LIVE — Articulated locomotives Trains LIVE — 2-1-2023 — Flexible is good, especially when it comes to large steam locomotives negotiating a curve. Today, we are talking about articulated steam locomotives with Trains video producer Kevin Gilliam today. Kevin is currently working on the next DVD in the Great American Steam Locomotive series. This […]

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