MIAMI — Brightline’s new stations in Boca Raton and Aventura continue to be a boon to ridership. Miami Today reports the two stations, which opened in late December, contributed 27% of the passenger carrier’s total ridership in January, according to Brightline’s monthly ridership and revenue report. The two handled 42,391 of the 157,137 total riders; […]
ORLANDO, Fla. — Brightline has received the last of the 10 trainsets for its Florida operation, and the last of the five ordered for its upcoming expansion of service to Orlando. The “Bright Orange 2” train arrived at the company’s Vehicle Maintenance Facility in Orlando on Sunday, Feb. 19, after a 10-day trip from the […]
ORLANDO — Brightline is targeting the second quarter of 2023 for the start of service to Orlando, the Orlando Business Journal reports, citing the company’s monthly revenue and ridership report to bondholders. Brightline spokeswoman Katie Mitzner says 90% of construction is now complete on the 170-mile extension from West Palm Beach to Orlando. The company […]
MOBILE, Ala. — The operator of the intermodal facility at the Port of Mobile announced plans Tuesday for a $60 million upgrade that will help the effort to more than double the port’s container capacity. Al.com reports that APM Terminals Mobile will double the amount of track at the Intermodal Container Transfer Facility to 12,000 […]
SALEM, Va. — Norfolk Southern will pay a $27,300 fine for a coal spill into the Roanoke River resulting from a 2020 derailment, the Roanoke Times reports. The agreement between NS and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality stems from an Oct. 30, 2020, derailment of 26 hopper cars that sent 12 cars into the […]
SANFORD, Fla. — Both Amtrak Auto Trains scheduled to run later today (Wednesday, Feb. 8) have been cancelled after the Monday southbound departure from Lorton, Va., arrived at its destination in Sanford some 12 hours late on Tuesday. The cancellations reflect the domino effect of significantly delayed arrivals, and come at the end of a […]
ORLANDO — Brightline has begun or is preparing for further higher-speed testing in two locations along Florida’s East Coast as it continues preparations for service to Orlando later this year. These are the current or upcoming plans: — As of today (Wednesday, Feb. 8), testing at speeds up to 79 mph will be conducted in […]
If you’re driving on Main Street through Hardeeville, S.C., it’s easy to miss the little steam locomotive tucked away in a small open shelter alongside the city’s library. As engines go, it doesn’t get much smaller than Argent Lumber Co. narrow-gauge 2-8-0 No. 7. I found the engine, though, during a brief stop last […]
An N scale General Motors Diesel Division GP40-2W from Atlas recently toured our Milwaukee, Racine & Troy State Line Route layout. Model Railroader editor Eric White and senior editor Cody Grivno talk about the features on the locomotive and take it for a tour of the “Mini Myrt.” Paint schemes on the four-axle road unit […]
CINCINNATI — Norfolk Southern initially offered little more than half of the current price of $1.2 billion for its proposed purchase of the municipally owned Cincinnati Southern Railway — and the prospect of arbitration ultimately pushed the Cincinnati Southern board to agree to the final figure, WVXU Radio reports. NS and the City of Cincinnati […]
MOBILE, Ala. — The start for Amtrak Gulf Coast service remains to be determined, but Amtrak trains will begin operating on the route between Mobile, Ala., and New Orleans this week. Beginning Wednesday, Feb. 8, crew-training runs with Amtrak locomotives and cars will begin, with the first crew set to mark up in Mobile at […]
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 […]
