EAST GALESBURG, Ill. — Some 30 to 40 cars of an eastbound BNSF Railway train derailed Tuesday night, according to East Galesburg’s mayor, blocking both tracks on the Chillicothe Subdivision of the railroad’s Southern Transcon mainline. The Galesburg Register-Mail reports the accident occurred about 9 p.m. Tuesday. Mayor Darrell Corbin said he was told no […]
What locomotive generators do is no secret: They produce electricity. Alternators and generators in locomotives convert mechanical energy from the prime mover to electrical energy to pull the train. They are the main device connected to the prime mover. Advances over the years have improved the type and size of alternators and generators, enabling locomotive […]
BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority will shut down its second most used rail rapid transit route, the Orange Line, for a month to conduct major repairs, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker has announced. The Boston Globe reports Baker said the line, used for an average of 104,000 trips per day as of October 2021, […]
WASHINGTON — An Ohio congressman has introduced a bill which would allow trainees for railroad jobs to complete some aspects of their training online. U.S. Rep. Troy Balderson (R-Zanesville, Ohio) introduced the Rail Employee Training Modernization Act last week, saying that existing regulations require employees to take part in classroom instruction, which delays training because […]
DAVENPORT, Iowa — The city of Davenport has reached an agreement with Canadian Pacific that will bring the Mississippi River community as much as $10 million to mitigate impacts of the proposed CP merger with Kansas City Southern. The Quad Cities Times reports Davenport’s aldermen will vote next week on the deal, which is contingent […]
CHICAGO — A line blockage earlier this week and equipment shortages have led to the cancellation of westbound Empire Builder departure from Chicago today (Wednesday, Aug. 3), as well as the eastbound Builder departures from Seattle and Portland on Friday, Aug. 5. The move comes after the Builder slated to arrive in Chicago on Tuesday, […]
MONTREAL — Members of Canada’s Unifor union have ratified the contracts from last month’s tentative agreement between the union and VIA Rail Canada covering some 2,400 VIA worker. The union represents on-board personnel, maintenance workers, and those in VIA’s customer center and administrative offices. The new agreements will be retroactive to Jan. 1, 2022, and […]
CHESTERTON, Ind. — The Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District is reviving long-dormant plans to relocate the South Shore Line station at the airport in South Bend, Ind. At its Monday meeting, the NICTD board of trustees voted to issue a request for proposals to update engineering and environmental planning for a project to move the […]
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Watco’s newest short line, the Texas Coastal Bend Railroad, is scheduled to begin operation today (Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022), taking over 12 miles of trackage owned by the Port of Corpus Christi along with 8.5 miles of Union Pacific trackage rights. The railroad unveiled two locomotives with the port’s logo at […]
WASHINGTON — The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority has hired a new chief operating officer, replacing the official who resigned in the fallout of the agency’s failure to maintain certification for its train operators. The Washington Post reports Brian Dwyer, whose three decades in public transportation most recently include three years at consulting firm WSP, […]
WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board would get more teeth under a shipper-friendly bill that would reauthorize the agency that regulates freight railroads. The Freight Rail Shipping Fair Market Act, introduced Tuesday, would give regulators more authority to deal with service emergencies, require railroads to include service standards in contracts with customers, and give shippers […]
Cody answers this question in this video of Ask Trains. Click the link to order a downloadable copy of the August 1979 issue, “Kansas City Southern and Amtrak.” Do you have a question? Would you like to learn more about full-size trains? Send us an email at: AskTrains@trains.com ………………………………… Ask Trains is a regular video feature […]
