Western Maryland Scenic 1309 receives FRA approval

steam locomotive outside shop

RIDGELEY, W.Va. — The Federal Railroad Administration Thursday approved Western Maryland Scenic Railroad 2-6-6-2 No. 1309 for service, officials of the Cumberland, Md.-based tourist railroad tell Trains News Wire. The last Baldwin built for domestic service in 1949 immediately becomes the world’s largest operating Mallet on a 17-mile mountain railroad that was once the Western […]

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Ohio short line gets funding for rail project

black and yellow locomotive at crossing on fall, gray day

DEFIANCE, Ohio – The Ohio Rail Development Commission has approved a grant of up to $687,622.50 to replace rail on a portion of Pioneer Lines Napoleon Defiance & Western Railway’s line east of Defiance, Ohio. NDW’s line runs from Woodburn, Ind., to Napoleon, Ohio, with interchanges with Norfolk Southern in Woodburn and CSX in Defiance. […]

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Port of Longview receives funding for rail expansion

Logo of the Port of Longview, Wash.

LONGVIEW, Wash. — The Port of Longview will receive a $16 million federal grant to help fund its multiyear Industrial Rail Corridor Expansion. The project will double rail capacity at the port. Funds will be used to construct a six-track rail right-of-way adjacent to the existing corridor, two additional 8,500-foot tracks and increase the length […]

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Jaguar Transport to operate Oklahoma Central Rail Park

EL RENO, Okla. — Jaguar Transport Holdings has entered into an agreement with Haskell Lemon Construction to operate the Oklahoma Central Rail Park in El Reno, Okla. The 200-acre facility just west of Oklahoma City will be fully operational on Jan. 1, 2022. Less than 2 miles from I-40, the Rail Park connects with the Union Pacific Railroad and […]

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Minnesota museum saves Soo Line caboose

red caboose resting inactive

MINNEAPOLIS – The Iron Horse Central Railroad Museum has acquired a 110-year-old Soo Line caboose that has been a landmark in Minneapolis for 46 years. The caboose was owned by the Broadway Bar Pizza Restaurant, and has stood at the intersection at Broadway Avenue and East River Road since 1975. In 2020, the pizza shop’s […]

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FRA’s Bose tells short lines to make case on crew size

Man in suit at microphone

PHOENIX — Amit Bose, the Federal Railroad Administration’s Deputy Administrator, covered a great deal of ground in his keynote address Thursday to the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association. Only once, however, did he display a degree of agitation about his subject matter: when discussing a forthcoming rule proposal on train crew size. The […]

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Nashville Steam Issues End of Year Matching Grant Challenge

Steam locomotive rounds curve

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – As the restoration of Nashville’s iconic steam locomotive nears its halfway point, Nashville Steam Preservation Society has issued a matching grant challenge to raise $100,000 by the end of 2021. Thanks to a generous opportunity from The Candelaria Fund and The Wick Moorman Charitable Foundation, all donations, and gifts over $500 will […]

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New Long Island Rail Road station opening set

people in group stand outside new station

NEW YORK – The Long Island Rail Road will open its Elmont Station for eastbound service on Nov. 20. It is the first new LIRR station in almost 50 years, according to the railroad’s owner, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The beginning of service will coincide with the New York Islanders’ hockey team’s first home game […]

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