Amtrak again argues Gulf Coast service will cause ‘no unreasonable impairment’ to freight traffic

Blue and yellow locomotive waiting on siding, as seen from train on main line

WASHINGTON — Amtrak says its additional analysis shows its proposed Gulf Coast passenger service will cause “no unreasonable impairment” on the proposed route between New Orleans and Mobile, Ala., and argues that the case for such impairment by host railroads CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern “has failed.” Those contentions are included in the passenger railroad’s […]

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Gulf, Mobile and Ohio locomotives remembered

Streamlined diesel locomotive seen from low angle

Please enjoy this photo gallery of Gulf, Mobile and Ohio locomotives selected from files in Kalmbach Media‘s David P. Morgan Library. The Gulf, Mobile and Ohio was one of the first major railroads to completely dieselize, with the last steam locomotive dropping its fire in October 1949. The GM&O was an early Alco customer, operating a […]

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Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad freight trains remembered

Red and white diesel locomotives with freight train

Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad freight trains remembered: All through July 2022, Classic Trains editors are celebrating the grit, panache, and charm that was the Gulf, Mobile and Ohio. As part of the celebration, please enjoy this freight train photo gallery as the perfect accompaniment. Each month since October 2019, Classic Trains editors have showcase one “Fallen Flag” railroad — one […]

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Brightline begins 79-mph testing on section of route to Orlando

Yellow and white passenger train crosses street

MELBOURNE, Fla. — In another small step forward for Brightline’s planned expansion of service north to Orlando, one of the passenger operator’s trains reached a top speed of 79 mph Wednesday afternoon on an approximately 20-mile stretch of Florida East Coast Railway track between Melbourne and Rockledge, Fla. Florida Today reports Brightline spokeswoman Katie Mitnzer […]

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North Carolina Railroad Co. to buy, restore Greensboro station

Vintage postcard of brick railroad station

GREENSBORO, N.C. — The North Carolina Railroad Co. will purchase a 123-year-old Southern Railway station in Greensboro for “preservation and beneficial redevelopment,” the company announced Monday. The masonry structure at 400 S. Elm Street, currently owned by Norfolk Southern, was built in 1899 and is in a downtown district listed on the National Register of […]

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Auto-Train caboose departs California for Georgia

Auto carrier with caboose cupola on siding

SANTA PAULA, Calif. — A 1970s automobile carrier and caboose freight car built for Auto-Train service between Lorton, Va. and Sanford, Fla. is being moved to St. Marys, Ga., for restoration. Purchased by Florida Adventures in Railroading, a non-profit company headquartered in St. Augustine, it had been owned by the defunct Fillmore & Western Railway. […]

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Newest Brightline equipment reaches destination

Two freight locomotives pulling two passenger trainsets, including engines

ORLANDO, Fla. — Brightline has welcomed the arrival of two new trainsets at its Orlando Vehicle Maintenance Facility. The “Bright Green 2” and “Bright Pink 2” trainsets arrived Thursday, the third and fourth trains from the passenger operator’s second round of equipment purchases to arrive on site in Florida. The first train arrived in West […]

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North Carolina to launch study of Raleigh-Greenville passenger service

Blue locomotive with star on nose at passenger station

RALEIGH, N.C. — The North Carolina Department of Transportation is launching a feasibility study to consider the possibility of operating passenger rail service beween the Raleigh-Durham area and Greenville, N.C., the Charlotte Observer reports. The $250,000 study, to be funded by a federal grant, is one of several considering expansion of the state’s passenger service […]

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Polished Ps-4

Southern Railway 4-6-2 in Washington, D.C.

Southern Railway 4-6-2 1395, one of the road’s class Ps-4 passenger engines revered for their handsome lines and green-and-gold livery, takes a passenger train out of Washington, D.C., in the late 1930s or ’40s. Walter H. Thrall photo […]

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