Fuel train on the Tonopah & Goldfield

Tonopah and Goldfield Railroad

Built during the gold rush years of 1904-05, Nevada’s Tonopah & Goldfield ran 100 miles southeast from an SP connection in the desert near the California border. An Air Force base near Goldfield brought traffic to the road during World War II — these two slide-valve 2-8-0s are hauling aviation fuel — but the boom didn’t […]

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Mineral Range railroad of Michigan

Mineral Range railroad of Michigan:Rust red colored locomotive crosses a bridge over a road in an autumnal scene.

The Mineral Range railroad of Michigan is a family-owned and -operated railroad in the state’s Upper Peninsula. It’s actually the second railroad of the same name. The “original” began as a north-south, 14-mile narrow gauge mineral hauler, connecting the Osceola Mining Co.’s Osceola copper ore mine near Calumet, Mich., and the company’s stamp mill at […]

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Union Pacific joins RailPulse freight car location monitoring joint venture

Train with yellow locomotives in flat area

OMAHA, Neb. – Union Pacific has joined the RailPulse joint venture that will provide customers with real-time location information for freight cars wherever they are on the North American rail network. UP becomes the second Class I railroad to participate in RailPulse, alongside founding member Norfolk Southern. The company’s other partners include shortline holding companies […]

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NEWS VIDEO: New Brightline route drawbridge now operating

blue river bridge opening

Video by Mark Elias, Mark Elias Media Services JUPITER, Fla. — Florida East Coast Railway’s new Loxahatchee River drawbridge that will begin carrying frequent Brightline passenger trains in early 2023 is now being raised for boat traffic and lowered for trains. Dismantling of the former 96-year-old bridge on the site began in mid-April, when accommodations […]

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FRA announces CRISI grants for 46 rail improvement projects in 32 states

Susquehanna

WASHINGTON – The Federal Railroad Administration on Thursday announced more than $368 million in Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) grant program funds to 46 projects in 32 states and the District of Columbia. The grants were awarded to passenger and freight projects, as well as several technology and safety development programs. The Bipartisan […]

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CSX begins operating New England regional Pan Am Railways

PanAm_Fs_Hartley

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Pan Am Railways is now a fallen flag. The New England regional officially became part of CSX Transportation on Wednesday, six weeks after the Surface Transportation Board approved the acquisition. “We are excited to welcome Pan Am’s experienced railroaders into the CSX family and look forward to the improvements we will make […]

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West Virginia Alco-powered short line has Ukrainian ties

Blue end-cab switcher moves coal hoppers across river

ALEXANDER, W.Va. — West Virginia’s coal history is a cyclical tale of boom-and-bust periods driven by the world’s appetite for the state’s most abundant fossil fuel. Agility and resiliency have carried coal and its closely linked partner, railroading, through periods of prosperity and dispersity. Today in one of the state’s most rural dwellings is a […]

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Kansas announces grants for rail infrastructure work

Logo of Kansas Department of Transportation

HUMBOLDT, Kan. — The state of Kansas is awarding $11.5 million in grants for 17 railroad infrastructure rehabilitation and construction projects, Gov. Laura Kelly and Transportation Secretary Julie Lorenz announced. The projects, involving seven railroads and eight shipper locations, will be funded through the Kansas Department of Transportation’s State Rail Service Improvement fund. Grants range […]

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Federal grants announced for rail projects in Pennsylvania, Kentucky

Federal Railroad Administration logo

WASHINGTON — Members of Congress have begun announcing Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements, or CRISI, grant awards from the Federal Railroad Administration, with funding for projects in Pennsylvania and Kentucky announced Thursday. Two awards announced in Pennsylvania U.S. Sen Bob Casey (D) announced CRISI awards of $14.7 million for the Berks County Rail Project […]

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