I hope you’ve enjoyed the tour we’ve taken of Amtrak’s short consists throughout the railroad’s history. Starting with the modern era, we then went back in time to the 1970s, then the 80s and 90s. This month, we’re looking at my favorite era of short Amtrak consists. Is it because that’s when I grew up? […]
OAK PARK, Ill. — Fire officials in Oak Park report two people were injured, one critically, when they came into contact with the electrified third rail at a Chicago Transit Authority station on Saturday. WGN-TV reports paramedics were called to the Ridgeland Green Line station about 7:24 p.m. after two people, part of a group […]
When livestock was shipped by train, the railroads provided free transportation for the “drovers” who accompanied the shipments. Chicago, Burlington & Quincy drovers car 5760 was rebuilt in 1948 from a heavyweight 12-section, one-drawing room sleeper. It’s shown here in 1958. Hol Wagner collection […]
PERHAM, Minn. — No injuries were reported when a BNSF Railway train carrying mixed freight derailed at approximately 12 a.m. today (Aug. 4) near Perham, Minn. No hazardous material was involved. BNSF did not respond to a question regarding the number of cars involved; KEYC-TV reports 13 railcars, most of them empty auto racks, derailed. […]
NORTH JUDSON, Ind. — The Monon Railroad Historical-Technical Society has donated Monon business car No. 2, also known as the Lynne, and Monon wide-vision caboose No. 81532 to the Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum, the two organizations have announced. Plans call for operating the business car in excursion service as an upscale experience, with a portion […]
CHICAGO — As Trains News Wire has been reporting, a dearth of serviceable Superliners on Amtrak’s long-distance trains has limited mobility options in a year that has seen a significant surge in travel demand. Sellouts in coaches and sleeping cars for at least one segment of a route have been the rule, not the exception. […]
In about 1920, long before E units and gallery cars took over the Burlington Route’s Chicago suburban service, five trains, each headed by a 4-6-0, stand in the yard at Downers Grove, Ill., poised to take commuters into the Windy City. L. E. Griffith coll. […]
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The grade crossing near Mendon, Mo., that was the site of the fatal 2022 collision and derailment involving Amtrak’s Southwest Chief is among 52 included in plans for upgrades, closures, or other changes released Thursday by the Missouri Department of Transportation. The Kansas City Star reports the plan, with an estimated […]
CHICAGO — Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker led an entourage of local and national political firepower Thursday in touting Amtrak’s application for federal funding for the Chicago Hub project, a more than $1.1 billion plan to improve Chicago Union Station and routes into the city. The request to the Federal Railroad Administration for an $872.8 million Federal-State […]
CB&Q 9377, a Baldwin VO1000 built in 1944, switches at the road’s brand-new freight house near Chicago in 1958. Burlington Route photo […]
WASHINGTON — The design of the grade crossing, which made it difficult for a driver to see an approaching train, was a contributing factor in last year’s fatal collision and derailment involving Amtrak’s Southwest Chief in Mendon, Mo., the National Transportation Safety Board said in its final accident report released today (Aug. 2, 2023). The […]
LUDINGTON, Mich. — Loading-ramp damage has brought an early end to the 2023 season for Lake Michigan car ferry S.S. Badger. “We have made the difficult, and unfortunately unavoidable, decision to suspend our daily crossings for the remainder of the season,” Mark W. Barker, President of Interlake Maritime Services, parent company of the Lake Michigan […]
