Monday midday rail news: First IDOT cars arrive; testing to begin in September The first four cars of the Illinois Department of Transportation order for equipment for state-supported regional Amtrak trains arrived in Chicago earlier this month, with four more en route from Siemens’ Sacramento, Calif., factory. Testing is likely to begin in September for […]
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Monday morning rail news: Reading & Northern sues over stormwater fees The Reading & Northern is suing a regional sanitary agency in Pennsylvania, seeking to avoid paying a stormwater fee enacted in 2019. The Wilkes-Barre Times Leader reports the suit, filed in the Luzerne County Court of Common Please, argues that six of the railroad’s […]
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Friday morning rail news: NRE consolidating operations to two sites NRE, which sells and leases new and remanufactured locomotives and components, and provides overhaul and maintenance services, will consolidate operations to its headquarters location in Mt. Vernon, Ill, as well as its shops in Paducah, Ky. Operations at Dixmoor, Ill., Silvis, Ill, and Milwaukee will […]
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Friday afternoon rail news: Ontario Southland concludes Guelph Junction operations; Goderich-Exeter to take over Ontario Southland’s 22 years as operator of Canada’s Guelph Junction Railway will conclude today, ending an era that included frequent use of Alco and MLW power. Beginning Monday, the Goderich-Exeter Railway, a Genesee & Wyoming operation based in Stratford, Ont., will […]
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Wednesday afternoon rail news: Waterloo Central switchers now in heritage scheme The Waterloo Central Railway, the heritage railroad operated by the Southern Ontario Locomotive Restoration Society, has completed its project repainting three switch engines into Canadian Pacific’s classic gray-and-maroon scheme. Now wearing the scheme are Montreal Locomotive Works S13 Nos. 1001 and 1002, both built […]
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Wednesday morning rail news: Metra says it is losing $1 million a month as UP won’t collect fares Union Pacific is not collecting fares from riders on the three Metra lines it operates, costing the commuter railroad $1 million a month in fares, Metra says. The Chicago Tribune reports UP, citing coronavirus safety concerns, is […]
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Still more Monday morning rail news: UP hit by derailments in Wyoming, Nebraska A pair of derailments disrupted Union Pacific Overland Route operations on Saturday, with 67 cars of grain derailing in an incident near Bosler, Wyo., and 38 cars derailing near Maxwell, Neb. KTWO Radio reports the grain derailment, involving a train bound from […]
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More Monday morning rail news: Rail Runner has no PTC-compliant route-miles, has missed deadline for safety report Zero percent of the 95 miles operated by New Mexico’s Rail Runner Express are compliant for positive train control, making the commuter railroad the only one in the nation with no territory operating with PTC, the Albuquerque Journal […]
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And still more Monday morning rail news: Fire damages former Nickel Plate roundhouse in Indiana Fire damaged a former Nickel Plate Road roundhouse in Frankfort, Ind., on Sunday. WTHR-TV reports firefighters responded to a blaze about 10 a.m. at the abandoned structure on property now owned by Norfolk Southern; as they brought that fire under […]
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More Friday morning rail news: NYC Transit subway line could see service cuts because of vandalism Vandalism on New York City Transit’s 7 Train subway has become so extensive that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority may be forced to cut service on the line because of a glass shortage. The New York Daily News reports 39 […]
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Friday morning rail preservation news: Illinois Railway Museum sets two weekends of special events The Illinois Railway Museum, which reopened in July with special COVID-19 precautionary measures, is planning two weekends of special events in September. Labor Day weekend will feature night train operations until 9:30 p.m. on Sept. 5-6, and J. Neils Lumber Shay […]
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Thursday morning rail news: Watco offers to buy state-owned route in South Dakota; state agrees to D&I purchase of Sioux Valley line Shortline holding company Watco is willing to pay up to $13 million to buy a line between Mitchell and Rapid City, S.D., from the state of South Dakota, a Watco representative told the […]
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