Governments in alignment as Brightline West work begins

Hard hats on table

LAS VEGAS — One thing Monday’s Brightline West groundbreaking ceremony drove home — probably unintentionally — is that there are jurisdictional reasons it’s difficult to undertake major infrastructure projects in the United States. In this case, however, those factors seem to be lining up in a positive, rather than negative, way. “On a project of […]

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Brightline West groundbreaking set for Monday

Illustration of high-speed Brightline West train

LAS VEGAS, Nev. — The Brightline West project is about to get its official kickoff. While various surveying and other preparation work has been in progress for several months, a formal groundbreaking ceremony is set for Monday in Las Vegas at the planned site for the high-speed project’s Las Vegas station. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Brightline […]

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Durango & Silverton | Coal-fired steam finale

The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad has faced numerous challenges in the last few years, the results of which have attributed to the end of using coal to fire their steam locomotive fleet.  Following a major fire near the railroad, the D&S fast-tracked a program to convert their steam engines to burn oil.  A […]

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25 railroad places to visit out West

Cajon Pass, California

Railroad places to visit 1. GOAT LICK TRESTLE: Fast-paced action of BNSF’s northern transcon and the beauty of Glacier National Park, plus live GN goats. 2. CAJON PASS: Busy mainline mountain crossing for both BNSF and Union Pacific leaving LA. 3. TEHACHAPI: Mind-boggling over-and-under loop in Southern California sees more than 40 trains a day. […]

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BNSF continuing cleanup after Monday derailment in New Mexico

BNSF Railway logo

SOCORRO, N.M. — BNSF Railway is estimating it will reopen its main line at approximately 7 a.m. local time Wednesday after a Monday, March 25, derailment of an undetermined number of railcars near Socorro. The railroad indicated in an advisory to customers that the derailment occurred about 10 p.m. KOB-TV reports that no one was […]

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Chief and Super Chief at Albuquerque

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At Albuquerque, N.Mex., Santa Fe No. 17, the Super Chief (at left behind E units) has caught up to a late-running train 19, the Chief, at 4:20 p.m. on a spring day in 1946. The Super left Chicago 7 hours after No. 19 and was scheduled to arrive in Los Angeles 1 hour 15 minutes […]

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Grand Canyon Railway No. 4960 launches 2024 steam season

A black steam locomotive pulls passenger cars down a single-track line under a blue sky

WILLIAMS, Ariz. — Winter hibernation for Grand Canyon Railway No. 4960 concluded on March 2 as the 2-8-2 headed the first excursion of the railway’s 2024 steam season, between Williams and the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. Off-season work since the end of the 2023 schedule included, as previously reported [See “Grand Canyon […]

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UP train derails in Elko, Nev.

Derailed grain hoppers

ELKO, Nev. — Sixteen railcars of corn from a Union Pacific train derailed near the Amtrak station in Elko early today (Wednesday, Feb. 28), striking the support of a street overpass and raising question about the bridge’s structural integrity. No injuries were reported and no hazardous materials were involved. The Associated Press reports the derailment […]

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