ORANGE, Calif. — Citing “ongoing threats” to service on the Surf Line route used by Amtrak, Metrolink, and BNSF Railway, the Orange County Transportation Authority on Monday (March 31, 2025) submitted an emergency permit request to the California Coastal Commission for stabilization work above the rail line in San Clemente, Calif. The OCTA says the […]
WASHINGTON — An aggregates company’s proposal to build a 26.9-mile rail line to haul rock from four Texas quarries has run into local opposition. Texas Materials Group has asked the Surface Transportation Board to approve its plans to build and operate a new rail line in Burnet and Lampasas counties. The shortline would connect to […]
FORT WORTH, Texas – BNSF Railway says its customers invested more than $4.2 billion along its lines in 2024. Significant investments were made from customers including CJ Logistics America, Hudson Asphalt Terminal, and Bakersfield Renewable Fuels. As a result of these and other customer investments, BNSF projects supported the creation of more than 1,000 new […]
WASHINGTON – A Trump administration port fee proposal designed to boost the U.S. shipbuilding industry could potentially scramble international intermodal traffic, shift some container business to ports in Canada and Mexico, and help Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Kansas City in the process. Last month the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative floated a plan […]
SEATTLE — Amtrak maintenance issues that caused cancellation of Sounder commuter service spilled over into Cascades intercity departures, with buses substituting for Seattle-Eugene, Ore., service because of a shortage of serviceable equipment. Meanwhile, Amtrak’s eastbound California Zephyr tried to fight its way through a dangerous Nebraska blizzard — and lost. Those were among the operational […]
FORT WORTH, Texas — Persistent, strong winds have caused congestion on BNSF Railway’s Southern Transcon, the railroad said in a customer service advisory on Thursday, March 20. “The BNSF network is currently experiencing challenges, particularly on the Southern Transcon, due to excessive and extended winds exceeding 75 mph that have impacted service consistency, alongside unexpected […]
WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board’s Office of Environmental Analysis today issued a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Green Eagle Railroad’s proposed construction and operation of a 1.3-mile rail line and border crossing in Eagle Pass, Texas. The draft reviews two potential routes for the line, which was proposed in December 2023, as well as […]
Classic Trains Film Archive | C&O, Clinchfield, NYC, and other eastern railroads, J. David Ingles Reel 0045 – Follow along with former Classic Trains Senior Editor J. David Ingles’ trackside treks in the 1960s. Here, you’ll see Eastern Tennessee & Western North Carolina standard gauge steam, the famed Clinchfield Railroad, Chesapeake & Ohio in Kentucky […]
TEMPLETON, Iowa — Cleanup continues after a BNSF train derailed Thursday, March 6, in west-central Iowa, WOI and KCWI-TV report. The derailment occurred about 3:24 p.m. near Templeton. Video on the stations’ website shows heavy equipment working in deep snow around three locomotives; no information was available on the number of railcars involved, but BNSF […]
SAN DIEGO — The effort to determine a new rail route through Del Mar, Calif., will repeat a step — and has a new twist, as well. At a Friday, Feb. 28, meeting, the San Diego Association of Governments restarted the run-up to developing an environmental assessment of the project, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. […]
For many years, operators of mainline steam locomotives knew they had a valuable friend in Jim Schwinkendorf, a veteran railroad manager who oversaw several high-profile special movements in his years at BNSF Railway, including supervision of the railroad’s Employee Appreciation Specials. James Alden “Jim” Schwinkendorf, of Pacific, Mo., died Feb. 21, 2025. He was 81. […]
An Electro-Motive Division GP38 diesel locomotive is now available in HO scale from Rapido Trains. The four-axle road switcher features plastic and die-cast metal construction, railroad-specific details, and body-mounted metal couplers. Prototype history Electro-Motive Division produced the GP38 from January 1966 through December 1971. During the course of the production run, 733 units were built […]
