A collectible Lionel Milwaukee Road freight set

Collectible Lionel Milwaukee Road Freight set

Here’s the story behind this magnificent O gauge no. 810/2273W Lionel Milwaukee Road freight set. It was one of the finest outfits cataloged by the company for 1956. Click here for a history of the Milwaukee Road. The brand-new no. 2378P and 2378C F3 A-B locomotive combination headed the train. The powered A and unpowered […]

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Friends of the 261/Railroading Heritage of Midwest America to expand to Silvis shop complex

Aerial view of shop complex with dozens of locomotives in many paint schemes

SILVIS, Ill. — In one of the largest expansions in railroad preservation in recent decades, Minneapolis-based Railroading Heritage of Midwest America/The Friends of the 261 will expand operations into the former National Railway Equipment (NRE) shop complex in the Quad Cities community of Silvis. The 90-acre facility was once the main shop of the Chicago, […]

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Mudslides, snow threat trigger more Amtrak cancellations, delays

blue and silver locomotive with its passenger cars on dreary day

PORTLAND, Ore. – Heavy rains in the Pacific Northwest caused a mudslide near Kelso, Wash., on Thursday morning that temporarily shut down BNSF Railway’s main line between Portland and Seattle. BNSF spokeswoman Lena Kent tells Trains News Wire, “The mud slides north of Kelso have impacted both freight and passenger service.  Our crews have been […]

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Amtrak backs CP-KCS merger after reaching deal for service expansions

gray and blue passenger train passes next to red locomotive pulling freight train

WASHINGTON – Canadian Pacific today won Amtrak’s support for its proposed merger with Kansas City Southern after CP and Amtrak reached a deal to expand passenger service in the Midwest and South. CP agreed to more frequent Amtrak service on the Hiawatha route linking Chicago and Milwaukee, as well as extending the corridor to St. Paul, […]

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Amtrak struggles to recover from winter weather challenges

Amtrak Auto Train in snow and behind tree across tracks

WASHINGTON — The well-publicized snowstorm that stranded motorists for 24 hours along Interstate 95 near Fredericksburg, Va., didn’t spare Amtrak trains operating through the region from cancellations and monumental delays. But the disruptions weren’t limited to the Northeast, as mudslides, cold temperatures, and snow caused route truncations and delays elsewhere. In Virginia, trees laden with […]

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Kansas City Streetcar extension project on track for this year

KCStreetcarLogo

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Delivery of new rail for the Kansas City Streetcar Main Street Extension began this week. Delivery is anticipated to take two weeks, with four trucks per day delivering rail, for a total of 36 deliveries. The rail will be used on the 3.5-mile extension of the KC Streetcar System that will […]

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Metra asks regulators to order CP to provide more merger-related data

Commuter trains side-by-side at station in snow

WASHINGTON — Metra has asked federal regulators to force Canadian Pacific to hand over more documents that would help it evaluate how the proposed CP-Kansas City Southern merger may affect commuter service in the Chicago area. Metra, in a filing with the Surface Transportation Board, said CP omitted necessary documents, provided dated versions of other […]

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Norfolk & Western Railway history remembered

Steam locomotive with coal train among trees

Norfolk & Western Railway history has two distinct phases. Before 1964, it was a coal hauler controlled by the Pennsylvania Railroad. It even looked like the Pennsy in places: Tuscan Red coaches, position-light signals, and a short electrified district — but no Belpaire fireboxes. In 1964, possibly as a reaction to the proposed merger of […]

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‘Missouri River Runner’ service cut to one daily round trip

Passenger train at station platform

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — As of today (Jan. 3, 2021), Amtrak’s Missouri River Runner service between St. Louis and Kansas City has been cut from two round daily trips to one. The move comes after the state failed to provide sufficient funding to continue to the twice-daily round trips and federal coronavirus relief funding, which […]

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Dubuque, Iowa, seeks overpass, other projects from CP to address merger impact

Unit train of tank cars rounds curve in area surrounded by buildings

DUBUQUE, Iowa — The City of Dubuque has become the latest to voice concerns over traffic increases that could result from the Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger, writing in a letter to the Surface Transportation Board that it seeks nine forms of mitigation — including construction of a $20 million overpass — if it is […]

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Progress Rail sells part of EMD La Grange property

Progress Rail logo

LA GRANGE, Ill. — Progress Rail has sold 88 acres of the former Electro-Motive Division property in La Grange, the company informed La Grange-based employees in a December email. The land was bought by Bridge Industrial, which specializes in acquisition and development of industrial properties, and will be redeveloped. Progress will maintain its existing offices […]

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