KCS Holiday Express will not run in 2021; fundraising will continue

Flatcar decorated to look like steam locomotive, covered with holiday lights

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Southern will hold a fundraising effort to benefit the Salvation Army to mark the 21st anniversary of its Holiday Express program, but the Holiday Express train will not run for a second consecutive year because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. “While it’s still not safe to gather for visits […]

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The aftermath: Sept. 13, 2001, at Chicago Union Station

Crowd of people boarding passenger car

CHICAGO — Travelers all over the U.S. had been stranded for two days after the September 11 attacks, when all air traffic was abruptly grounded. Many Amtrak trains had also been stopped that day as a precaution. While people who had been on the road assumed flights might soon resume, continuing security concerns and the […]

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Cleveland shuts down rail transit line over bridge concerns

Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority logo

CLEVELAND — The Greater Cleveland Regional Transportation Authority has extended the shutdown of Waterfront Line rail service indefinitely over safety concerns related to a bridge on the route. The 2.2-mile line has been shut down since October 2020 for a track rehabilitation project, but an RTA statement says an inspection determined the structure needed four […]

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Canadian Pacific CEO says talks with KCS are progressing

Man in suit

CHICAGO — Canadian Pacific’s merger negotiations with Kansas City Southern are progressing in the wake of last week’s regulatory decision that dealt a blow to the proposed Canadian National-KCS combination. “I believe, and I have high hopes, that we will come to a place when we finish these negotiations that we will be deemed superior,” […]

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Pullman cars return to their birthplace for weekend open house

Chairs and sofas inside railroad car

CHICAGO — A heavyweight business car and two lightweight sleepers will return to their birthplace as part of this weekend’s grand opening of the Pullman National Monument Visitor Center on Chicago’s South Side. The cars, built by Pullman or Pullman-Standard between 1928 and 1955, will be available for tours Saturday and Sunday at Metra’s 111th […]

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BNSF calls Chicago intermodal operations ‘extremely challenged’

Containers stacked under cranes

CHICAGO — BNSF is informing customers that conditions at its four Chicago-area intermodal facilities — Corwith, Cicero, Willow Springs, and Logistics Park Chicago in Elwood, Ill. — are “extremely challenged” because of “a substantial number of staged inbound trains and elevated inventory levels.” It is asking customers to prioritize pick-up of trailers and containers at […]

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Lane Cutoff

Streamlined passenger train split semaphore-type signals with overpass in distance

Lane Cutoff Brand-new in mid-1936, one of the two City of Denver trains poses on the Lane Cutoff west of Omaha, a favorite spot for Union Pacific publicity photos. The portholed cab and booster units rode on two trucks each, but were connected by a span bolster, not couplers. Union Pacific photo […]

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Branch line service

Diesel locomotive with side handrails and a black roof

Branch line service The Milwaukee Road ordered the lightweight EMD SDL39 for use on its light-rail branch lines. The railroad bought five of the locomotives in 1969 and followed with an order for another five in 1972. The 2,300-hp unit is equipped with a 12-cylinder 645E3 prime mover and 1,200-gallon fuel tank. EMD photo […]

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Preview: Pullman National Monument Visitor Center opens

Multi-story brick building with center clock tower

CHICAGO — Mirroring a song from the hit musical “Hamilton,” the formal opening of the Pullman National Monument Visitors Center on Chicago’s South Side will give participants a sense of “the room where it happened.” The “room,” in this case, is the long-shuttered Clock Tower Administration Building and grounds that were the birthplace of assembly-line […]

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‘San Francisco Overland’

Smoking steam locomotive leads a passenger train across open terrain by a water spout

‘San Francisco Overland’ Dressed in two-tone gray, FEF-1 816 and FEF-2 824 make 55 mph up Sherman Hill near Otto, Wyo., on October 21, 1949. Green flags and “1-27” in the 4-8-4s’ train indicator boxes tell that at least one other section of the San Francisco Overland is following. Ross B. Grenard Jr. photo […]

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