Volunteers, coordination keys to keep North Pole Express rolling NEWSWIRE

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Even with its holiday adornments, No. 261 still proudly displays its Milwaukee Road heritage. Steve Glischinski ST. PAUL, Minn. – “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” is a popular Christmas song, but it’s theme can also apply to mainline steam operators who find the holiday season a way to bring in more revenue […]

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BL2s and Pullmans to the Stock Yards

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A pair of Rock Island BL2s, with an F7B between them, led the “Fat Stock Special” one night in 1956. Monty Powell In November 1956 I was a management trainee on the Rock Island Railroad in Rock Island, Ill. A special movement known as “the Fat Stock Special,” which originated in western Iowa, was coming […]

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BNSF derailment damages Cicero Metra stop, disrupts service NEWSWIRE

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Metra and BNSF Railway trains meet at the Cicero Metra station in August 2017. A derailment Monday on the track on the right, the connection from the Belt Railway of Chicago to the BNSF, has led to inbound Metra trains skipping the Cicero stop this morning, because of damage to the structure at the end […]

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Highway widening plan will require BNSF to replace bridge on triple-track main NEWSWIRE

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A Metra BNSF train crosses over Interstate 294 between Hinsdale and Western Springs, Ill., on Christmas Eve 2015. The bridge is the narrowest point on the highway; a planned road-widening project will require the construction of a temporary bridge for the BNSF main line, followed by replacement of the existing structure. TRAINS: David Lassen HINSDALE, […]

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Two suburban communities hire lobbying firm in effort to get Metra service NEWSWIRE

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A Metra BNSF train approaches the Naperville station on Sept. 15, 2018. Two communities have hired a lobbying firm as part of an effort to have the BNSF line extended into Kendall County, Ill. TRAINS: David Lassen OSWEGO, Ill. — Two Chicago suburbs have hired a lobbying firm in an effort to Metra’s BNSF Railway […]

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Police investigate train collision with oversized truck in Indiana NEWSWIRE

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An over-sized load trailer and a Canadian Pacific locomotive after they collided in Indiana on Wednesday. Indiana State Police news release BUTLER, Ind. — Indiana law enforcement agencies are investigating how an oversized semi load being escorted by Indiana State Police was struck by a northbound freight train at a grade crossing in Butler this […]

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Third Twin Cities light rail line approved to begin construction

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MINNEAPOLIS – The Federal Transit Administration has approved plans for the Twin Cities Metropolitan Council to begin construction on the Southwest Light Rail project, which would be the third light rail line to serve the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. On Wednesday FTA granted the Council what is known as a Letter of No Prejudice, a critical […]

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One Metra worker killed, another injured in trackwork explosion NEWSWIRE

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A Metra worker was killed in an accident near the Grayland station on Saturday. Google Maps CHICAGO — One Metra worker was killed and another seriously injured in an explosion during track maintenance work on Saturday. The accident occurred near the Grayland station on the Milwaukee District North line, and is being blamed on a […]

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Milwaukee streetcar, ‘The Hop,’ debuts (updated) NEWSWIRE

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Accompanied by a police escort, a trainload of officials and dignitaries departs the Cathedral Square station, inaugurating service on Milwaukee’s streetcar line, The Hop. TRAINS: David Lassen Officials cut a ribbon adorned with — what else? — hops as part of Friday’s opening ceremonies for The Hop streetcar system. TRAINS: David Lassen MILWAUKEE — Streetcars […]

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Chicago city council approves Union Station development plans NEWSWIRE

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An artist’s rendering for what a redeveloped entrance to Chicago Union Station might look like from Clinton Street. Amtrak CHICAGO — The Chicago City Council gave the go-ahead Wednesday for a $900 million redevelopment plan that includes an office tower on Amtrak-owned property next to Chicago Union Station. As part of the redevelopment, the station’s […]

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