Ohio Senate eliminates funding for membership in rail passenger group

Map of existing and proposed Ohio passenger rail service

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio’s Senate has moved to eliminate funding for the state to rejoin a Midwest passenger rail planning group, public broadcasting’s Statehouse News Bureau reports. The version of the state’s biennial budget passed by the House includes $25,000 for each of the next two years for membership in the Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail […]

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UP’s Lincoln locomotive to be displayed in Omaha

Red, maroon, and gray locomotive in shop building

OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific’s Abraham Lincoln commemorative locomotive will be displayed at baseball’s College World Series, the railroad has announced. The locomotive, along with cars from the UP heritage fleet, will be on display at the railroad’s “Home Plate” location adjacent to Charles Schwab Field, site of the baseball tournament, from noon to 6 […]

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East Troy Industrial Park, Ep. 13 | DCC system installation

Even though track wiring is in place, our hosts still need to install a Digital Command Control (DCC) system before trains will run on the HO scale (1:87.1) East Troy Industrial Park project layout! David and Bryson first examine the components of the NCE PH5R Power Pro DCC system before working to integrate the parts […]

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Launch of South Shore’s West Lake service may not come this year

Map of 8-mile branch on South Shore Line

CHESTERTON, Ind. — The start of service on South Shore Line’s new West Lake Corridor, the 9-mile spur between Hammond and Dyer, Ind., has slipped back further, and now is not likely until at least the end of this year, General Manager Mike Noland said in a recent message to riders. The message on the […]

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News Wire Recommended Reading: rail stories from India to Illinois

Commuter train changing tracks

The latest edition of News Wire Recommended Reading ranges around the world, looking at everything from a new rail line in India to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s long, strange trip to replacing some of its rapid transit equipment. — The New York Times provides a look at India’s new rail line to Kashmir, which […]

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Illinois Central SD40 6000

A red and white locomotive

  I have always had a thing for “class units,” that is, the first in a series, and “my engine” is Illinois Central SD40 6000, delivered in late 1967 in the then-new orange and white color scheme. I have a custom-painted HO scale model of it, weathered in that livery. Best of all, during my […]

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Union Pacific urges STB to turn down Metra bid for trackage rights

Commuter train and freight train meet, as seen in view from bridge

WASHINGTON — Metra’s request to the Surface Transportation Board for terminal trackage rights in the Chicago area is an effort to maintain below-market rates for access to the Union Pacific system, UP says in a filing responding to Metra’s initial arguments to support that request. Such a financial dispute “is not the board’s problem,” UP […]

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BNSF reopens main line in Iowa after derailment

BNSF Railway logo

ARGYLE, Iowa — Service was restored on BNSF’s main line in the Fort Madison area on Wednesday after the Tuesday evening derailment of a train that blocked both tracks of the railroad’s Southern Transcon. KHQA-TV reports the derailment occurred while the train was stopped because of a tornado warning, according to a BNSF representative. No […]

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Age of Steam museum begins construction of new roundhouse

Aerial view of construction equipment next to turntable

SUGARCREEK, Ohio — Construction has begun on a new 10-stall roundhouse has begun at the Age of Steam Roundhouse Museum in Sugarcreek, the organization has announced. The new structure, known as the East Roundhouse, is a separate building not connected to the existing 18-stall roundhouse displaying 24 steam locomotives. The East Roundhouse will contain an […]

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Age of Steam museum to present World War II event

Aerial view of U.S. Army steam locomotive and military equipment

SUGARCREEK, Ohio — The Age of Steam Roundhouse Museum will host “Steam to Victory,” a World War II-themed event paying homage to the role railroads played in the war, on Father’s Day weekend, Friday, June 13, and Saturday, June 14. The event, from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day, will feature living history reenactors […]

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