CHICAGO — Preliminary figures for the first month of Amtrak’s state-supported Borealis show the train is averaging about 300 passengers each way daily, or more than 18,500 people in the first month, according to Amtrak. The second train on the Chicago-Milwaukee-St. Paul portion of the route also served by the Empire Builder launched on May […]
MELROSE PARK, Ill. — The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the death of a Union Pacific railroader who was fatally injured in Proviso Yard over the weekend. WFLD-TV reports that the worker has been identified by the Cook County coroner as 27-year-old Justin Pender. “Preliminary information indicates on July 6, at approximately 1:59 a.m. […]
CHICAGO — A series of hearings to consider the future of public transit in the Chicago area — including a proposal to merge the four boards overseeing three transit systems and the umbrella agency overseeing them — is set to begin Tuesday in Chicago. The six hearings of the Illinois Senate Transportation Committee have been […]
Great Northern mail clerk Ben Russell grabs the pouch from the catcher after making the catch at Bethel, Minn., while working the Duluth & St. Paul Railway Post Office in fall 1968. This was one of the few RPOs to survive the big cutbacks of 1967. Don Hofsommer photo […]
When people think about building a model train layout on a hollow core door, they most often envision an N scale layout, like our Red Oak project (which was published starting in MR’s January 2015 issue). Admittedly, hollow core doors are a convenient size for small N scale layouts, since nested 9.5” and 11” radius […]
Trains contributor Steve Smedley put together this video of Canadian Pacific Hudson No. 2816 in Iowa on the return leg of the Final Spike Steam tour to accompany his earlier photo gallery of the July 1 move from Davenport to Dubuque, Iowa [see “‘The Empress’ and its train make the trip back to Canada,” Trains.com, […]
SIOUX CITY, Iowa — Already facing one major project — recovery from major flood damage — the Sioux City Railroad Museum announced Wednesday that it would take on another: restoring one of the museum’s steam locomotives to operating condition. The museum, its parent Siouxland Historical Railroad Association, and the American Heartland Railroad Society are beginning […]
Two Rock Island E units lead the Chicago–Los Angeles Golden State into Joliet (Ill.) Union Station in fall 1951. Wallace W. Abbey photo […]
OMAHA, Neb. — CAF will build the equipment for the new Omaha streetcar network, the Spanish firm has announced. The initial order for the Omaha Streetcar Authority, a partnership between the City of Omaha and Omaha Metro, will include six vehicles, along with parts and tools, along with an option to build up to 29 […]
KENNETT SQUARE, Pa. — Regional Rail LLC has added to its holdings in the Midwest with acquisition of the Cincinnati Eastern Railroad, a 70-mile Ohio short line, the company has announced. The company now has seven railroads in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. “The Regional Rail team and I are delighted to partner with the team […]
Chicago & North Western 4-6-4 No. 4004, having brought the San Francisco-bound Gold Coast in from Chicago, backs out of Omaha Union Station for servicing in Council Bluffs, Iowa, on June 6, 1953. Alco built nine of these 84-inch-drivered Hudsons for C&NW in 1938. R. R. Malinoski photo […]
NORTH SIOUX CITY, S.D. — BNSF Railway says it has not determined a timeline for replacing the bridge between North Sioux City and Sioux City, Iowa, that collapsed June 23 as a result of flooding, and continues to re-route traffic through Creston, Iowa. KTIV-TV reports that railroad spokeswoman Kendall Sloan said the railroad is coordinating […]
