GRANTSVILLE, Utah — More than three years after the project began seeking regulatory approval, and seven months after that approval was granted, construction has begun on the Savage Tooele Railroad, Utah’s first new railroad in decades. The 11-mile short line will build five miles of new track and restore a 6-mile former Union Pacific branch […]
Four ballot initiatives with at least some rail transit component all appear to have passed on Tuesday, based on results available this morning (Wednesday, Nov. 6). — In Maricopa County, Ariz., which includes Phoenix, voters appear to have approved an extension of a half-cent sales tax for transit, the Arizona Republic reports. The tax, introduced […]
DENVER — Following several years of growing ridership and sold-out trains on many weekends, this ski season’s version of Amtrak’s Winter Park Express will advance its previous January debut into December, and then will operate five days per week beginning Jan. 9. The train will operate Friday, Saturday, and Sunday on Dec. 20-22, Dec. 27-29, […]
The Union Pacific hump yard at Pocatello, Idaho, receives cars from various branch lines, sorts them by destination, and forwards them east or west to other points on the rail network. The yard is located on the Oregon Short Line route between Ogden, Utah, and Portland, Ore., that UP leased in 1936. Union Pacific photo […]
1. Take the train from Cripple Creek Our list of 10 must-see Colorado railroad attractions starts with a trip back in time. Railroads arrived in the mining town of Cripple Creek in 1893, and today the best way to see the “World’s Greatest Gold Camp” is aboard Colorado’s only 2-foot narrow-gauge steam railroad, the Cripple […]
Denver Union Station’s predecessor established the city as the transportation hub of the West and the primary gateway to the Rocky Mountains. Opened on June 1, 1881, where 17th Street dead-ends into Wynkoop Street, Denver Union Depot was 504 feet long and 65 feet wide, the largest structure in the West. Within a decade, 100 […]
SALT LAKE CITY — Stadler and the Utah Transit Authority have signed a contract calling for construction of up to 80 new light rail vehicles for UTA’s TRAX service in the Salt Lake City area. The contract signed today (Oct. 23, 2024) following approval by the UTA board of trustees includes an initial $129 million […]
The eastbound California Zephyr passes the monument to the dome car at the spot where the idea for such a passenger car was conceived near Colorado’s Glenwood Canyon. Such a magnificent train, indeed, such an incredible car, might not have been possible without the Centennial State. Everett L. DeGolyer Jr. photo […]
The crew of Southern Pacific Extra 6311 East ties up at the Sparks, Nev., yard office, 2 miles east of Reno. The men have moved their train of 5,002 tons 137 miles from Sacramento, including a vertical climb of 6,723 feet and a descent of 2,459 feet. Philip R. Hastings photo […]
WASHINGTON — Oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court are set for Dec. 10 regarding the appeal of the lower-court decision blocking construction of the Uinta Basin Railway, the Grand Junction (Colo.) Daily Sentinel reports. The Supreme Court agreed in June to hear the appeal from the Seven County Infrastructure Coalition, the Utah governmental body […]
Colorado & Southern 2-8-0 No. 73 follows 3-foot-gauge tracks toward the summit of Kenosha Pass, high above the canyon near Webster, Colo., on July 14, 1938. Soon these tracks of the South Park Line will be abandoned. R.H. Kindig photo […]
ESSEX, Mont. — One main track at the site of an Oct. 12 grain train derailment near Essex has been reopened, with the second expected to be reopened this evening, according to a BNSF advisory to customers. A dozen cars were reported to have derailed at Java, Mont., early Saturday [see “BNSF grain train derails […]
