Cheyenne, Wyo., makes plans for rail-oriented tourist project

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — The Cheyenne City Council has voiced support for a rail-oriented tourist attraction that will initially include a series of historic railcars and could expand to include Union Pacific’s roundhouse and the Big Boy locomotive currently on display elsewhere in the city. The Wyoming Tribune Eagle reports the council last month approved a […]

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Nevada Northern to reacquire two early diesels

EMD and Alco diesels on freight train

ELY, Nev. — The Nevada Northern Railway Museum is planning to bring two of its original diesel locomotives back to Ely after almost four decades. SD7 No. 401, the only locomotive the Nevada Northern purchased from EMD, and Alco RSD4 No. 201, built in 1951 for Kennecott Copper Co., were purchased by the railroad in […]

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Iowa Pacific Railroad equipment in late 2021

A maroon and yellow-stripped cab unit under clear, sunny skies.

ALAMOSA, Colorado — Iowa Pacific Railroad equipment rolled out of Alamosa in the San Luis Valley bound for days of fun, music, and beer in the Colorado mountains until just a few years ago. The Illinois Central colors of Iowa Pacific Holdings and the trains of the San Luis & Rio Grande added to the […]

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Seven suits filed over Empire Builder derailment

Three men in hard hats and safety vests in front of derailed passenger train

CHICAGO — A Chicago law firm has filed seven separate lawsuits against Amtrak and BNSF Railway on behalf of passengers injured in the Sept. 25 derailment of the Empire Builder, and says it will challenge an arbitration requirement added to tickets in 2019.  A press release from the Clifford Law Offices says the firm obtained […]

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Wood-burning steam locomotive special event

4-4-0 Eureka and 2-6-0 Glenbrook doublehead on a mixed train for fans. The location is Ferguson’s trestle. Jim Wrinn

Wood-burning steam locomotive event in 2021 Wood-burning steam locomotive trains were the highlight of a September 2021 celebration of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad that is automatically a step back in time to the 1920s. With the inclusion of the older locomotives, the clock turned back further, to about 1900. The COVID-19 pandemic pushed […]

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BNSF Northern Transcon reopens after Empire Builder derailment

BNSF Railway logo

JOPLIN, Mont. — BNSF Railway’s busy Hi Line Subdivision is open again following the derailment of Amtrak’s Empire Builder over the weekend. According to KHQ News, a local NBC affiliate, the first BNSF freight train to pass through the community of Joplin, Montana, since Saturday’s derailment arrived just after 4 a.m. Tuesday. The train is […]

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Feds: ‘Empire Builder’ was traveling under speed limit at time of crash

Three men in hard hats and safety vests in front of derailed passenger train

JOPLIN, Mont. — The vice chair of the National Transportation Safety Board says Amtrak’s Empire Builder was traveling below its posted speed limit when it derailed and partially overturned over the weekend in rural Montana, killing three people. NTSB Vice Chairman Bruce Landsberg told members of the media Monday afternoon that the eastbound Empire Builder […]

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AAPRCO: ‘Horrifying to see the derailed and overturned rail cars’

Round logo with end of open observation car

GALESBURG, Ill. — As the American Association of Private Railroad Car Owners sets off on its annual trip and convention this week, the organization has released a statement on the weekend derailment of Amtrak’s Empire Builder in northern Montana. “It is horrifying to see the derailed and overturned rail cars. For many of us, rail […]

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