Freight terminals had extensive docks for trucks on the nonrail side of the structure. This is the Missouri-Kansas-Texas freight station in Houston, Texas, in the 1940s. LeRoy Wilkie photo […]
Katy freight house in Houston
Tag: Plains & Texas
BLET members ratify contract with MARC operator Alstom
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio — Members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen have ratified a new four-year agreement with Alstom, the contract operator of Maryland Area Rail Commuter trains. The union also announced that train and engine service employees at Watco’s Austin Western Railroad have voted to join the union. The contract with Alstom, retroactive […]
State holds hearing on bill to provide tax incentives to keep Union Pacific in Nebraska
LINCOLN, Neb. — Legislation designed to provide tax incentives to keep Union Pacific’s headquarters in Omaha faced no opposition during a hearing in the Nebraska Legislature on Wednesday, Feb. 25. While Legislative Bill 1165 does not mention UP, its sponsor, state Sen. Brad von Gillern (R-Elkhorn), told the Revenue Committee hearing that it’s no secret […]
Great Plains museum reaches fundraising goal for Santa Fe FP45
WICHITA, Kan. — The Great Plains Transportation Museum has reached its goal of raising an additional $50,000 for the restoration of Santa Fe FP45 No. 93, the museum announced today (Feb. 23). The museum launched a GoFundMe effort in November to raise the funds, needed to address hidden rust and other damage discovered during preparation […]
BNSF train derailed by fatal grade-crossing accident
AMBOY, Neb. — One person in a vehicle was killed Thursday (Feb. 19) in a grade crossing collision that derailed a BNSF Railway train in Amboy. BNSF said in a statement to Nebraska Television that the accident occurred about 10 a.m. when “a vehicle struck an empty grain train at a crossing near Red Cloud, […]
Builder selected for Austin light rail
AUSTIN, Texas — The Austin agency overseeing the city’s planned light rail network has selected the construction contractor for the project. The selection of Austin Rail Constructors, a joint venture of firms Stacy Witbeck and Sundt Construction, was approved on Wednesday (Feb. 18) by the board of the Austin Transit Partnership, the local government corporation […]
Lawsuit claims UP, short line blocked grain moves via alternate route
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Colorado Pacific Railroad and Weskan Grain, two subsidiaries of the Soloviev Group, this week filed a federal court suit that alleges Union Pacific Railroad and regional railroad Kansas & Oklahoma have conspired to prevent westbound grain moves over Colorado Pacific. The plaintiffs claimed that UP and Watco Cos.’ K&O are using […]
NTSB issues final report on fatal collision between BNSF train, maintenance truck
WASHINGTON — Failure to comply with a railroad rule requiring a person on the ground for a back-up vehicle move, and inadequate understanding of that rule, contributed to a fatal accident in which a BNSF welding truck was struck by a train near New Rockford, N.D., the National Transportation Safety Board said in a final […]
CSX, BNSF detail preparations for major winter storm (updated)
CSX and BNSF Railway today outlined plans to deal with the operational challenges from a major winter storm that could affect large portions of both companies’ rail networks. Norfolk Southern also issued a customer advisory in which it said it was preparing for the storm, which is beginning to hit some areas today (Thursday, Jan. […]
Amtrak adds Floridian, Heartland Flyer to list of cancellations (updated)
CHICAGO — Amtrak has added the Floridian and Heartland Flyer to its list of trains canceled because of forecasts of extreme winter weather. Subsequent additions to the list include the Lake Shore Limited, Cardinal, and one round trip of the Wolverine. The Chicago-Miami Floridian is canceled in both directions both today and Friday (Jan. 22-23); […]
RCP&E purchase of South Dakota-owned trackage approved
PIERRE, S.D. — South Dakota’s State Railroad Board has approved the sale of two segments of state-owned trackage to Genesee & Wyoming’s Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern Railroad for $3.125 million. The purchase was approved by a 4-0 vote at the board’s meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 21. It include 19.5 miles of track — the […]
Dallas interlocking tower
An interior view at Tower 19 near Dallas (Texas) Union Terminal shows the track diagram (“model board”) of the territory controlled by the tower and some of the levers that controlled the switches and signals. This is an electro-pneumatic interlocking, in which switches are operated by compressed air. Historic American Engineering Record photo […]
