ASHEVILLE, N.C. — The continuing work to restore service on Norfolk Southern’s line into Asheville reached a milestone on Tuesday (April 8) as an NS ballast train became the first train to reach Asheville since it was closed Sept. 27, 2024, by Hurricane Helene. More than 21,500 feet of track was washed out, and another […]
PEORIA, Ill. — Two Bartonville, Ill., men have avoided jail time through a plea bargain regarding charges they derailed a Union Pacific locomotive late last year. Jimmy Johnson, 20, and Caleb Finley, 18, pleaded guilty last week to charges of damage to railroad property, a Class 4 felony, WCBU radio reports. They were sentenced in […]
CHICAGO — Today (April 9) is the last day for the early-bird registration fee for the North American Rail Shippers conference, to be held May 7-9 in Chicago. CSX CEO Joe Hinrichs leads the list of speakers scheduled to take part in the North American Rail Shippers Conference, set for May 7-9 in Chicago. The […]
ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern has launched a new grant program to aid communities hit by last week’s severe storms in the Midwest and South. The Community Disaster Relief Grant Program will provide up to $250,000 to nonprofit organizations assisting residents affected by the storm in the railroad’s operating area, the company has announced. The railroad […]
SAN JOSE, Calif. — SMART-TD has reached a tentative agreement on a new five-year contract with TransitAmerica Services Inc., contract operator for Caltrain commuter service, the union announced Tuesday (April 8, 2025). The union, the International Asssociation of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers-Transportation Division, represents 150 conductors and assistant conductor. The contract, retroactive […]
DENVER — Sierra Northern Railway conducted a successful initial test of its first hydrogen locomotive, a four-axle switcher, in late March, the company announced today (April 8) at the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association conference. The initial testing took place March 27 in West Sacramento, Calif. “This accomplishment marks another major milestone in […]
DENVER — Surface Transportation Board Chairman Patrick Fuchs says he is transforming the regulatory agency into a more efficient body that will help support competition and growth for railroads. “We want to break down barriers to growth, encourage competition and elevate the role of markets instead of government,” Fuchs told the American Short Line and […]
Host David Popp is making good progress with his modeling, so he takes a moment to highlight some of the details that help shape the realistic barn and farmhouse setting on his Olympia & Sand Creek On30 display layout. In this episode, he talks through tree selection, fabricating custom figures, adding exterior/interior structural intricacies, and […]
The Reading Blue Mountain & Northern Railroad (RBMN), also marketed as Reading & Northern, has evolved from a humble 13-mile short line into a significant 325-mile regional freight and passenger carrier in Pennsylvania. Its origin traces back to 1983 when Andrew Muller Jr., a retired businessman, leased a segment of the former Pennsylvania Railroad between […]
WASHINGTON — Genesee & Wyoming short line Central Oregon & Pacific can take over local operations from Union Pacific in Eugene, Ore., as soon as Saturday, federal regulators have ruled. In a unanimous decision today, the Surface Transportation Board denied the SMART-TD union’s request to scrutinize and reject the lease deal. The decision also denied […]
HAY RIVER, Northwest Territories — The Government of the Northwest Territories has asked Canadian federal regulators to examine Canadian National Railway’s decision not to repair its damaged rail line to Hay River, which had been the northernmost point on the North American rail network. Vince McKay, infrastructure minister for the Northwest Territories, said on Monday […]
DENVER — Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena says his company will work through tariff shocks gripping the economy the same way it worked through the pandemic. “I can’t control what governments do,” Vena said Monday (April 7) as keynote speaker at the annual conference of the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association. “It’s noisy, […]
