Milwaukee Road’s A-class: ultimate 4-4-2 Atlantic-type

Streamlined 4-4-2 Atlantic-type steam locomotive below bridge

  By 1935, it would have been sensible to consider the 4-4-2 Atlantic-type steam locomotive all but obsolete, at least insofar as new construction was concerned. In the U.S., the design could be traced back to the 1880s, and ultimately about 1,900 of the type were built. Its heydays were the years surrounding World War […]

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Maintenance workers’ union ratifies new contract with CSX

BMWEDlogo

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters has ratified a new five-year contract with CSX Transportation, the railroad has announced. “The ratification by the BMWED marks an important advancement in our ongoing collaboration with union leadership,” CSX CEO Joe Hinrichs said in a press release […]

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Grant to Galesburg, Ill., will help fund addition of rail service to business park

Map of area near Galesburg, Ill., with boundaries of Galesburg Business Park shaded in blue.

GALESBURG, Ill. — The city of Galesburg has received a $25 million federal grant to fund the addition of rail lines at Galesburg Business Park, a 329-acre facility served by BNSF Railway. The addition of spur tracks will support construction of an intermodal agricultural export facility by the DeLong Co. that will cover about 100 […]

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Washington state receives funding for Sound Transit station, rail improvements at Port of Benton

Light rail train arrives at station

WASHINGTON — A new Sound Transit light rail station and rail improvements at the Port of Benton in Richland, Wash., will receive more than $34 million in U.S. Department of Transportation grants, four members of the Washington State Democratic congressional delegation have announced. They were among four projects receiving more than $56 million under the […]

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FTA finalizes grant for Chicago’s Red Line Extension

Map illustrating new transit route.

WASHINGTON — The Federal Transit Administration has signed a grant agreement for $1.97 billion in funding for the 5.5-mile extension of the Chicago Transit Authority’s Red Line, the first line of the L system to reach the Far South Side. The extension is the largest single transit project in CTA history. The grant fulfills a […]

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Ceremony to honor UP crewmen killed in Pecos, Texas, crash

Union Pacific logo without slogan. UP Bailey Yard explosion appear to be accidental.

PECOS, Texas — A ceremony to honor the two Union Pacific crew members killed in the Dec. 18 grade-crossing accident and derailment will be held in Pecos on Sunday, Jan. 19. Engineer Clay Burt, 63, and conductor Phillip Araujo, 47, were killed when their train hit a truck with an oversized load at a grade […]

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FRA awards more than $1.1 billion for grade crossing improvements

Black, gray and yellow locomotive and slug with string of freight cars

WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration today announced more than $1.1 billion in grants for projects to improve, eliminate, or study grade crossings, funding 123 projects that will address more than 1,000 crossings nationwide. That announcement came at the same time the FRA announced more than $146 million in funding to improve passenger service on […]

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Maine DOT selects Maine Switching Services as Rockland Branch operator

Single railroad track in small town.

AUGUSTA, Maine — Maine Switching Services, the freight operator on the state-owned Belfast & Moosehead Lake Railroad, has been selected by the Maine Department of Transportation to operate and maintain the state’s Rockland Branch, a 57-mile former Maine Central line. However, a pilot program to test passenger service on the route, in coordination with the […]

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Ontario premier calls for Toronto-area freight bypass to allow commuter rail expansion

Diagram of proposed rail bypass in Toronto area

TORONTO — Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling for development of a freight rail bypass to the west of Toronto that he says would allow “significant, longer-term expansion” of GO Transit commuter rail service in the region. In a letter today (Jan. 9, 2025) to the chairman of provincial transit agency Metrolinx, posted on X.com, […]

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Florida’s SunRail moves to local funding

Commuter train at station

ORLANDO — The SunRail commuter service, funded and operated by Florida’s Department of Transportation since its opening in 2014, is locally funded as of Jan. 1. Spectrum News reports the local members of the governing Central Florida Commuter Rail Commission — Volusia, Seminole, Orange, and Osceola counties, and the city of Orlando — authorized the […]

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New transload terminal planned for Uinta Basin crude

Logo of Savage Services

SALT LAKE CITY — Multifaceted supply chain company Savage will develop a new transload facility for crude-by-rail movement from Utah’s Uintah Basin, the company announced Wednesday (Jan. 8, 2025). The terminal, near Wellington in Carbon County, will unload the basin’s wax crude from tanker trucks into two heated tanks, after which it will be located […]

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Border agency seeks to close security gaps on rail exports to Canada, Mexico

Train on bridge approaching small building covering tracks

WASHINGTON — Federal regulators will attempt to close security gaps on the U.S. rail system for exports destined for Mexico and Canada through a new rulemaking by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The proposed rule, posted Wednesday, Jan. 8., would require the electronic transmission of rail export cargo manifest data, including an initial filing 24 […]

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