News Wire No. 1 story of 2021: CP, CN battle for Kansas City Southern

Two Canadian Pacific locomotives and one from Kansas City Southern on a train

The Battle for Kansas City Southern, culminating in Canadian Pacific’s triumph over Canadian National, is Trains’ top railroading story of the year. (Editor’s note: This may have seemed like a foregone conclusion, but balloting was close, with this story receiving just one more first-place vote and nine more points than the No. 2 story.) Stage […]

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U.S. rail traffic sees slow week

Weekly table showing carload rail traffic by commodity, plus intermodal traffic

WASHINGTON — In a week when overall traffic dropped because of the Christmas holiday, U.S. railroads saw intermodal traffic approach 2020 levels for the first time in months. The latest statistics from the Association of American Railroads, for the week ending Dec. 25, U.S. rail traffic totaled 201,222 carloads — up 8.7% over the same […]

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News Wire Top 10 Stories of 2021: The runners-up

Steam locomotive at speed with freight train while another train waits in the distance.

What has been railroading’s top story in 2021? Today, we begin the process of answering that question, as determined in balloting by the Trains editorial staff, Classic Trains editor Brian Schmidt (who spent most of the year on our staff), and key News Wire contributors. Balloting concluded on Dec. 10. We’ll be recapping stories each […]

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UP plans work on Houston’s Englewood Yard in early 2022

Union Pacific logo with Building America slogan

HOUSTON — Union Pacific will continue work on upgrading Englewood Yard in Houston in early 2022, with two projects in January and February. The railroad informed customers it will install a new signal system throughout the yard Jan. 9-13. While UP says it will have additional staff on hand to mitigate delays, it says some […]

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Chicago Great Western Railway locomotives

Red and black diesel locomotives parked on curve

All through December, Classic Trains editors are celebrating the Midwest’s Chicago Great Western Railway. Please enjoy this photo gallery of CGW freight trains selected from the image archives of Kalmbach Media’s David P. Morgan Library. The CGW was considered one of the Granger railroads of the Midwest linking Chicago, St. Paul, and Kansas City. It […]

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Chicago Great Western Railway freight trains

Red diesel locomotives lead freight train on straight track

Classic Trains editors are celebrating the history and heritage of the Chicago Great Western Railway all through December 2021. Please enjoy this photo gallery selected from the archives of Kalmbach Media’s David P. Morgan Library. The Chicago Great Western was an agriculturally oriented Granger road linking Chicago, Kansas City, Omaha, and St. Paul. Those cities, […]

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Retired exec says Precision Scheduled Railroading gets a bad rap — Analysis

Train passing under signal bridge

Precision Scheduled Railroading has become a target for members of Congress, federal regulators, shippers, and rail labor. Hunter Harrison’s low-cost operating model — in place on all of the Class I railroads except BNSF Railway — has come under criticism as rail traffic has rebounded from pandemic lows. Intermodal terminals faced monumental congestion this summer. […]

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Chicago Great Western passenger trains

A distant black and white photo of a train passing by

  All through December 2021, Classic Trains is celebrating the Chicago Great Western Railway. Please enjoy this image gallery of CGW passenger trains selected from Kalmbach Media’s David P. Morgan Library and first published in December 2016. Only from Trains.com! […]

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Analysis: Do railroad mergers match their rosy growth projections?

Red, yellow, and black locomotive at grade crossing

Do railroad mergers live up to the hype? It’s a question that’s been rattling around in my head as federal regulators review the Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger, the first between Class I railroads in two decades. First, the projections. Within three years of the merger, Canadian Pacific Kansas City expects to gain 80,000 carloads […]

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Progress Rail plant in Mayfield, Ky., back in operation after tornado strikes community

Progress Rail logo

MAYFIELD, Ky. — With all employees safe and accounted for, Progress Rail resumed operations at its Mayfield, Ky., plant earlier this week, according to a company spokeswoman. Mayfield was one of the Western Kentucky communities heavily damaged during last week’s series of tornadoes that struck a six-state area. Eight people were killed at a candle […]

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Chicago Great Western Railroad history

Steam locomotive with freight train in urban setting

Chicago Great Western Railroad history introduction Chicago Great Western Railroad history traces its roots to A.B. Stickney, who early in his adult life entered the railroad business, set to link St. Paul with Chicago. He took the legal assets of the moribund Minnesota & Northwestern Railroad, and in 1884 pushed a line under that banner […]

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