HAMBURG, N.Y. — The James E. Strates Shows carnival train made a triumphant final trip Thursday (Aug. 1) when it delivered midway attractions to the Erie County Fair via shortline Buffalo Southern. The nine-car train — which made its way from Strates headquarters in Taft, Fla., to Buffalo, N.Y., in CSX merchandise service last month […]
The Castleman River Railroad ran 13 miles from Bittinger, Md., to a connection with the Baltimore & Ohio at Worth, Pa. The road’s lone engine, a Consolidation leased from the B&O, rests at Grantsville, Md., while men unload a boxcar in September 1955. Philip R. Hastings photo […]
The Cass Scenic Railroad is logging locomotive central for the East Coast, rostering all three major types of geared steam locomotives. The railroad is based out of Cass, W.Va., where a former logging railroad was saved in the 1960s to become the Cass Scenic Railroad State Park to preserve the railroad for future generations. Come […]
Baldwin Locomotive Works built 2-6-6-2T No. 4 for Clover Valley Lumber Co. of Loyalton, Calif., in March 1924. Shown here in 1950, it also served Feather River Lumber Co. at Loyalton, Calif., before going to the Pacific Locomotive Association in July 1973. Guy L. Dunscomb photo […]
HENDERSON, Texas — A $15 million project to rebuild a former Union Pacific branch line has been announced by the line’s owner, the Rusk County Rural Rail District, and the North East Texas Regional Mobility Authority. The Henderson-Overton Branch, an approximately 15-mile line connecting its two namesake communities, has been owned by the district since […]
HAMBURG, N.Y. — The James E. Strates Shows carnival train, the last of its kind, is scheduled to run to the Erie County Fairgrounds south of Buffalo, N.Y., on Thursday, Aug. 1. The train, which has been sidelined since the pandemic, is currently en route to Buffalo, N.Y., in regular merchandise service on CSX. Once […]
WASHINGTON — The Short Line Safety Institute has released a Federal Railroad Administration research results paper analyzing the 20 Safety Culture Assessments conducted on short line railroads in 2023, which identified five areas of strength across the railroads and five areas for improvement. “Our process for measuring safety culture is the most comprehensive and robust […]
BLUE RIDGE, Ga. — Patriot Rail’s Blue Ridge Scenic Railway today named its station in honor of retired CEO John Fenton. The railroad held a dedication ceremony to officially name the depot Fenton Station in recognition of Fenton’s contributions to the scenic railroad, as well as Patriot Rail’s more than 30 short lines. During his […]
MICHIGAN CITY, Ind. — The Chicago South Shore & South Bend Railroad has received 100 new coil steel cars from two manufacturers, each of which built 50 of the cars. The 48-foot, 115-ton capacity cars were built by The Greenbrier Cos. and National Steel Car, and expand the CSS car fleet to nearly 700 railcars. […]
MOBILE, Ala. — Amtrak appears to be on the verge of an agreement with the City of Mobile that finally will allow Gulf Coast passenger service to move forward. WALA-TV reports that a spokeswoman for Mayor Sandy Stimpson said the city and Amtrak had finalized language for a funding agreement for Mobile-New Orleans service and […]
PORT CLINTON, Pa. — The Reading & Northern has promoted Jolene Busher, who began with the company as a part-time passenger car attendant in 2007, to vice-president, real estate. Busher’s path to her current position promotions through the passenger department to become manager of the private car fleet for the Muller family, owners of the […]
PORT CLINTON, Pa. — Tickets for Reading & Northern’s 40th season of Fall Foliage passenger excursions will go on sale at 9 a.m. ET on Monday, July 22. Five weekends of excursions — featuring diesel and steam power — will run to Jim Thorpe, Pa., originating from Reading, Pittston, and Pottsville, from Saturday, Oct. 5, […]
