PORT CLINTON, Pa. — Reading & Northern 4-8-4 No. 2102 will mark its return to service following a six-year, $1.45 million rebuild by pulling freight, according to railroad owner and CEO Andrew M. Muller Jr. Muller told Trains News Wire that he expects the engine to break in on R&N freight trains in mid-March. Four […]
ROCKLAND, Maine — New York’s Finger Lakes Railway has proposed offering daily passenger train service between Rockland and Brunswick, Maine, to provide a connection to Amtrak’s Downeaster. The Courier-Gazette of Camden, Maine, reports the company made the proposal at a Monday meeting of the Northern New England Rail Passenger Authority, which oversees Downeaster operations. The […]
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Sam Sexhus, a veteran of more than 25 years in Class I railroading, has been named as president and chief operating officer of short line company Patriot Rail. “Patriot Rail is experiencing tremendous growth, and Sam Sexhus’ leadership will enable the company to further solidify our shortline railroad footprint in the U.S.,” […]
WASHINGTON — Short line holding company R.J. Corman plans to operate 154 miles of Norfolk Southern branches through a combination of acquisitions and leases in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Virginia. R.J. Corman’s Knoxville & Cumberland Gap Railroad will acquire 112 miles of NS lines, including the Jellico Line from Clinton, Tenn., to Lot, Ken., and from […]
WALLA WALLA, Wash. — A runaway tank car reportedly reached speeds of up to 50 mph on a trip of more than 15 miles Tuesday before finally being stopped when it reached an upgrade, the Walla Walla Union Bulletin reports. The GATX tank car broke loose from a Columbia-Walla Walla Railway train in Walla Walla […]
Watco short line railroads will begin operating former Canadian National branches in the Badger State, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and Ontario in the next week. On Jan. 29, Watco will begin operations on the 328.5-mile Fox Valley & Lake Superior in Wisconsin, as well as the 142.6 miles of trackage on the Upper Peninsula […]
NORTH CREEK, N.Y. — A 30-mile stretch of track last operated by the defunct Saratoga & North Creek will be auctioned off as part of bankruptcy proceedings, opening the possibility of its return to operation. The Albany Times-Union reports an initial bid of $700,000 has already been received from Revolution Rail, which has operated a […]
PORT CLINTON, Pa. — Railroad Historians of the Lehigh Valley and the Lehigh Valley Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society are sponsoring a branchline excursion using Reading & Northern’s Budd RDCs on Saturday, April 23. The fundraising trip will cover Reading & Northern’s main line and branches, which include trackage from the Reading, Jersey […]
BNSF Railway is taking back Montana Rail Link’s lease on the former Northern Pacific main line across Montana and Idaho for one simple reason: To control its own destiny. In recent years the growth-minded BNSF has made significant capacity investments on its routes to and from the Pacific Northwest. To the east of MRL, BNSF […]
WASHINGTON — A Housatonic Railroad employee was killed in an October 2020 accident because he attempted to walk into a limited-clearance area and was struck by a moving track excavator, the National Transportation Safety Board determined in a newly released accident report. The accident occurred on Oct. 14, 2020, in North Canaan, Conn., killing a […]
FILLMORE, Calif. — Sierra Northern locomotives roll through Fillmore today (Thursday, Jan. 20) on their first day operating on the former Southern Pacific Santa Paula branch in Ventura County. Sierra Northern is the new contract operator on the county-owned line, formerly home of the Fillmore & Western. Sierra Northern want to rehab the line for […]
PETALUMA, Calif. — Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit has made a short-term deal for a contractor operator for freight service while it prepares to launch an in-house freight operation. The Santa Rosa Press-Democrat reports the SMART board of directors on Wednesday approved a $395,000, three-month contract for Summit Signal to provide interim operation to customers currently […]
