The builders of the Central of Georgia Railway’s earliest predecessor lines, beginning in my hometown of Savannah, could not have imagined that their railroad would eventually extend across Georgia into Alabama, barely into Tennessee, and, briefly, just inside Florida. But they persisted in assembling smaller roads into “A Hand Full of Strong Lines,” a slogan […]
COCOA, Fla.— Brightline is scheduled begin higher-speed testing on another segment of its route to Orlando as of this Saturday, a 13-mile portion of track in north Brevard County that will see 79 mph testing beginning this Saturday and 110-mph testing in early 2023. During testing, flaggers will be stationed at a total of 18 […]
Near Robinson, La., southeast of Shreveport, four Texas & Pacific F7s and one GP7 power a westbound freight in early 1959. A. E. Brown photo […]
FORT MYERS, Fla. — The Seminole Gulf Railway, devastated by Hurricane Ian, is now estimating it will take $28 million to return the 105-mile railroad in southwest Florida to operation. WBBH-TV reports the railroad hosted government officials on Thursday in an effort to rally support for emergency funding, so the railroad can return to operation […]
MONTGOMERY, Ala — A Kentucky-based beverage firm has chosen a Montgomery site served by CSX Transportation for a new 180-acre, $600 million production and distribution facility for alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. The facility owned by the minority-owned Manna Capital Partners affiliate Manna Beverages & Ventures is expected to begin operations in early 2025. CSX assisted […]
Southern Railway GP7 129 heads a ballast-cleaning train in operation on the “Rathole Division” near Dry Ridge, Ky., in July 1971. William J. Husa Jr. photo […]
CHARLESTON, S.C. — South Carolina Ports has broken ground on a new near-dock rail facility, the Navy Base Intermodal Facility in North Charleston, to bolster the competitive position of the Port of Charleston. The facility is about a mile from the port’s Leatherman Terminal; containers will move to and from the terminal on a dedicated […]
ORLANDO, Fla. — Commuter rail service SunRail will resume full operation to all 16 of its stations this Monday, Oct. 17, following repairs to its route to address flooding in the Kissimmee, Fla., area caused by Hurricane Ian. The approach of the hurricane and its immediate aftermath shut down SunRail from Sept. 27 to Oct. […]
MIAMI — With track damage caused by Hurricane Ian flooding in the Kissimmee, Fla., area repaired by CSX maintenance forces, Amtrak is restoring service beyond Jacksonville, Fla., to two New York-Florida trains this weekend. However, the addition of the second “Silver Service” train will result in a net loss of sleeping-car capacity. The Silver Meteor, […]
AVENTURA, Fla. — Brightline and contractor Lemartec have announced the topping off for the passenger operator’s new Aventura station, which occurred in the early-morning hours of Oct. 8 with the placement of a 131-foot-long pedestrian skybridge over the Harriet Tubman Highway (formerly West Dixie Highway) and the double-track Florida East Coast Railway main line used […]
Louisville & Nashville E7s 761 and 756 are ready to depart the road’s Canal Street Station, New Orleans, with the Humming Bird for Cincinnati sometime in the 1950s. L&NHS collection […]
FORT MYERS, Fla. — Aerial photos from Trains News Wire contributor Sol Tucker provide some indication of the extent of the damage sustained by southwest Florida’s Seminole Gulf Railway as a result of Hurricane Ian. The photos were taken Friday (Oct. 7). Railroad officials said earlier this week that at least a half-dozen bridges on […]
