NC Transportation Museum receives state funds to renovate Spencer Shops Powerhouse

one-story brick building with scaffolding in front of it

SPENCER, N.C. — The N.C. Transportation Museum will receive $10 million in state funding to complete the renovation of the Spencer Shops Powerhouse, the second oldest building on the shop complex that dates to 1896, and to restore the Car Shed to house the museum’s passenger cars. An additional $280,000 will go to replace lost […]

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CSX Transportation celebrates Carolina Connector intermodal terminal opening

Men in a line cutting ribbon to celebrate new intermodal facility dig

ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. — CSX hosted North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, N.C. Department of Transportation officials, and others at the official ribbon-cutting today for the $160 million Carolina Connector, the newest intermodal terminal on the CSX network. Strategically located northeast of Raleigh, N.C., with easy access to Interstate 95, the new CCX terminal will help […]

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First public excursions for Florida 4-6-2 steam locomotive set for December

Sugar Express promotion graphic for 2021

CLEWISTON, Florida — On December 11th, The Santa Express will deliver gifts to Toys for Tots organizations and local families in need. Special stops with Sugar Express No. 148 and Santa Claus are planned in Glades, Highlands, Hendry, Palm Beach, and Martin Counties. “This is our second year operating The Santa Express and we couldn’t […]

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CSX building Transflo terminal at site of Tilford Yard in Atlanta

Aerial view of construction work at site of former rail yard

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — When CSX Transportation CEO Jim Foote ordered the hump bulldozed at Tilford Yard in December 2017, he proclaimed, “Atlanta hump yard today is flat. There is no turning back.” But there is moving forward: CSX is building a transload center on a portion of the former site of Tilford Yard, one of […]

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Analysis: CSX, NS guard status quo in Gulf Coast filing

Freight train with blue and yellow engine leaving main line

MOBILE, Ala. — In a filing with the Surface Transportation Board earlier this month, CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern asserted the railroads’ freight operation will suffer a “catastrophic meltdown” if Amtrak is allowed to add two daily passenger round trips between New Orleans and Mobile. Yet the 277-page “opening evidence” document by the two carriers […]

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Port of Savannah opens second part of Mason Mega Rail project

Blue cranes straddling railroad tracks

SAVANNAH, Ga. — The second portion of the Port of Savannah’s Mason Mega Rail Terminal is now in operation, increasing intermodal capacity at the port by more than 30%. The second phase of the project adds nine new tracks to nine that opened in 2020 as part of a project that, overall, has added more […]

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Doug Karhan, former NS steam master mechanic, dies

IRONDALE, Ala. — Doug Karhan, who was master mechanic of steam for Norfolk Southern from 1982 to the close of excursions in 1994, has died. Karhan, who began as a volunteer, became assistant to the late Bill Purdie. He died Thursday, those close to him tell Trains News Wire. No other details were immediately available. […]

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Norfolk Southern opens new headquarters

Office building at night

ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern has opened its new headquarters building in Atlanta following a Wednesday ceremony featuring Gov. Brian Kemp, Sen. Raphael Warnock, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, NS employees, and city civic and business leaders. The 750,000-square-foot building is on a 3.4-acre campus in Tech Square, featuring two glass towers connected with a campus-style hub; […]

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CSX offers scorching response to Amtrak request to compel cooperation

Station platform, with tracks running under building

WASHINGTON — Amtrak’s request for cooperation from CSX has received a harsh response from the freight railroad. A CSX filing with the Surface Transportation Board says the passenger railroad is seeking “unrestrained access” to the route of proposed service between New Orleans and Mobile, Ala., and wants “a blank check to perform whatever work it […]

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News photo: Brightline service returns

Passenger train on curve with city skyline in background

MIAMI, Fla. — After an absence of about 20 months, Brightline service resumed between Miami and West Palm Beach, Fla., on Monday, with the passenger operator offering discount fares, gearing up its door-to-door service plan [see “‘Brightline+’ app to enable door-to-door trip ticketing,” Trains News Wire, Oct. 27, 2021]. Opening-day service was marred by a […]

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Nashville Steam to host open house for No. 576 project

Boiler of disassembled steam locomotive

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Nashville Steam Preservation Society’s fall 2021 open house will be this Saturday, Nov. 13, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Steam locomotive No. 576, formerly on display in Nashville’s Centennial Park for more than 60 years, has been undergoing a complete mechanical overhaul at the Tennessee Central Railway Museum since March […]

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Regional Rail to operate Port Manatee Railroad

Blue and yellow genset locomotive with freight cars

PALMETTO, Fla. — Pennsylvania-based Regional Rail LLC has signed an agreement to operate the short line at Port Manatee in Palmetto, Fla. The agreement runs through at least 2036 with options through 2051. The railroad, which began operation in 1970, includes more than 7 miles of track with a connection to CSX Transportation. It has […]

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