Oakland Pier The California Zephyr’s signature sleeper-observation-dome car, complete with neon tail sign, gleams in Southern Pacific’s Oakland Pier station 10 minutes before departure on June 15, 1958. John C. Illman photo […]
Oakland Pier
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Stopping up traffic on the Illinois Central during World War II
It was a warm, sunny day in May 1942. I was a stenographer-clerk in Missouri Pacific’s Traffic Department at Poplar Bluff, Mo. I recently had enlisted in the Army Air Corps, passed their aptitude tests for Aviation Cadet, and was waiting to be called for training. My boss, Mr. Waldo Ahrens, was out in […]
Locomotive news: First New Brunswick Southern Railway locomotive refurbished
PADUCAH, Ky. — New Brunswick Southern Railway SD70M-2, the first of six locomotives slated to be refurbished for the Canadian railroad, awaits departure from the Paducah & Louisville yard on June 26, 2021, following the completion of work by Progress Rail at its Mayfield, Ky., facility. New Brunswick Southern is one of three J.D. Irving […]
Minnesota DOT awards funding to seven rail projects
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Seven projects will receive a total of $4.05 million in grants from the Minnesota Department of Transportation under its Minnesota Rail Service Improvement program. The seven, chosen from 21 applicants, were selected for their ability to aid economic development throughout the state. “The number of applicants for the 2021 MRSI grants […]
KCS to partner with Texas firm on new petroleum transloading facility
KANSAS CITY — Kansas City Southern and Midstream Texas Operating are combining to build a new transload facility for petroleum and petrochemical products in Corpus Christi, Texas, for shipment into Mexico, the companies announced this week. The facility will be built by MTO on property leased from KCS. When operations begin, which is expected to […]
Scenic views
Scenic views Curved windows along the edge of the roof give the Santa Fe El Capitan’s Hi-Level lounges a bright, airy feeling; a smaller lounge-buffet is below. Budd Co. photo […]
Analysis: Are trailers reaching the end of the intermodal road?
Intermodal analyst Larry Gross has gone out on a limb. In his latest “Intermodal in Depth” report, Gross predicts the demise of TOFC, or trailer on flatcar service, within the next four years. In some ways, this shouldn’t be a surprise. Trailers have become a smaller and smaller part of the intermodal world as […]
Cody’s Trackside Finds
If you’ve been trackside in the past five or six years, you’ve probably noticed blue metal signs at grade crossings. These are called Emergency Notification System signs, or ENS for short. The top two lines of the sign read “Report problem or emergency.” Hazard may be used in place of problem in some instances. Below […]
California budget would provide $20 million to help transit agency recover from shooting
SAN JOSE, Calif. — The State of California is planning to provide $20 million to the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority to help the agency recover from the May shooting in which nine VTA light rail workers were killed by another employee. The San Jose Spotlight reports the funding — included in budget bills making […]
Colorado governor signs bill creating tax district for passenger rail
PUEBLO, Colo.— Efforts to create a passenger rail service along Colorado’s densely populated corridor between Fort Collins and Pueblo took a major step forward Wedneday, as Gov. Jared Polis has signed the bill creating a special taxation district to help fund the project. Senate Bill 238 does not guarantee funding for the project, as state […]
Weekly rail traffic figures show carloads with biggest gain over 2020
WASHINGTON — U.S. freight volume for the week ending June 26 remained well ahead of figures for the same week a year earlier, while also showing a small uptick from previous-week figures. Statistics from the Association of American Railroads show that U.S. railroads moved 516,167 carloads and intermodal units for the week, a 12.4% increase […]
Shipping container
Shipping container New York Central (and subsidiary Michigan Central) had a large fleet of steel auto cars by the early 1920s. These had 10-foot door openings with 6- and 4-foot platesteel doors. New York Central photo […]
