Fire chief calls it a ‘miracle’ crew in Maine derailment wasn’t more seriously injured

View of damaged track and derailed train

ROCKWOOD, Maine — A fire chief involved in the response of Saturday’s CPKC derailment in a remote area of northern Maine says it was an ‘absolute miracle’ the three crew members were not more seriously injured. The three crew members were reported to have suffered minor injuries in a derailment and fire involving three locomotives […]

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Iowa mixed train

20180423

Smack in the middle of the Hawkeye State, Minneapolis & St. Louis 2-6-0 No. 310 crosses the Skunk River with train 342, the return leg of the daily mixed from Marshalltown to Story City, Iowa, in mid-1946. The spindly bridge near Roland necessitated the use of light motive power on the Story City Branch. William F. […]

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Three hurt as CPKC train derails in Maine

Aerial view of derailment in Maine

ROCKWOOD, Maine — Three crew members were reported to have suffered minor injuries after a CPKC freight train derailed and caught fire early today (Saturday, April 15) apparently as a result of a track washout, Reuters reports. Maine’s Forest Service said three locomotives and six railcars carrying lumber and electrical wiring derailed north of Rockwood, […]

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Trains LIVE — Stay bolts

Two men looking at a steam locomotive firebox under restoration.

Trains LIVE — Stay bolts — 4-15-2023 — Back in our March 15, 2023 episode we visited Spec Machine in Middleton, Wis., for an update on Chicago & North Western steam locomotive No. 1385. The Mid-Continent Railway Museum (North Freedom, Wis.) holds this steam locomotive in their collection and is restoring it to operation. As […]

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Ask Trains.com compilation April 2023

Ask Trains.com compilation April 2023: An image of two men sitting at a table

In the Ask Trains.com compilation for April, Cody is joined by Model Railroader‘s Bryson Sleppy to discuss how trackside detectors transmit defects, which railroad built the CSX line in Chesterton, Indiana, and answer questions such as why some Canadian National cars spell “Canadian” with an E, the fate of Branchline Trains, and why some Electro-Motive […]

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CPKC unveils new logo on first day as a merged system

Canadian Pacific Kansas City, the first railroad to link Canada, the U.S., and Mexico, made its debut today and unveiled its new logo and website. Officials from Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern will celebrate the historic merger at a final spike ceremony scheduled for 10 a.m. today at Knoche Yard in Kansas City, Mo., […]

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More Midwest Venture cars enter service; California still waits

Train with four matching Siemens Venture passenger cars

Second of two parts CHICAGO — The introduction of Venture business/coach cars on some state-supported Amtrak routes in the Midwest reflects an increase in availability of the Siemens-built equipment, delayed by a variety of production and acceptance issues. Meanwhile, there is still no firm date for the introduction of California’s Venture equipment, although a spokesman […]

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PATH to begin use of new railcars

Rapid-transit car with blue paint on front end

HOBOKEN, N.J. — The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey will begin operating the first of its 72 new PATH rail cars next week, the agency announced Thursday, and showed off some of the new cars. The Kawasaki-built cars, completed at a facility in Yonkers, N.Y., are being added to an existing 350-car […]

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Venture business-class cars debut in Midwest: Trip report

Interior of business-class car

First of two parts  CHICAGO — After being delayed for several years by production setbacks and acceptance issues, the first of 17 state-owned Siemens Venture business-class cars are now hosting passengers on Midwest Amtrak routes. They are not being advertised, however, and you only need a regular coach ticket to ride the cars. They feature […]

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