SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Ian Choudri will be the new CEO of the California High-Speed Rail Authority, the agency’s board of directors announced after a closed-session meeting today (Aug. 8, 2024). Choudri, currently senior vice president for consulting firm HNTB, has more than 30 years in transportation, including work on high speed rail projects in France […]
MOUNT UNION, Pa. — East Broad Top Railroad’s last remaining standard-gauge 0-6-0 switcher, a 1923 Baldwin Locomotive Works engine, on Wednesday left the only place it has called home for 101 years aboard a specialized heavy-haul low-boy trailer. The 68-ton locomotive is destined for display at a park in Red Bay, Ala., more than 800 […]
RED OAK, Iowa — The driver of a crew transport vehicle was injured today (Aug. 8, 2024) when his vehicle was hit by a railcar from a BNSF derailment. The Montgomery County Emergency Management Agency reports that the county communications center received a report of a derailment at 6:05 a.m. Emergency crews that responded found […]
WASHINGTON — On-board workers with Florida’s Brightline have filed to form a union, the Transport Workers Union of America has announced. The workers made the filing today (Thursday, Aug. 8) with the National Mediation Board, the government agency that handles labor relations with railroads and the airline industry under the Railway Labor Act. Workers involved […]
Trains Bob Lettenberger’s pick: Union Pacific No. 4014 — Big Boy — 2022 Cheyenne-Denver trip Name of train: Big Boy The route: Round trip Cheyenne, Wyo. — the home base for UP’s steam program, and Denver’s Union Station. I got to ride in Big Boy’s cab traveling north from Greeley, Colo., to Cheyenne. Duration: The […]
MONTREAL — VIA Rail Canada’s “Lumi” trainset — a Siemens Venture train painted yellow in homage to the passenger operator’s TurboTrain equipment of the past — is now in operation in Ontario-Quebec corridor service. The one-of-a-kind trainset was introduced at a media event last month [see “VIA Rail Canada unveils specially painted corridor trainset,” Trains […]
NORTH SIOUX CITY, S.D. — BNSF Railway is planning to use controlled blasting for the demolition of the bridge over the Big Sioux River that collapsed in flooding in June, KTLV-TV reports. The railroad has obtained the necessary local permits to conduct the blasting, but still needs a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of […]
NORTHAMPTON, Pa. — The Lehigh Valley Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society/Railroad Historians of the Lehigh Valley are hosting an “Alco Seminar” on Saturday, Sept. 21, at the Northampton Event Center. The event will feature speakers who had a hand in the design and operation of Alcos, officials from railroads with Alco power, and […]
WASHINGTON — U.S. rail traffic was up in July compared to the same month in 2023, the sixth straight month of gains in volume, according to statistics from the Association of American Railroads. Traffic for the week ending Aug. 3 was also ahead of the same week a year ago. The monthly figures show U.S. […]
ESSEX, Conn. — The Valley Railroad Co. will be the site of a two-day photography event Oct. 8-9 featuring the heritage railroad’s steam locomotives. Steam Charters, hosted by Dak Dilon Photography, is organizing the event. Plans for Oct. 8 call for a freight train from Old Saybrook to Goodspeed station to be pulled by Valley […]
Rail shipper groups say the poor on-time performance of all 15 Amtrak long-distance trains — which prompted the Justice Department to file a lawsuit last week against Norfolk Southern for its handling of the Crescent — is merely a reflection of Class I railroad freight operations. “This is a symptom of freight rail network capacity […]
Across Ireland I like relatively short rail journeys — trips of less than 3 hours or hops where multiple short trips are combined. I’ve also made all-rail escapades that have gone on for weeks. To make the most of our recent rail-themed trip to Ireland, my wife Kris and I mixed it up; we traveled […]
