A Metra train in west suburban Hinsdale. Brian Schmidt CHICAGO – A budget proposal by Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner would cut state aid for Chicago transit by $170 million, the Chicago Tribune reports. The hardest hit would be commuter rail operator Metra with a $20.8 million decrease in state funding, a decrease of about 60 […]
Oregon Coast Scenic along the Salmonberry Canyon. Martin E. Hansen SALEM, Ore. – In a case that captured the attention of Surface Transportation Board lawyers nationwide, the Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad won a pre-emption lawsuit against the state of Oregon and is set to resume work on the former Southern Pacific Tillamook Branch in the […]
NORFOLK, Va. – Norfolk Southern Corp. has named James A. Squires to succeed Charles W. “Wick” Moorman as CEO. The action by the company’s board of directors is part of its planned succession process and will be effective June 1, 2015. Squires will continue in his current capacity as president and with all major divisions […]
No. 3170 rests outside the paint shop at Debutts Yard in Chattanooga, Tenn., prior to its return to service. Norfolk Southern CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – Norfolk Southern has unveiled a new addition to its vaunted heritage fleet: Southern Railway SD40 No. 3170. The locomotive was recently saved from the back lot; rebuilt into operating condition at […]
PHILADELPHIA – Steam impresario Ross E. Rowland is promoting a steam-hauled exhibition train that he hopes will visit 125 cities and towns in the U.S. between 2017 and 2020. The idea is an updated version of his highly acclaimed 1975-1976 American Freedom Train. “It’s a clone of the Freedom Train,” Rowland says. That train, bearing […]
A 700-ton crane lifts lead SD70ACe locomotive No. 522 out of the icy Moisie River on Wednesday. Transportation Safety Board of Canada Finally on land, the locomotive shows the scars from its icy encounter. Transportation Safety Board of Canada SEPT-ILES, Quebec – The lead locomotive involved in a fatal November 2014 derailment on the Quebec […]
A photo illustration shows what No. 2132 might look like restored. Photo illustration by Ron Flanary BAINBRIDGE, Ga. – The Bainbridge city council has voted to transfer ownership of former Louisville & Nashville C-1 class 0-8-0 No. 2132 to the city of Corbin, Ky. Also included is former L&N caboose No. 30, built at South […]
ACL caboose No. 0635 shows off its fresh paint. North Carolina Transportation Museum SPENCER, N.C. – Volunteers from the North Carolina Transportation Museum have repainted former Atlantic Coast Line caboose No. 0635 to its original ACL orange scheme with black lettering. It is the second restored Atlantic Coast Line caboose at the museum. According to […]
No. 643 at McKees Rocks in summer 2014. Steve Glischinski PITTSBURGH – The saga of Bessemer & Lake Erie 2-10-4 No. 643, which has long languished in outdoor storage in McKees Rocks, may finally be coming to a close. According to a report in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, the locomotive may be put on display in […]
City of Ottawa OTTAWA, Ontario – Officials from local and national government agencies joined in Ottawa last week to unveil the future of transit with a full-sized mockup of the Alston Citadis Spirit light rail vehicle. The vehicle will be used on the O-Train Confederation Line, the backbone of Ottawa’s new light rail transit system. […]
New CN Tier 4 Credit User ES44AC No. 3028 leads a train south through Wisconsin on Jan. 29. Craig Douglas ERIE, Pa. – General Electric has begun shipping the first of its Tier 4 “Credit User” locomotives to customers this month. Both Canadian National and BNSF Railway are the first to receive new locomotives from […]
The last freight move over Crawford Notch, in 2009, drew hundreds of onlookers and railfans. Justin Franz CRAWFORD NOTCH, N.H. – More than three decades after the last Maine Central freight trains crossed the legendary Mountain Division over Crawford Notch, the New Hampshire Department of Transportation is looking to see if anyone is interested in […]
