This coal hopper, seen in Butler, Wis., has a main body built from aluminum and a center sill made of steel. Freight-car makers use non-conductive materials to separate the metals and prevent galvanic corrosion. Steve Sweeney Q There are aluminum-body Talgos and aluminum-body coal cars, both with steel center sills. High school chemistry teaches that […]
NEW YORK — The Federal Railroad Administration will continue to move forward with its proposed rule requiring two-person locomotive crews despite the changing political climate in Washington and mounting criticism from the rail industry. President-elect Donald Trump has promised to reduce government regulations. But elections don’t change the FRA’s mission of improving safety, Robert Lauby, […]
Electric and diesel locomotives’ top speeds are governed by gear ratios and safe operations, like this Union Pacific westbound near Franklin Grove, Ill. Brian Schmidt Q What determines the theoretical top speed of a diesel locomotive? Is it the gear ratio? What other factors enter in? – Mike Pedersen, North Berwick, Maine A The maximum […]
A loaded CSX coal train spans Pool Point trestle en route to Erwin, Tenn., from Shelby Yard in Pikeville, Ky. Chase Gunnoe Eastern Kentucky rail lines and Interstate highways Federal Railroad Administration Safety Map PIKEVILLE, Ky. — As U.S. coal traffic continues to slide, CSX Transportation is cutting further into its vast Appalachian rail network, […]
Jim McClellan Trains file photo VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Jim McClellan, a primary architect of North America’s modern railroad landscape, has died. McClellan was a life-long rail enthusiast who leveraged his passions for the benefit of the industry in the bankruptcy-riddled 1970s. Executives and planners relied on his knowledge of railroading and interpretations of maps […]
What’s in a picture? In this one, a brown-painted automatic equipment identification, or AEI, reader barely pokes out of a slope along a Conrail right-of-way in New Jersey. A company that installed this reader received a $195,000 fine from the Federal Communications Commissions for having incorrect licensing for tracking freight trains near rights-of-way. WASHINGTON D.C. […]
From the beginning of U.S. railroading, each railroad chose its own whistles that varied from high to low in pitch. Alex Mayes Q Have American steam engines always used a low-pitched or bass whistle, instead of a high-pitched whistle? – James Kelty, San Anselmo, Calif. A Steam whistles chosen by American railroads were almost always […]
Eastbound Providence & Worcester train NH-1 with B39-8 No. 3909 and B30-7A No. 3007 waits in the siding at Triebel interlocking at Guilford, Conn., for an eastbound Amtrak train to get by on June 15, 2009. Photo by Thomas Mik […]
WASHINGTON — Operation Lifesaver, Inc. is reaching out to top leadership at Subaru and its advertising agency on a new commercial that shows a woman and a man illegally riding in a boxcar. The national non-profit rail safety education group recently sent a letter to Subaru’s vice president of marketing asking the car manufacturer to […]
Not even another rainy day in Seattle could keep Charlie from further exploring BNSF’s Balmer Yard switching action. In this video postcard, you’ll get up-close views of flat switching, remote-control locomotives kicking cars, and rolling stock gliding down the hump! […]
Not even another rainy day in Seattle could keep Charlie from further exploring BNSF’s Balmer Yard switching action. In this video postcard, you’ll get up-close views of flat switching, remote-control locomotives kicking cars, and rolling stock gliding down the hump! […]
The Seattle-centric postcards continue with Charlie and MRVP’s Kent Johnson visiting the locomotive ready tracks at BNSF’s Balmer Yard. From a prime street-side vantage point, the two investigate an eclectic range of vintage Santa Fe and BN equipment, plus modern BNSF diesel power idling and working the site. […]
