R.J. Corman chief executive steps down

NICHOLASVILLE, Ky. — R.J. Corman Railroad Group CEO Ed Quinn is stepping down after nearly nine years at the helm of the short line and railroad services company. Quinn will remain on board during a transition period, the company announced yesterday, noting that it has launched a search for a new chief executive. “We very […]

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Cumberland & Knox runs first revenue train on Maine’s Rockland Branch

Train with red locomotive and covered hoppers curves through town

BRUNSWICK, Maine — New short line Cumberland & Knox made its debut last weekend, running its first train over a 56-mile,  state-owned former Maine Central branch that hadn’t seen any freight action at all in eight months. The move saw locomotive LTEX 1555, an ex-Canadian Pacific GP9u, pick up 12 covered hoppers from the CSX […]

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Regulators hit pause button on Watco’s acquisition of Great Lakes Central

Freshly painted blue diesel next to tree in full fall colors

WASHINGTON — Federal regulators want Watco to provide more information about its proposed acquisition of Michigan short line Great Lakes Central before they will allow the deal to proceed. Watco on March 6 sought to have the deal to acquire the 420-mile Great Lakes Central exempt from a Surface Transportation Board review, as is common […]

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Doug Tagsold’s Colorado & Southern in 1:72 scale

Doug Tagsold’s Colorado & Southern in 1:72 scale | Model Railroader Editor Eric White stops to visit with frequent MR contributor Doug Tagsold and his unique 40 x 52-foot 1:72 scale narrow gauge layout. The C&S Clear Creek District is a double-deck model railroad, set between Denver, Colo., and the Rocky Mountains during the 1920s. […]

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Supreme Court rules in favor of Uinta Basin Railway backers (updated)

WASHINGTON – The Surface Transportation Board’s environmental review of the proposed Uinta Basin Railway was proper, the U.S. Supreme Court said today in an 8-0 decision that overturns a lower court’s order that blocked construction of the 88-mile Utah railroad. The STB in December 2021 approved the project, noting that the transportation merits of the […]

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OmniTRAX named operator of the Port Muskogee Railroad

MUSKOGEE, Okla. — OmniTRAX has added a 30th railroad to its stable, the 8.1-mile Port Muskogee Railroad in the Sooner State. The short line holding company and Port Muskogee today announced that they have signed a railroad facilities operating agreement covering the inland port’s rail network. “OmniTRAX is excited to expand our Oklahoma rail service […]

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ASLRRA Jake Awards honor railroads with top safety records

Black, gray, and yellow locomotives lined up in yard

WASHINGTON – Nearly 400 railroads earned Jake Safety Awards from the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association – including 357 that had zero reportable injuries in 2024. To achieve a Jake Award, an ASLRRA member railroad must perform better than the average Federal Railroad Administration reportable injury frequency rate per 200,000 person-hours worked at […]

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High-pressure short line

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Alabama, Tennessee & Northern No. 11, a General Electric 45-ton center-cab diesel, switches high-pressure tank cars for a refinery on Blakely Island at Mobile, Ala. The railroad, which otherwise consisted of about 200 miles up the west side of the state, operated a car ferry and docks to reach this trackage. It was merged into […]

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Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway marks 20th anniversary

Passenger train with diesel locomotives at each end on curved bridge

JIM THORPE, Pa. — Memorial Day weekend marks the 20th anniversary of the Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway, the excursion operation of the Reading & Northern from Jim Thorpe to Lehigh Gorge State Park. Hour-long train rides from Jim Thorpe debuted on the holiday weekend in 2005, with three trips per day at 11 a.m., 1 […]

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NS expands interchange improvement program to all short line connections

Train with two black locomotives on spur

ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern has expanded its interchange improvement program to all of its short line connections in a bid to boost carload volume growth. NS sought to improve interchange consistency and reliability when it launched its Short Line Performance Project with 40 short lines last year. “It led to just absolutely above normal growth […]

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Michigan’s Old Road Dinner Train to relocate

Old Road Dinner Train logo

BLISSFIELD, Mich. — Michigan’s Old Road Dinner Train, based in Blissfield, must find a new home and new host railroad to operate on. This comes after exhausting options for continuous operations on the Adrian & Blissfield Railroad  in the wake of increased grain traffic to the short line, reports The Blade of Toledo, Ohio. “When […]

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Contract for short line service at ports of LA, Long Beach up for bid

Two trains meet along river while another crosses water on bridge

LONG BEACH, Calif. — The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are now accepting proposals from prospective operators of the short line railroad serving the two ports. Pacific Harbor Line has provided the service since 1998, the last time the contract was put out for bid. While the two ports are administered by the […]

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