Much progress has been made on BNSF’s second bridge across Lake Pend Oreille outside Sandpoint, Idaho. Rolling through on the existing 4,769-foot bridge (completed by Northern Pacific in 1904) on Sept. 5th is train H-BARPAS, a Barstow, Calif., to Pasco, Wash., manifest that detoured via Denver due to wildfire damage on BNSF’s route in northern […]
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army needs to act to ensure it is able to move equipment by rail in case of a large-scale mobilization, the Government Accountability Office says in a report issued earlier this month, and also needs to address widespread track issues with Army-controlled rail lines. A summary of the report is here, […]
ROCKHILL FURNACE, Pa. — Progress on the rebirth of the East Broad Top Railroad continues on multiple fronts as part of ongoing efforts since the narrow gauge railroad was acquired by the non-profit EBT Foundation in February 2020. Some updates: — Work continues on restoring 2-8-2 steam locomotive No. 16 (Baldwin, 1916) to service, possibly […]
Independent analyst Anthony B. Hatch is fond of saying that one of freight railroads’ enduring advantages is owning and maintaining their own infrastructure. Nothing could drive that point home better than the repair blitz that Union Pacific launched after its 1,200-foot Dry Canyon Bridge sustained heavy damage from a wildfire. The 150-foot-tall span in Hotlum, […]
Connaught Tunnel Observation cars afforded a fine view of the Canadian Pacific’s engineering landmarks. This August 1942 photo shows the west portal and ventilation equipment of Connaught Tunnel on Rogers Pass in British Columbia. Andre Morin photo […]
When it comes to buying used track, should you or shouldn’t you? While buying new track means a more pristine look, it also means more money. However, if you have the time, a more cost-efficient method is buying used track, since you can always clean it up to look like new. It only takes a […]
DALLAS — Dallas Area Rapid Transit has regularly sold off end-of-life buses or excess parcels of land. But this time the agency has a piece of railroading history on the market: a bridge. Removal of the bridge is required to accommodate DART’s new Silver Line Regional Rail project. Currently, the bridge is a single-track truss […]
BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has awarded Advanced Rail Management Corp. a four-year contract for optical rail measurement services. The contract also includes two option years. ARM will collect data on 173 track mile annually, with semi-annual testing of the light rail Green Line and annual testing of the rapid transit Red, Orange, […]
WASHINGTON — When President Joseph Biden touted the possibility of 1½ -hour trips between Washington, D.C., and New York in his April 30th address in Philadelphia for Amtrak’s 50th anniversary, he said elimination of three curves could potentially make that possible. That prompted Trains News Wire to follow up with Amtrak on the current engineering […]
Here are a few tips and tricks when working with MTH RealTrax: The two ground rails are not tied together. This is true for other track systems using non-metallic ties, including those from Atlas O and GarGraves. If you add a switch, you need to add a lockon and make sure it’s on the […]
Monday morning rail news: Start pushed back, cost estimate increased for Valley segment of California high speed route The California High-Speed Rail Authority has again reset the completion date and increased the estimated cost of the project. The Associated Press reports authority CEO Brian Kelly now says the 119-mile segment between Bakersfield and Madera in the Central […]
Tuesday morning rail news: Ontario short line train derails, demolishing vehicles, shed A reported runaway situation led to the derailment of a Goderich-Exeter Railway train on Monday in Goderich, Ontario, CTV News reports, demolishing a tractor-trailer, pickup truck, and shed before coming to a halt. An officer of the Ontario Provincial Police told the news […]
