Trains içinde April 2026 için içindekiler tablosu

HARD-CHARGING UNION PACIFIC CEO Jim Vena has had the railroad’s proposed acquisition of Norfolk Southern in Notch 8 since the $85 billion deal was announced in July 2025. For months he has touted the transcontinental merger as a regulatory slam dunk, arguing that it would be good for shippers, the economy, and rail labor, as well as competition between railroads and trucks. And he pushed to have the UP-NS merger application filed with the Surface Transportation Board as soon as possible and reviewed on a tight schedule. But the STB put up a red signal on Jan. 16, when it rejected as incomplete the 6,692-page merger application that UP and NS submitted on Dec. 19. The rejection does not stop the merger — and regulators pointed out that their decision…

CANADIAN PACIFIC 4-6-4 HUDSON NO. 2816 is in fine form on May 9, 2024, as she accelerates along the Canadian Pacific Kansas City main line on the outskirts of Elgin, Ill., en route from Calgary, Alberta, to Mexico City in celebration of the CP-KCS merger. Photographer Larry Gross was in the passenger seat and Jason Hilsenbeck was at the wheel when serendipity struck along Route 31. In this pace shot, the 1930 Montreal Locomotive Works product is all business: Attentive crew, clean stack, rods and 75-inch drivers ablur, and 45,254 pounds of tractive effort urging the train toward the Quad Cities. But the Empress, as she’s dubbed, is a study in elegance, too: The polished brass bell, spotless gray boiler and cylinder jackets, and Tuscan Red sash along the running…

Two dozen new trains — evenly split between intermodal and merchandise train pairs — will carry the lion’s share of the traffic growth that Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern claim will flow from tying their networks together into a transcontinental system. The railroads say the proposed merger will take more than 2 million trucks off the road annually within three years, boosting the combined system’s traffic by 1.4 million intermodal loads and 425,000 carloads. That translates into an 11% jump in volume. “This merger is fundamentally about growth … The combination delivers what shippers repeatedly say they want and what the data consistently show they choose when available: seamless, efficient, end-to-end rail service with a single carrier accountable for the full move,” the railroads told the Surface Transportation Board in…

APPEARING BEFORE RAIL CUSTOMERS at a Chicago-area conference in January, the CEOs of CPKC, BNSF, and Union Pacific agreed on one aspect of the UP-Norfolk Southern merger: Shippers should express their views to the regulators who will decide the merger’s fate. Beyond that, the Midwest Association of Rail Shippers winter meeting in Schaumburg, Ill., illustrated the significant divide between opinions of the proposed deal. It is either a potential disaster for the rail industry that will eliminate options for shippers — or a boon to the entire economy, a driver of efficiency that will bring more competition and take trucks off the road. The two-day debate — dubbed “Fight Club” by independent analyst Anthony B. Hatch — may not have clarified the matter for shippers, given the sharply conflicting views…

MODERN NORTH AMERICAN SIX-AXLE freight railroad locomotives are characterized by a variety of similar-looking safety cabs. While appearances reveal little about how these locomotives work or how they differ from one another, to a trained observer the sounds provide clues to their inner workings. Have you noticed that Wabtec’s Tier 4 Evolution Series locomotives sound markedly different from either the older General Electric models from which they were derived, or traditional EMD locomotives? (In 2019, after GE developed and began production of the Tier 4, GE sold its locomotive division to Wabtec.) This difference is due to the distinctive technological advances of the Wabtec Tier 4. What do these sounds tell you? In a diesel engine’s combustion pattern, we describe each piston motion (or stroke) as a cycle. A two-cycle…

FOLLOWING THE COMPLETION of a year-long cosmetic restoration, American Freedom Train locomotive No. 1 was unveiled to the public in a Jan. 12 ceremony at the B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore. The engine pulled the American Freedom Train in the Northeast during its 1975-76 tour commemorating the Declaration of Independence and celebrating the nation’s bicentennial. “The American Freedom Train and the locomotive that pulled it, the AFT No. 1, were a touring museum carrying artifacts representing the best of our country,” said Kris Hoellen, museum executive director. “Today, we are honoring this great nation and the mode of transportation that made the Freedom Train possible — the railroad, which is celebrating 200 years in 2027. The AFT No. 1 serves as a bridge connecting these two important anniversaries.” For the…

“How long do you plan to stay in Canada?” “About 16 hours.” The Canadian immigration officer was surprised I had flown in just to take a train back to the United States. After a few more questions, he decides that I am odd instead of a threat and waves me in. Vancouver, British Columbia, is the starting point of a 33-train, five-day odyssey down the West Coast, starting at the fringes of Vancouver and ending at the Mexican border south of San Diego. This sequel to a similar East Coast trip [“Maine to Miami using 55 trains,” March 2025] comes as nearly every transit system warns of steep cutbacks due to the expiration of COVID-related relief funding. This may have been a final snapshot before big changes. DAY 1 BIG…

IF THE MERGER GETS A GREEN SIGNAL, UP and NS envision that 237 locomotives initially will be added to the 2,300 currently in storage because of efficiencies created by reductions in interchange, yard touches, and trip scheduling. But based on growth projections, the combined railroad would need 1,096 additional locomotives by year three of the merger. The extra locomotives would come from the storage line and ongoing locomotive modernizations — not new purchases from Wabtec or Progress Rail, although NS announced the purchase of 40 Wabtec ES44ACs in January. Most surplus units will continue to be stored, although some older models may be sold, depending on market conditions, the railroads said. UP has 28 locomotive and railcar maintenance facilities with 20 or more employees. NS has 24 such shops. Four of…

FLORIDA’S BRIGHTLINE SHOWED PROMISING revenue growth in the two months following an October revamp of its operating strategy. But its mounting debt load was a source of increasing concern among investors as it deferred the interest payments due Jan. 15 on private activity bonds. The company also made managerial changes, bringing in a former Eurostar executive as CEO of the Florida operation. The revenue boost came from increased premium-class seating on its Orlando trains and additional customers making use of more frequent West Palm Beach-Miami service. At the beginning of October, the company moved away from hourly service between South Florida and Orlando. It now generally offers one departure every other hour while boosting Miami-West Palm Beach frequencies. With 10 more premium-class coaches in service, the additional higher-priced tickets from…

THE VALHALLA, A 1924 CANADIAN NATIONAL coach, has become another first for the Colebrookdale Railroad of Boyertown, Pa. The car is now a one-of-a-kind, barrier-free, sensory-friendly classroom on rails. “For 15 years, our nonprofit has established a record of doing things differently in service to our community and economic development mission,” says Nathaniel Guest, executive director of the Colebrookdale Railroad Preservation Trust. “The Valhalla fits squarely in that nonconformist tradition.” Tourist railways often are not able to offer experiences to thousands of passengers with disabilities, including mobility issues and sensory disorders, Guest says. The Valhalla features a large baggage style door for ease of access. The car interior has more open space, allowing passengers to move about more easily. For sensory needs, it features improved sound insulation and an enhanced suspension…

On Sept. 27, 2024, the CSX Blue Ridge Subdivision, once the south end of the Clinchfield Railroad, was inundated by a record-breaking 1,000-year flood. After several days of torrential rain, then a direct hit by Hurricane Helene, 60 miles of the route were severely damaged or destroyed. Many thought it was the end of the line for the storied railroad. But within one year, CSX had the Blue Ridge Sub back in service, rebuilt stronger than ever. This accomplishment was even more consequential since CSX was managing two major infrastructure projects simultaneously and as a result was operating its network without a pair of important north-south corridors. HURRICANE HELENE Helene dumped record amounts of rain over eastern Tennessee, western North Carolina, and southern Virginia, causing catastrophic flooding along the Nolichucky…

Rebuilt 530-foot Poplar Bridge — four of six 95-foot spans salvaged and reused // Drainage system upgraded throughout the Nolichucky River gorge // Over 570,000 man-hours worked…