Competition heats up under the English Channel By Keith Fender | November 27, 2023 Three companies indicate plans to offer service through Channel Tunnel Eurostar trains with the new branding are at London St. Pancras  station on Nov. 18, 2023.  Sharing capacity here for trains, but more crucially  passenger numbers,  will be a key issue for new operators. Keith Fender LONDON — Since the Channel Tunnel connecting Britain and France opened in 1994, a high speed passenger service operated by Eurostar has connected London, Paris and Brussels (extended to Amsterdam in 2018). Although competition on the route has been theoretically possible for decades, none has started — but this may be about to change as no less than three new operators are planning new services. In October, start-up high speed rail company Evolyn, based in Spain, announced it planned to order...

 

  Failed wheel bearing caused Kentucky derailment, CSX says By | November 27, 2023 Cleanup is complete; route reopens JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — CSX says a failed wheel bearing caused the Nov. 22 derailment that led to an evacuation of residents in Livington, Ky., on Thanksgiving. In a Sunday statement , the railroad said it has completed the removal of all 16 railcars involved in the incident that occurred about 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, and has completed removal of the spilled sulphur that caught fire and led to the evacuation [see “Evacuations reported after CSX derailment …,” Trains News Wire, Nov. 22, 2023]. Some 2,500 tons of soil impacted by the incident has been removed and replaced with clean material. Track repairs were expected to be completed by noon Sunday. The railroad also thanked Rockcastle County authorities for their work in response to the incident, as well as the...

 

  CSX unveils Atlantic Coast Line heritage locomotive By | November 27, 2023 The unit, No. 1871, is the seventh locomotive in the railroad’s growing heritage fleet CSX’s seventh heritage locomotive is a salute to Atlantic Coast Line A tribute to Atlantic Coast Line is the latest heritage locomotive to emerge from CSX’s paint shop in Waycross, Ga. CEO Joe Hinrichs posted photos of the locomotive on his LinkedIn account this afternoon. “Here’s the new CSX Atlantic Coast Line Heritage Locomotive fresh out of the paint shop in Waycross, Georgia,” Hinrichs wrote. “We had a pause in new heritage locomotives as we worked on other projects (like the CSX Holiday Express cars which just hit the rails this week and the new CSX Santa Train car). Several more exciting heritage locomotives to come in the near future. Enjoy!” The locomotive, CSX No. 1871, sports ACL’s classic aluminum and Roy...

 

CTA’s Yellow Line remains shut down after collision By | November 27, 2023 No estimate yet offered for resumption of service The CTA’s Yellow Line remains shut down after this Nov. 16 collision. Chicago Fire Department via X/Twitter CHICAGO — The Chicago Transit Authority’s Yellow Line remains shut down today (Monday, Nov. 27) as the Thanksgiving holiday period ends, some 11 days after the Nov. 16 collision between a Yellow Line train and a snowplow that injured 38 people. WLS-TV reports that the CTA has not offered any estimate when the line will reopen and did not respond to a request for comment. A notice on the CTA website simply says that service “continues to be temporarily suspended following a recent incident at Howard” and that shuttle bus service is available. The National Transportation Safety Board had estimated the line could be closed for up to five days while it con...

 

 

 

 

 

  A unique low-emission locomotive By David Lustig | November 15, 2023 Union Pacific's one-of-a-kind locomotive to test future environmental standards A unique low-emission locomotive, Union Pacific 9900 was a one-of-kind and  short-lived experiment with low emissions. David Lustig In need of reliable medium-horsepower six-axle road switchers, Union Pacific’s Mike Iden turned to Progress Rail’s EMD subsidiary to rebuild a batch of out-of-service EMD 3,800-hp SD60s into more modern 3,150-hp units with new prime movers for secondary road freights. Twenty-eight — Nos. 9900 to 9927 — were built in the late 2000s. Progress later incorporated the unit into its catalog, calling it the SD32ECO. Then they made a unique low-emission locomotive. One unit, No. 9900 was picked as a one-off testbed and equipped with catalytic scrubbers to see how far existing technology could be pushed...

 

 

  Rio Grande’s 2-8-2 Mikado “Sport Model” K-28 locomotives turn 100 years old By Michael J. Wilson | November 10, 2023 Milestone for Rio Grande’s “Sport Model” steam locomotives Email Newsletter Get the newest photos, videos, stories, and more from Trains.com brands. Sign-up for email today! Rio Grande’s 2-8-2 Mikado “Sport Model” K-28 locomotives turn 100 years old in 2023.  The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad marked the occasion with double-headed K-28s  on a photographer excursion. Deep within the Animas River Canyon, surrounded by rugged  Rocky Mountains, K-28s 473 and 476 are making time to Silverton, Colo.,  near Whitehead Gulch o...

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