Railfanning the L in Chicago

Federal Railroad Administrator (FRA) Allan Rutter today announced the award of approximately $5.4 million in grants to 10 states to enhance the safety of public and private highway-grade crossings along federally-designated high-speed rail corridors.

WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board has determined that the probable cause of the derailment of a Chicago commuter transit train in the summer of 2006 resulted from the Chicago Transit Authority’s ineffective management and oversight of its track inspection and maintenance program and its system safety program, which resulted in unsafe track conditions. At 5:06 p.m. (CDT) on July 11, 2006, the last car of northbound Chicago Transit Authority train No. 220 derailed in the subway between Clark/Lake and Grand/Milwaukee stations in downtown Chicago. After the train came to a stop, electrical arcing between the last car and

The quiet hamlet of Vandalia is perhaps best known as the location of Illinois’ fourth capitol or as the one-time western terminus of the National Road.