Miscellaneous – Page 27 – Railfanning.org

‘Common Sense’ safety tips for pedestrians

September 24, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

Part I: Play it safe when it comes to railroad crossings Part II: Train vs. motorists or pedestrians – the train will win A number of organizations – Operation Lifesaver, the U.S. Department of Transportation and major railroad companies – joined together to launch the Common Sense campaign. The initiative aims to reduce the number of pedestrians who are killed and injured when trespassing around tracks and trains. The only safe place to cross railroad tracks is at a public crossing—designated by the crossbuck. Turn your cell phone and MP3 players off when you’re near train tracks. Forget texting, as

FreightCar America Reports Strong Second Quarter 2009 Results

September 23, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

CHICAGO — FreightCar America reported net income of $7.0 million, or $0.59 per diluted share, for the three months ending June 30 on revenues of $104.3 million. For the second quarter of 2008, the company generated sales of $141.3 million and a net loss of $400,000, or $0.03 per diluted share. These 2009 results are consistent with the preliminary second quarter financial metrics that the company announced on July 28, officials said. The company recently announced that it had identified historical accounting errors in accounts payable that resulted in the understatement of its cumulative net earnings since the fourth quarter

AAR Reports Recent Rail Traffic Gains Slow In Week Preceding Holiday

September 10, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

The Association of American Railroads reported that recent rail traffic gains have slowed in the week preceding the Labor Day Holiday. For the week ended Sept. 5, 2009, U.S. railroads reported originating 284,715 cars, down 6.7 percent compared with the same week in 2008. Regionally, carloadings were down 7.1 percent in the West and 6.0 percent in the East.

Historic Tenn. swing bridge see rehabilitation funding

September 7, 2009 Todd DeFeo

The state of Tennessee is helping to refurbish a railroad bridge that dates to before the Civil War.

AAR Reports Rail Traffic Continues to Register Gains

September 4, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — The Association of American Railroads today reported that rail traffic continues to register incremental gains on a week-to-week basis, but remains down year over year. Rail carloadings were at their highest level since the week ended Dec. 13, 2008. For the week ended Aug. 29, 2009, U.S. railroads reported originating 285,580 cars, down 16.2 percent compared with the same week in 2008. Regionally, carloadings were down 16 percent in the West and 16.6 percent in the East. Intermodal traffic of 202,553 trailers or containers on U.S. railroads was down 15.6 percent from the same week last year. Container

Park in the Sky Opens in New York

July 12, 2009 Voice of America

An old railroad line in New York City is back in use. It doesn’t deliver livestock anymore, it delivers pleasure to thousands of people every day and stimulates economic development in a few New York neighborhoods.

Three WDW Cast Members on Leave Following Deadly Monorail Crash

July 9, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Three Walt Disney World resort employees are on leave following a monorail crash between two trains that left one of the drivers dead, CNN reported. The network’s Web site quoted a Disney spokesman as saying the action is “part of an investigative process, not a disciplinary action.” The three employees include a manager, the pilot of the second monorail train and a maintenance shop cast member. The manager was at an off-site restaurant at the time of the crash, WESH-TV reported. On July 5, Monorail Pink backed into another train, Monorail Purple, near the Ticket

NTSB: Monorail Operator Tried to Reverse Train, Avoid Collision

July 8, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — The National Transportation Safety Board said that the pilot killed a monorail collision at the Walt Disney World resort tried to reverse his train to avoid the collision. The NTSB said it has developed the following factual information from its investigation of the collision of two trains on the monorail system at Walt Disney World that occurred at about 2 a.m. Sunday (July 5): A Walt Disney World monorail train, designated Monorail Pink, backed into another monorail train, designated the Purple train, near the Ticket and Transportation Center (TTC) monorail station. The operator of Monorail

AAR: Rail Freight Traffic Down in June

July 7, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — The Association of American Railroads reported that U.S. railroads originated 1,039,889 carloads of freight in June 2009, down 19.7 percent with 255,668 fewer carloads, compared with June 2008. U.S. intermodal rail traffic – comprising trailers and containers on flat cars that are not included in carload figures – totaled 755,000 units in June 2009, down 18.2 percent compared with the same period last year with 168,031 fewer trailers and containers, the association said. For the first six months of 2009, total U.S. rail carloadings were down 19.5 percent (1,594,411 carloads) to 6,579,294 carloads, while intermodal traffic was down

NTSB Now Investigating WDW Monorail Collision

July 7, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — The National Transportation Safety Board is now investigating the fatal Walt Disney World monorail collision. At about 2 a.m. EDT on Sunday (July 5), two monorail trains collided killing the operator of one of the trains. One cast member was killed, but no resort guests were seriously injured. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is already investigating the fatal monorail collision. The crash happened near the Ticket and Transportation Center. The cast member, a 21-year-old, was piloting a monorail that crashed into a second train, according to published reports. Authorities believe one of the