Miscellaneous

WILMERDING, Pa. – Wabtec Corp. has completed the acquisition of Becorit GmbH, a leading manufacturer of technology-based friction products for the European railway industry, for $52.2 million in cash. Last week, Wabtec announced that it had signed a definitive agreement to acquire the company from U.K.-based BBA Aviation plc. Wabtec expects the acquisition to be accretive immediately. Based in Germany, Becorit has annual sales of about $30 million. Becorit manufactures a variety of brake shoes, pads and friction linings for passenger transit cars, freight cars and locomotives, including high-speed applications. The company also makes friction products for industrial markets such

LIGONIER, Pa. – Idlewild Park and the Ligonier Valley Rail Road Association are working together to preserve the historic Darlington Station. “We plan to restore the building to its 1930s grandeur and re-open it as a museum and resource center focused on the Ligonier Valley Rail Road and related industry,” said Bill McCullough, President and co-founder of the LVRRA. Idlewild Park and Soak Zone, and Kennywood Entertainment, have agreed to sub-divide and grant the property to the LVRRA and the lead grant awarded by the Richard King Mellon Foundation will allow the Association to restore the exterior of the building

Welcome to the all-new Railfanning.org News Wire. We’re making some changes here and appreciate your patience as we transition the Web page from the harpblaster.net server to the separate Railfanning.org site. Please note any addresses that begin with railfanning.harpblaster.net will be changed to railfanning.org if they have not already. So, be sure to change your bookmarks. Be sure to check back over the next month. We have a lot of changes we plan on introducing. In the meantime, Happy Railfanning. – Todd DeFeo, Editor Railfanning.org

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – The Alaska Railroad Corp. (ARRC) will issue tax-exempt bonds in this month to finance rail transportation projects. During the last legislative session, the Alaska Legislature voted unanimously to allow ARRC to issue up to $165 million in tax-exempt bonds backed by Federal Transit Administration (FTA) formula funds that the Corporation receives annually. ARRC is moving forward with its first issuance of approximately $76 million in tax-exempt bonds in 2006 with the remaining debt to be issued in future years. “This is a historic moment for the Alaska Railroad and Alaskans,” said Governor Bill Sheffield, Chairman ARRC Board

DETROIT — Starting Aug. 5, Tigers fans will have the opportunity to turn back the clock and travel to the game the nostalgic way. Olympia Development, the Detroit Tigers, Amtrak and the Detroit Department of Transportation (DDOT) are teaming up to bring fans to Detroit aboard an existing metropolitan railway beginning in August. The Foxtown Tigers Train will board passengers at three suburban locations, beginning in Oakland County, and travel along existing rail lines that link these cities to Detroit. Passengers will then transfer to a special DDOT Tigers Trolley and conclude their trip at Comerica Park to see the