Have not heard any trains going by my location last 36 hours here in Fort Worth TX metro area. I live about 1 mile from a major North / South Union Pacific freight line that's also used by AMTRAK.
The Fort Worth U.P. freight storage / switching yard is about 10 miles to the North.

Usually there is one train running in either direction every hour. The silence is deafining.

Well Amtrak is still running most services. The Texas Eagle 21 is currently leaving Fort Worth on time for Celburn. With the 22 heading north for the same destination, only 39 mins late.

The Heartland Flyer 821 is 1 hour 39 min late due Fort Worth 2.10pm CT.

Not sure why the freight railroads in Texas might have cut back.

PS Just watched a 64 car BNSF Auto Rack train leaving Fort Worth



So there is freight out there

Amtrak discloses data breach, potential leak of customer account data

The National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) has disclosed a data breach that may have resulted in the compromise of customer personally identifiable information (PII).

The data breach was discovered on April 16, 2020. In a letter to the Attorney General's Office of Vermont, made public on April 29, the rail service said that an unknown third party managed to fraudulently access Amtrak Guest Rewards accounts.

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Scientists find out why leaves on the track causes travel chaos

Leaves on the line are a notorious headache for commuters and train companies alike, causing costly delays. Now scientists say they have unpicked why fallen foliage makes rails so slippery.

When leaves are crushed against the tracks, they form a black layer that drastically reduces friction between train wheels and the rails – a situation Network Rail has described as “the black ice of the railway”. But the make up of this slippery layer has been something of a puzzle.

Now researchers say they have revealed a key ingredient: large molecules found in plants called tannins.

“They are the chemicals that make wine dry, and they are present in tea,” said Dr Michael Watson of the University of Sheffield, a co-author of the new research.

The team say the study suggests leaf tannins grab onto iron that has been dissolved from the rails by acids in the foliage, forming a layer of black material that reduces friction between steel surfaces.

This substance, added Watson, is very similar to the iron gall ink – a substance used for centuries for everything from sacred texts to drawings by Leonardo da Vinci.

So the infamous announcement "Delays due to the wrong type of leaves on the line" was right - some types of leaf have far more tannins in them that others.

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Bob Smith
Member of Seti PIPPS (Pluto is a Planet Protest Society)
Somewhere in the (un)known Universe?

NTSB report on August 12, 2019 collision between two CSX freight trains near Carey, Ohio.
CSX ripped a new one for allowing an engineer to go many years without a piss test. Also ripped for PTC rules that allow unsafe operation.

Next stop...200ft

A brilliant effort.

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Grant
Darwin NT

The train arriving at Bow Street Station* is the first for 56 years

*Not the Bow Street on the UK monopoly board.

Trust the Welsh to cause confusion

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Bob Smith
Member of Seti PIPPS (Pluto is a Planet Protest Society)
Somewhere in the (un)known Universe?

Lol. Have to admit it got me until I read the report.

Man who allegedly stranded Sydney commuters after jumping train tracks charged.

A man has been charged after he allegedly jumped onto train tracks near one of Sydney’s busiest stations, bringing traffic to a standstill and causing chaos for commuters.

Police said the man was spotted in the train corridor between Westmead and Parramatta on Monday afternoon, just before rush hour.

He was later seen on a railway overpass above O’Connell Street near Parramatta Station.

Specialist officers, including negotiators, were called to the scene just after 7pm then arrested the 47-year-old man.

He was charged with the offence of going on or into or remaining on or in running (train) lines.

I can bet that he didn't get any cheers from those passengers on the main western lines who were at least 3hrs late getting home from work yesterday evening.

Cheers.

Fort Worth’s bomber railroad spur was the little track that helped US win World War II

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Nice shot

A video is now here https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-derbyshire-58307832

Man Saves Motorist from Approaching Train: ‘God Had Everything to Do with It’

... He observed a 72-year-old motorist who had taken a turn off of Barnes Road and drove down the train tracks.

The motorist had been driving for a moment but his wheels became stuck on the outside rails of the track.

... He was able to bring the man to safety as they tumbled down a hill beside the tracks.

“As soon as I got him at the bottom of the hill, the train smashed the car,”

He learned the 72-year-old man had been suffering from diabetic shock after he was released from the hospital.

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Well, i can see this resulting in quite a $&!} storm- Sydney's inner west light rail decommissioned for up to 18 months

The announcement comes after cracking was identified in all 12 vehicles last month with buses currently replacing the service.
Mr Stokes said it was not known how long it would take to fix the problem.

"Inner west light rail fleet will be decommissioned for up to 18 months while the issues identified are rectified," Mr Stokes said.
"I want to stress this is the worst case scenario."
More to come.

The rolling stock are Urbos 3 units.

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Grant
Darwin NT