RailNews
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January 21, 2026
Yakima Trolley Gets Operating Agreement, But Future Remains Unclear
The Yakima City Council voted Tuesday night to extend a five-year operating agreement with Yakima Valley Trolleys, the Washington non-profit that runs the community’s historic interurban railroad.
January 20, 2026
WW&F Makes Progress on New-Build 2-4-4T
Maine’s Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington is making steady progress with its effort to build a brand new 2-foot gauge 2-4-4T locomotive.
January 19, 2026
Steamtown to Restore Shay Locomotive to Operation
Meadow River Lumber Company 1 is currently being restored to operating condition at Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton, Pa.
January 17, 2026
UP Vows to Press On In Effort to Acquire NS
In a brief statement to Railfan & Railroad late Friday night, a spokesperson for UP simply wrote, “Union Pacific will provide the additional information requested by the Surface Transportation Board.”
January 16, 2026
STB: UP-NS Merger Application is ‘Incomplete’
The U.S. Surface Transportation Board has rejected Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern’s initial merger application as “incomplete.”
January 16, 2026
G&W Takes Central New England Track
On January 1, 2026, Genesee & Wyoming’s Connecticut Southern Railroad assumed control of the state-owned Armory Branch.
January 15, 2026
Northern Pacific 4-6-0 Fired up in Washington
NP 1364 has been the marquee restoration project of the Northern Pacific Railway Museum in Toppenish, Wash., for over a decade.
January 14, 2026
City Council to Discuss Fate of Famed Yakima Interurban
The fate of Yakima, Washington’s famed interurban railroad will be the subject of a city council meeting on January 20.
January 13, 2026
Restored American Freedom Train 4-8-4 Makes Debut at B&O Museum
On January 12, the B&O Railroad Museum held a ribbon-cutting to mark the conclusion of the cosmetic restoration of American Freedom Train No. 1.
January 12, 2026
Rivals Take Aim at UP-NS Merger Application
For their part, UP has said the other Class I railroads are simply trying to delay the merger because it will force them to work harder against the competition.
