Local 1732 President Dacanay dies

Henry L. Dacanay Jr., 46, president of SMART Transportation Division Local 1732 at San Jose, Calif., died Nov. 14 following a heart attack. Dacanay worked for Amtrak as a conductor for 19 years. Besides serving as local president, he held various other positions including loc [...]

NTSB says unsecured cars led to death of member

MASON CITY, Iowa – The National Transportation Safety Board says unsecured railroad cars are the probable cause of the death of a Union Pacific railroad worker in Mason City in 2012. Georgiy Solovlyov, 36, of Stanhope, a switchman, was found on the tracks in the area of 13th [...]

NARP calls on Congress to support passenger-rail

As the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee prepares a markup on rail reauthorization legislation, the National Association of Railroad Passengers (NARP) is urging Congress to embrace a national vision for intercity passenger trains. NARP is concerned that commit [...]

Ask your lawmakers’ support for two-person crews

Members of the SMART Transportation Division and all of rail labor have the opportunity to make it federal law to have two qualified persons working on all freight trains operating in the United States a reality. Now is the time to contact your legislators in the House of Rep [...]

A railroad dinosaur is coming back to life

It’s been sitting around in Pomona for nearly 53 years, but now the beast they call Big Boy is making tracks for Wyoming. Officially known as Union Pacific steam engine No. 4014, the locomotive has been parked at the RailGiants Train Museum in Pomona since 1962, a displ [...]

SEPTA depending on passage of transportation bill

SEPTA officials are preparing for the worst, detailing a doomsday scenario that they say will take place if Pennsylvania lawmakers don’t pass a transportation funding measure in the next nine days. In a written press release, officials stated that SEPTA’s fiscal year 2014, wh [...]

Thirty Ore. retirees to be honored at party

Thirty operating employees from Union Pacific Railroad in the La Grande, Ore., area, who retired or left employment on disability in the last year, will be honored at a retirement party Nov. 23, SMART Transportation Division Local Chairperson Larry Romine reports. The 30 memb [...]

Cleveland railroad workers win 44-year-old suit

After a legal battle that dragged on for more than four decades, a group of Cleveland railroad workers and their heirs will be sharing a multi-million-dollar award. ideastream’s David C. Barnett says it’s the surprising conclusion of a story that has its roots in the rise and [...]

Railroads support retrofitting flammable liquid cars

WASHINGTON – The Association of American Railroads Nov. 14 urged the U.S. Department of Transportation to press for improved federal tank car regulations by requiring all tank cars used to transport flammable liquids to be retrofitted or phased out, and new cars built to more [...]

Former NS General Chairperson Paul Emert dies

Former Norfolk Southern General Chairperson Paul E. Emert, 65, died Nov. 11 following a heart attack. Emert, a member of SMART Transportation Division Local 750 at Knoxville, Tenn., retired in 2011 following 39 years of railroad service. He had served as general chairperson o [...]