Prototype News

Service on the Long Island Rail Road came to a halt on May 16 after 3,500 workers walked off the job. It was the first strike on the railroad in more than 30 years and was sure to wreak havoc on the Monday morning commute if a resolution could not be found.

The Long Island Rail Road is America’s busiest commuter railroad, moving more than 300,000 passengers per day. But front-line employees, including locomotive engineers and signalmen, have been working without a new contract for years. While the Long Island Rail Road’s parent, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, has secured deals with unions at its other railroads, a compromise has been elusive on the LIRR.

“The LIRR owns this strike. Union workers have sacrificed so much for the railroad for years while consistently bargaining in good faith for a fair contract,” said Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien. “Hundreds of thousands of commuters rely on our members’ labor every day. The LIRR is stranding passengers while denying wages, benefits and respect to BLET Teamsters and other hardworking union members. All 1.3 million members of the Teamsters Union are standing with every worker on strike. We will win this fight and the LIRR will give these essential workers the contract they’ve earned.”

Media reported late Sunday that the National Mediation Board had summoned the railroad and unions for further talks in hopes of finding a solution.

—Justin Franz 

The post Long Island Rail Road Workers Strike appeared first on Railfan & Railroad Magazine.

by Nick Stewart/photos by the author

On May 9, 1868, the city of Reno, Nev., was founded following the completion of a new station on Central Pacific Railroad, which was pushing east from Sacramento, Calif., toward Utah. That same year, short line Virginia & Truckee Railroad was incorporated and began building track between Carson City and Virginia City, Nev., which was completed the following year.

Reno quickly became a vital hub along the new transcontinental route, as nearby communities such as Virginia City and Carson City could now ship freight to and from the mining districts — including supplies, lumber, and, most importantly, the gold and silver ore that made the region so prosperous in the mid-19th century. V&T capitalized on this connection, completing a line from Carson City to Reno in summer 1872.

ABOVE: A pair of Union Pacific SD70Ms and a GATX SD38-2 (downrated from an SD40-2) take the Fernley Flyer over the Truckee River on the Nevada Subdivision at Painted Rock, Nev., on October 8, 2025.

By the early 20th century, Reno was home to several rail operations. Southern Pacific, which had acquired Central Pacific in 1885, controlled the main line from Sacramento to Ogden, Utah. V&T, though past its peak, continued to handle freight and passengers and extended its reach with a line from Carson City to Minden, Nev., to serve agricultural traffic. Reno Traction Company, incorporated in 1904, operated streetcars until 1920, while Nevada Interurban leased its trackage to provide service along Plumas Street from 1909 to 1919. Meanwhile, the narrow gauge Nevada-California-Oregon Railway, organized in 1880 and headquartered in Reno, would become Western Pacific’s Reno Branch by 1918.

Western Pacific merged into Union Pacific in 1982, followed by Southern Pacific in 1996, leaving UP as the sole owner of the region’s three main lines; BNSF Railway gained trackage rights across northern Nevada following the 1996 merger. While Reno’s original passenger trains and streetcar systems are long gone, Amtrak’s California Zephyr still calls at Reno twice daily.

ABOVE: Union Pacific GP60 1109 and GP40N 1475 make a run down the Mina Subdivision with the Wabuska Local near Silver Springs on January 5, 2025. 

The original Virginia & Truckee declined steadily after the turn of the century and was abandoned in 1950. In the mid-1970s, steam-powered excursion trains returned to portions of the right-of-way following reconstruction. Today, the revived Virginia & Truckee operates both steam and diesel excursions between Mound House (Carson City Eastgate Station) and Virginia City, largely following the original route.

As is the case with many rail hubs in the U.S., Reno is not as diverse as it once was, but one can still find interesting rail operations in the area. It took me many years to appreciate my local operations. What opened my eyes was the work of photojournalist Ted Benson, who spent a lot of time photographing Nevada rail operations in the 1970s. After settling on journalism for my career, I became determined to document every rail operation that I have in my neighborhood.

ABOVE: Ex-McCloud River Railroad 18, a 2-8-2 Mikado built in 1914, passes the historic depot at Gold Hill, Nev., on the reconstructed Virginia & Truckee on October 20, 2024. Locomotive 18 was acquired by the V&T Railway Commission in 2005 and operates on select weekend excursions out of the railroad’s Carson City Eastgate Depot between May and October.

Sparks Yard
One of the most significant railroad towns in Nevada is Sparks — my hometown. We call ourselves the Rail City. Sparks was established in 1904 when SP relocated its yard and facilities from Wadsworth to new ground just east of Reno. Reno, of course, had already been a rail hub since Central Pacific completed the transcontinental line.

Southern Pacific built a roundhouse and shop complex here in addition to the yard. Those shop buildings remained part of the modern Sparks Yard until early 2025, though they had not been used by the railroad for decades. During the steam era, a wide range of power could be found here, from small 0-6-0 switchers to massive 4-8-8-2 cab-forwards.

ABOVE: Union Pacific C44ACM 9833, rebuilt from an ex-Chicago & North Western C44-9W, passes stored Bethlehem hoppers and ex-Western Pacific searchlight signals at Hawley, Calif., on the Winnemucca Subdivision on October 3, 2025.

Today, Sparks remains an important point on UP. It marks the transition between the Roseville Subdivision over Donner Pass and the Nevada Subdivision across the desert. The yard serves as a crew change point, and trains frequently set out and pick up cars. A little more than a dozen trains pass through daily, along with several locals that originate here. Yard jobs shuffle cars throughout the day, providing plenty of action for observers.

The west end of Sparks Yard is fairly accessible for railfans, and the towers of Nugget Casino Resort make a distinctive backdrop. Several industries near the main line are switched Monday through Friday. While GP38s and GP40s are common on these assignments, I was fortunate to catch a pair of SD40s and GP15s working the yard during a visit in late fall…

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