General Information

(Source: WHYY, July 20, 2023) Transportation experts and environmental advocates are calling for increased rail safety following Monday’s train derailment in Whitemarsh Township, Montgomery County. The CSX train, traveling on Norfolk Southern tracks, carried flammable Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), as well as a toxic chemical commonly used as a dry cleaning agent. While no leaks…

(Source: Editorial from the Washington Post, July 17, 2023) National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy called the East Palestine train derailment “100 percent preventable.” Rail companies can do better; Congress should ensure they do. Full story: Washington Post

The early members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers had strong Masonic beliefs, as evidenced by this photo of a BLE meeting in Illinois, which was taken in the early to mid-1870s. During early Division meetings, officers wore Masonic regalia with ornamentation that signified the office held (Chief Engineer, Secretary-Treasurer, Guide, Chaplain, and others). (BLET…

Train and engine service employees of the Florida Gulf and Atlantic Railroad (FG&A) have voted to join the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET), becoming the newest members of the 160-year-old union. The election was certified on July 12 by the National Mediation Board (NMB), the federal agency responsible for facilitating labor relations within…

A most important milestone in BLE history occurred on December 3, 1867, when the Locomotive Engineers Mutual Life Insurance Association was established at Port Jervis, New York. It was patterned after the Insurance Association of the Metropolitan Police of New York City. Beyond the requirement that all policyholders be members of the BLE, the Association…