Amtrak unveils Operation Lifesaver locomotive

Alt text yellow and black locomotive on tracks near station

WASHINGTON — Amtrak today unveiled a specially painted P42DC to mark the 50th Anniversary of Operation Lifesaver. P4DC No. 203, repainted with the message, “See Tracks? Think Train!” was released into service today during a ceremony at Washington Union Station. The black-and-yellow locomotive commemorates the 50th anniversary of Operation Lifesaver, the nonprofit organization dedicated to […]

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Model train layout operating ideas

A black frame filled with car cards hangs between two operators.

  Model train layout operating ideas can come from a variety of places. I returned from a couple of operating weekends in the fall of 2021 ready to run more trains, but I also picked up a few ideas I thought were worth sharing. In the Omaha, Neb., area, I visited Don Zinnacker’s Chicago, Burlington […]

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CP CEO makes case for intermodal service from Mexican port

Man speaking at podium

LOMBARD, Ill. — Mexico’s port of Lazaro Cardenas will become a significant option in addressing congestion at U.S. West Coast ports and a “necessary” addition to the intermodal supply chain under the Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger, CP CEO Keith Creel contends. Creel and KCS CEO Patrick Ottensmeyer, appearing jointly at the Midwest Association of […]

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Solar-powered garden railroad building

Close up of model tower

A solar-powered garden railroad building is a fairly easy project for most do-it-yourselfers. But one day while shopping at a home-improvement store, I stumbled on to a solar pathway light similar in shape to an HO scale model I liked. I thought the size would work well in my garden railroad as a structure. I […]

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NS, museum team up to save Southern Railway Kentucky storehouse

LUDLOW, Ky. – Norfolk Southern and the Ludlow Heritage Museum have signed a lease agreement to preserve the NS-owned former Southern Railway Ludlow Yard Store House building, the last remaining original structure in Ludlow used by the Cincinnati, New Orleans & Texas Pacific Railway, which was leased to Southern in 1894. The agreement allows museum […]

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NJ Transit awards contracts for Newark, Trenton station projects

NJ Transit logo

NEWARK, N.J. – NJ Transit has awarded contracts for two station renovation projects in Newark and Trenton. In Newark, the agency has approved an all-inclusive professional services contract to perform master planning, design services, and construction support services as part of a long-term project for the restoration and renovation of Newark Penn Station. NJ Transit’s […]

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Abilene & Smoky Valley launches maintenance initiative

Logo of Abilene & Smoky Valley Railroad

ABILENE, Kan. — The Abilene & Smoky Valley Railroad is launching a fundraising campaign to upgrade its former Rock Island track between Abilene and Enterprise, Kan. Abilene & Smoky Valley, organized in 1993, purchased the right-of-way from Union Pacific and has been operating excursion trains on the Abilene-Enterprise route since 1994. The railroad is best […]

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Precision Terminal Logistics acquires firms in New Orleans, Savannah

Black and yellow logo of Precision Terminal Logistics

PITTSBURGH — Precision Terminal Logistics, a material-handling firm owned in part by Anacostia Rail Holdings, has acquired The Kearney Companies Inc. of New Orleans and Kearney Page Warehouse Services of Savannah, Ga., gaining rail-served warehouse and yard capacity. The transaction was effective Dec. 31, 2021. KPWS will be rebranded as The Kearney Companies-Savannah. David Kearney […]

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A collectible Lionel Milwaukee Road freight set

Collectible Lionel Milwaukee Road Freight set

Here’s the story behind this magnificent O gauge no. 810/2273W Lionel Milwaukee Road freight set. It was one of the finest outfits cataloged by the company for 1956. Click here for a history of the Milwaukee Road. The brand-new no. 2378P and 2378C F3 A-B locomotive combination headed the train. The powered A and unpowered […]

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Amtrak, PennDOT open new Keystone Corridor station at Middletown, Pa.

Passenger train led by cab car at new station

MIDDLETOWN, Pa. — After delays of more than a dozen years, Amtrak and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation on Monday (Jan. 10) opened a $24.5 million station at Middletown, on the passenger railroad’s Keystone Corridor. With a population of about 9,500 people, Middletown stands 10 miles east of the state capital of Harrisburg, the western […]

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Second Australian firm orders Wabtec battery-electric locomotives

Red and black locomotive with full-width carbody to accomodate batteries

PITTSBURGH — Wabtec has secured its largest order to date for its FLXdrive battery-electric locomotives, with Australian mining company Rio Tinto ordering four of the units for use in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The locomotives will help Rio Tinto’s effort to reach a 50% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions by […]

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