WASHINGTON — In a boost to efforts to reestablish Amtrak service along the former North Coast Hiawatha route, a bipartisan group of eight U.S. senators have asked the Federal Railroad Administration to establish a group to study additional passenger service in the Pacific Northwest. The Missoula Current reports the senators — Republicans Mitt Romney (Utah), […]
INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Supreme Court has affirmed the agency which operates South Shore Line commuter rail service is a “political subdivision” of the state, thwarting legal action by a worker who says he was injured on a maintenance-of-way project. The Times of Northwest Indiana reports that the state court ruled 5-0 that the Northern […]
ODON, Ind. — The Indiana Rail Road has completed an upgrade to its Odon Transload Facility, adding a 10-inch concrete floor, food-grade railcar dock, and two truck docks. The improvements support handling and storage of weather-sensitive products such as particleboard, oriented strand board, plywood, and Southern yellow pine lumber at the facility with 9,600 square […]
WASHINGTON — After a lengthy delay sparked by filings in opposition to the deal, the Surface Transportation Board has approved Watco’s purchase of about 650 miles of branch lines in Wisconsin and Michigan from Canadian National-owned Wisconsin Central. “After careful consideration of all comments received, the board finds that the issues raised do not demonstrate […]
Classic Trains editors are celebrating the history and heritage of the Chicago Great Western Railway all through December 2021. Please enjoy this photo gallery selected from the archives of Kalmbach Media’s David P. Morgan Library. The Chicago Great Western was an agriculturally oriented Granger road linking Chicago, Kansas City, Omaha, and St. Paul. Those cities, […]
NAPTON, Mo. — About 40 cars of a Union Pacific manifest train derailed Sunday at the grade crossing with County Road E in Napton, the railroad reports. The accident occurred about 4 a.m.; the train crew was not injured. The cars involved carried a mix of commodities, with at least one carrying wheat. UP crews […]
The layout at a glance Name: Chesapeake & Allegheny RR Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 13 x 36 feet Prototype: freelanced Locale: mid-Atlantic Era: 1950-60s Style: around the walls Mainline run: 201 feet Maximum grade: 3 percent Minimum curve radius: 36″ Minimum turnout: no. 4 Benchwork: open grid and L-girder Height: 55″-70″ Roadbed: Homasote Track: handlaid […]
Seven operating session tips will help model railroaders step back from, or maybe step into, their layout by sharing the experience with others. For starters, operation gives a model railroad purpose. A layout compares with a theater’s stage, its props the scenery and rolling stock. In an operating session, this stage springs to life, re-creating […]
MONTREAL — Jim Vena, the former Canadian National chief operating officer who was touted as the railway’s next CEO, told CN Sunday night that he was no longer interested in the job. “The Search Committee conducted multiple rounds of interviews with former CN employee Jim Vena and the Board engaged in appropriate due diligence with respect […]
Precision Scheduled Railroading has become a target for members of Congress, federal regulators, shippers, and rail labor. Hunter Harrison’s low-cost operating model — in place on all of the Class I railroads except BNSF Railway — has come under criticism as rail traffic has rebounded from pandemic lows. Intermodal terminals faced monumental congestion this summer. […]
DAVENPORT, Iowa — Officials in the cities of Davenport and Bettendorf, Iowa, have told the Surface Transportation Board that increased traffic from the proposed Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger will have “very real and detrimental impacts,” with Davenport’s mayor and aldermen asking that an STB member visit before the board acts to see how the […]
ORANGEVILLE, Ontario — GIO Rail operated the final train on the 34-mile Orangeville-Brampton Railway on Dec. 17, 2021, ending service on a line dating to 1879. The final train departed Orangeville for Streetsville, Ont., at about 9:15 a.m., with about 100 people on hand, following a brief ceremony and photo opportunity including GIO President Gerry […]
