Emery Rail Heritage Trust announces 2021 awards

Emery Rail Heritage Trust logo

The John Emery Rail Heritage Trust has awarded 22 grants totaling almost $325,000 for rail preservation projects in 2021, with 20 new awards joining two projects previously receiving funding. The awards come from 41 applicants seeking grants totaling more than $1 million. The trust was established by long-time Chicago resident John Emery to preserve equipment […]

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Massachusetts congressional delegation asks for more thorough review of CSX-Pan Am deal (updated)

Commuter train at station

WASHINGTON — The Massachusetts congressional delegation has asked the Surface Transportation Board to consider CSX Transportation’s acquisition of New England regional Pan Am Railways as a significant transaction, which would put the deal under a more stringent regulatory review process. “While the STB’s procedures for a significant transaction provide additional time for interested parties to […]

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News & Products for the week of March 25, 2021

Miniature vintage gas station with car parked out by the pump

O scale structures Bellevue service station. 1:43.5 scale. Laser-cut cardboard kit. Includes pumps and choice of fuel brand (Agip, Antar, Avia, Azur, BP, Elan, Elf, Esso, Fina, Ozo, Shell, and Total. Other brands available upon request). Vehicle shown not included. Measures 10.62” x 7.87” x 9.84”. $114.37. Price may vary based on exchange rate. Minifer, […]

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Model railroad locomotive, freight car, structure, decal, and accessory announcements for March 25, 2021

Ten cabooses in different color schemes

Product news Model railroad operators and builders can get the latest information about locomotives, freight cars, passenger cars, tools, track, and more by reading Model Railroader’s frequent product updates. Here are the products Model Railroader editors have news on for the week of March 25, 2021 HO scale freight cars Pullman-Standard PS-2 two-bay covered hopper. […]

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Analysis: Amtrak’s Gulf Coast STB filing to test right of access

People boarding train

WASHINGTON — Amtrak’s 826-page petition to the Surface Transportation Board, filed last week, is the latest salvo in efforts to establish passenger trains on routes of railroads not currently hosting service. The STB’s eventual decision could have a significant impact on what investment is required for service expansion. The filing argues Amtrak has made good […]

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Union Pacific No. 4141 arrives in College Station for move to Bush Library and Museum

Locomotive under tarp, pulled by another locomotive

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Union Pacific No. 4141, the SD70ACe locomotive painted in an Air Force One-like scheme to honor President George H.W. Bush, has arrived in College Station and was scheduled to be trucked on Sunday afternoon from the UP tracks to the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum on the campus of […]

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Digest: Sonoma-Marin rail transit sued by landowners over bike, pedestrian trail

Landowners sue SMART, saying use of right-of-way for trail is illegal Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit is being sued by a group of landowners over the commuter railroad’s use of its right-of-way to build a trackside bike and pedestrian trail. The Santa Rosa Press Democrat reports that the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in San […]

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CP ordered not to leave trains unattended after incident near site of fatal 2019 wreck

Canadian Pacific Railway beaver logo

Transport Canada has ordered Canadian Pacific to stop leaving trains unattended without setting handbrakes near the site of 2019’s fatal runaway accident on Kicking Horse Pass after a February incident, the CBC reports, but the railroad is disputing the regulator’s assertion that the event in question constituted “an immediate threat.” In question is a Feb. […]

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Analysts see growth potential, but CP-KCS merger may face skepticism from shippers, regulators

Train with tank cars rounding curve.

The Canadian Pacific acquisition of Kansas City Southern should help the railroads develop new business — including diverting truck traffic to rail — but the $29 billion deal announced on Sunday could face regulatory hurdles and opposition from shippers and other Class I systems. CP and KCS executives touted the potential for traffic growth that would […]

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Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern say merger is all about growth

Logos for Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern

CALGARY, Alberta — Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern executives say combining their railroads into the first system linking Canada, the U.S., and Mexico will generate significant traffic growth across all commodities. “What a historic day,” CP CEO Keith Creel said during a Sunday afternoon investor webcast where executives touted the $29 billion deal to create […]

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Canadian Pacific, Kansas City Southern merger to redraw Class I railroad map

Map of the combined Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern system

CALGARY, Alberta — Canadian Pacific’s proposed acquisition of Kansas City Southern will unite the two smallest Class I railroads and create the only North American system that will operate in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. The combination of the 12,500-mile CP and 6,700-mile KCS, announced today, is a classic end-to-end merger: The railways currently interchange in […]

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