SMART-TD reaches tentative agreement with Union Pacific

Train with yellow locomotive on curve through surburan community

WASHINGTON — The International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers-Transportation Division has reached a tentative agreement with Union Pacific, the labor union announced Friday, Oct. 31. The agreement’s basic terms are the same as in the national agreement just ratified by SMART-TD members [see “SMART-TD ratifies …,” Trains.com, Oct. 30, 2025]. It […]

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Classic Toy Trains new products for November 2025

black model diesel locomotive

Locomotives & rolling stock MTH Electric Trains, 7393 Washington Blvd. Ste. 101, Elkridge, MD 21075, is selling an O scale Offset Steel Caboose as part of the Premier line. The caboose will be available in seven roadnames with two car numbers each, and features O-31 operation (20-91871 shown). Expected delivery in April 2026. Price: $94.95. […]

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Illinois legislature passes bill to fund Chicago-area transit (updated)

Elevated train with fall foliage and city skyline in background

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The Illinois legislature has passed a package of funding measures to support Chicago-area transit agencies, while also restructuring those agencies. The 1,043-page Senate Bill 2111 will wipe out the collective shortfall of more than $200 million faced by Metra, the Chicago Transit Authority, and bus operator Pace, avoiding CTA service cuts that […]

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SEPTA receives two-week extension for Silverliner IV inspections

Electric multiple-unit railcars in shop building

PHILADELPHIA — The Federal Railroad Administration has granted a two-week extension to the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority for completion of its FRA-mandated inspections of the 223-car Silverliner IV fleet. SEPTA said that as of today — Oct. 31, 2025, the original FRA deadline — it has met almost all of the actions required under the […]

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Amtrak issues information request for eventual scrapping of Amfleet cars

Amtrak Northeast Corridor train led by cab car with orange and black nose stripes

WASHINGTON — The end may not be near — given Amtrak’s current, chronic capacity shortage, exacerbated by last spring’s sudden withdrawal of the Horizon coach fleet — but the company has begun the lengthy process of selling off its most productive and enduring assets: stainless steel Amfleet coaches and cafes that began arriving from the […]

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CN profits rise as railway trims costs

MONTREAL — Canadian National reported higher third-quarter profits today but announced further belt tightening as it expects trade disputes and economic uncertainty to weigh on volumes next year. “As we look to 2026, we see another year of limited volume growth, with a weak outlook for North American industrial production and housing starts, and some […]

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Full Hartford Line service to Springfield, Mass., to resume on Saturday

Logo of CTRail Hartford Line

HARTFORD, Conn. — Full Amtrak and CTRail service on the Hartford Line will resume between Hartford and Springfield, Mass., on Saturday (Nov. 1), following the completion of track projects that led to long-term substitution of buses for some trains. In all, 10 trains will be restored north of Hartford: — Northbound: CTRail train 4400 (departing […]

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Restoration of L&NE diesel marks milestone

Orange end-cab switcher in line of rolling stock

SOUDERTON, Pa. — The effort to restore the last surviving Lehigh & New England diesel locomotive has announced a milestone: the shipment of all four of the Alco S2’s traction motors to an Altoona, Pa., company for rehabilitation. The Railroad & Industrial Preservation Society said today (Oct. 31, 2025) that the traction motors of L&NE […]

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Process begins to select ‘master developer’ for revamp of New York’s Penn Station

NEW YORK — The Amtrak-led project to redevelop New York’s Penn Station announced several steps forward on Thursday, most notably a call for the project’s master developer. A 98-page request for letters of interest available at Amtrak’s procurement site describes the project as a “a comprehensive redevelopment … to transform the station into a modern […]

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NTSB issues final report on 2024 MBTA Green Line derailment

Aerial view of derailed light rail train

WASHINGTON — An operator’s failure to obey a stop signal was the probable cause of an Oct. 1, 2024, derailment of a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority light rail train in Somerville, Mass., the National Transportation Safety Board said in its final investigation report released this month. The train’s excessive speed was a contributing factor, according […]

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The bridge at Ginger Blue

Two locomotives lead a freight train across a bridge over a muddy river

The newly minted CPKC Railway, a 20,000-mile system combining Canadian Pacific (CP) and Kansas City Southern (KCS), sent me to Kansas City in late May 2024 to capture KCS motive power before its identity vanished under the unified railroad’s new paint. Videographers Kevin Gilliam and Mike Noonkester and I spent at day chasing this CPKC […]

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Atlas N Trinity 5660 covered hopper

Color photo showing middle portion of N scale pressure differential covered hopper painted gray with ConAgra Mills lettering and logo on white background.

Atlas N Trinity 5660 covered hopper Scale: N (1:160) Price: $47.95 Manufacturer: Atlas Model Railroad Co., 378 Florence Ave., Hillside, NJ 07205; 908-687-0880; shop.atlasrr.com Atlas N Trinity 5660 covered hopper features: 36” metal wheelsets Body-mounted magnetic knuckle couplers Etched-metal running boards Freestanding air hoses with angle cock detail and silver glad hands Injection-molded plastic construction […]

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