Q: In all my 74 years of looking at train tracks this is the first time I noticed a “No trespassing” stencil on the web of the rail of the Union Pacific tracks that run by my home in Fort Dodge, Iowa. I’m curious if this is standard procedure for the UP or if other […]
MONTREAL — Unifor, the union representing about 3,600 Canadian National Railway mechanical, clerical, and intermodal employees in Canada, has filed a Notice of Dispute with the Canadian government regarding its negotiations with the railroad, CN has announced. The move on Friday, Sept. 27, came just three days after Unifor — Canada’s largest private-sector union, with […]
A Canadian National GP9RM is now available in HO scale from Rapido Trains. The four-axle, chopped-nose diesel locomotive features a heavy die-cast metal frame, traction motor details on the gearbox, and prototype-specific details. Prototype history From 1981 to 1994, CN rebuilt its fleet of General Motors Diesel Ltd. GP9 locomotives for various duties at its […]
WASHINGTON — U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and acting Department of Labor Secretary Julie Su sent a letter today (Wednesday, Sept. 25) urging the CEOs of three Class I freight railroads to guarantee paid sick leave for all employees. One of the railroads, CSX, responded that two unions have rejected its efforts to do exactly […]
Canadian National cowls Six-axle freight locomotives built with a cowl carbody are a rare design when looking at the overall quantity of models built for North American service. Compared to the thousands of GP9s, SD40-2s, and C44-9Ws built, no one cowl model exceeded 100 locomotives ordered. Canadian National ordered four of the six six-axle freight […]
JASPER, Alberta — Canadian National plans to move operations from Jasper 60 miles east to Hinton, Canada’s Global News reports. A wildfire burned through Jasper in July 2024, burning about one-third of the city and displacing thousands of residents. Caught in the fire was CN’s crew bunkhouse, which the railroad has since rebuilt. On Monday, […]
Exploring the Canadian prairie railroads by Provincial highway 14 between Edmonton, Alberta and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, one parallels the densest part of the Canadian National main line, hosts VIA Rail’s iconic Canadian streamliner as well as history, photo props, and even a sampling of CPKC’s former Canadian Pacific. The twist? Highway 14 is actually two separate […]
WASHINGTON – The first day of the Surface Transportation Board’s unprecedented hearing focusing on growth in the rail industry – or, more precisely, the lack of it – allowed the Class I railroads to tout their successes. But the rail executives had to wait for an analyst panel that outlined the breadth and depth of […]
When Canadian National reported disappointing second quarter results in July – partly due to congestion related to trackwork in the Directional Running Zone it shares with Canadian Pacific Kansas City in British Columbia – executives were vague on why some of the maintenance of way work in the country’s most important corridor was unplanned. At […]
Living the expat life You may not be aware, but your favorite diesel model from long ago may be living another life right now in a land far away. Thousands of locomotives no longer needed on North American railroads have been shipped off to lead a second life in foreign countries for decades. The second-hand […]
MONTREAL – Canadian National has lowered its financial outlook for the year due to the impact of several factors, including the rail labor uncertainty and work stoppage in Canada, wildfires in Alberta, weaker than expected demand for forest products and metals, and delayed recovery of international intermodal volumes. CN now expects to deliver earnings per […]
Predicting the future is tricky business. Circumstances can change at the drop of a hat, opening up previously unforeseen possibilities. However, with analysis and careful guesswork, a prediction can be made. With that in mind, let us examine the future of the locomotive on the U.S. rail network. The current state of railroading To predict […]
