Bowser Canadian and Phase III RS3 diesel locomotives

Drawing of green and yellow diesel locomotive

Canadian and Phase III RS3 diesel locomotives Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: Direct-current model with 21-pin plug, $219.95; with ESU LokSound Select sound decoder, $319.95 Era: 1954+ (varies depending on scheme) Manufacturer: Bowser Manufacturing Co. Inc., 1302 Jordan Ave., Montoursville, PA 17754; 570-368-2379; bowser-trains.com Canadian and Phase III RS3 diesel locomotive features: Road-name-specific fuel tanks Separate, factory-applied air hoses, windshield wipers, […]

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Bombardier HR616 locomotive, a diesel that didn’t

Bombardier HR616 locomotive with black-and-white stripes

The Bombardier HR616 locomotive sold just 20 copies to one railroad, qualifying it as a Diesel That Didn’t. In North America, when we think of builders of diesel road locomotives, we usually conjure visions of EMD, GE, Wabtec, Alco, Baldwin, and Fairbanks-Morse. But there were others, including Canada’s Bombardier. The Montreal-headquartered rail transportation arm of […]

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Gunderson Multi-Max auto racks from ScaleTrains

Model of silver and orange auto rack train car

Gunderson Multi-Max auto racks Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: $46.99 Era: 2015 to present (varies depending on scheme) Manufacturer: ScaleTrains, 4901 Old Tasso Rd. NE, Cleveland, TN 37312; 844-987-2467; scaletrains.com Gunderson Multi-Max auto racks feature: New road numbers Late body type Late end doors with “zig-zag” angle panels Molded corrugated side panels American Steel Foundries low deck swing-motion trucks Detail kit […]

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CN sets earnings record, upgrades outlook for year as operations improve

Train with red locomotive approaching curve

MONTREAL — Canadian National posted record third-quarter financial results on Tuesday and boosted its outlook for the full year due to a combination of operational improvements, strong pricing gains, and traffic growth. CEO Tracy Robinson, who joined the railway on Feb. 28 and prioritized getting back to operational basics, said she was proud of the […]

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CN sets weekly Canadian grain volume record

Train pulling multiple cars

MONTREAL – Canadian National set a new weekly tonnage record for Canadian grain the week of Oct. 16, the railroad announced Monday. CN move more than 806,000 metric tons of grain from Western Canada, eclipsing the previous record by more than 50,000 metric tons. The record, CN says, comes after CN posted its second-best September […]

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CN would accept trackage rights as alternative to divestiture of KCS Springfield Line (updated)

Two trains side-by-side

Kansas City Southern ES44AC No. 4753 leads train MVNKC (Manifest Venice-Kansas City) through Roodhouse, Ill., where the KCS line from Springfield, Ill., splits to go to Kansas City or St. Louis, on Sept. 17, 2021. Power for the Roodhouse local sits to the left. Steve Smedley WASHINGTON — Canadian National has asked federal regulators to […]

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News photo: Preparing for Amtrak’s return to Montreal

Passenger train on bridge near water, with high-rise apartments in background

MONTREAL — Operating as Amtk 694 (the train number Canadian National has always assigned to the southbound Adirondack while on CN rails), an Amtrak requalification run heads to Montreal’s Central Station on Thursday as it passes the mostly drained Peel Basin. While Amtrak service to Vancouver and Toronto was restored earlier this year, there is still […]

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Unifor, CN begin talks on new contract

Logo of Canadian union Unifor

MONTREAL — Unifor, Canada’s largest union, has opened bargaining with Canadian National for a new contract, the union said Wednesday. The union says it represents about 3,600 workers at CN terminals and headquarters across Canada, including mechanics, crane operators, machinists, electricians, and clericial, administrative, and customer-support workers. The current agreement expires on Dec. 31. “The […]

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CN challenges STB’s draft environmental review of CP-KCS merger

Kansas City Southern train leaves terminal

WASHINGTON — Canadian National is challenging some conclusions federal regulators reached in their draft environmental review of the proposed Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger. Chief among them: The assumption that the merged Canadian Pacific Kansas City would not increase fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. CN, in an Oct. 14 filing with the Surface Transportation […]

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Canadian National receives first diesel in Wabtec remanufacturing order

Red, white, and black locomotive outside factory

FORT WORTH, Texas — On a sunny Thursday afternoon, officials from Canadian National Railway and Wabtec gathered outside Wabtec’s Fort Worth locomotive factory to celebrate the delivery of a brand new locomotive for Canadian National Railway. Or so it appeared. In fact, the officials were posing for photos with AC44C6M No. 3300, the first of […]

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CN, IBEW finalize new contract in Canada after arbitration

Canadian National logo

MONTREAL — Canadian National Railway announced Tuesday that it had reached a new three-year agreement with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers in Canada after concluding arbitration with the union. The new contract, retroactive to Jan. 1 of this year and running through the end of 2024, includes 3% raises each year. The union represents […]

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