A version of this article appeared in Model Railroader’s special issue from 2018: Build a Small Railroad. In today’s world of trains, big 6-axle locomotives, and flashing red lights replacing cabooses, it’s comforting to know that spotting a single boxcar at a warehouse is still an integral part of railroading. Designing the module As I […]
McKEES ROCKS, Pa. — CSX Transportation has closed its Pittsburgh-area intermodal terminal, which opened in September 2017 as the last major element of the National Gateway Initiative double-stack clearance project. CSX touted the terminal’s ability to allow shippers in western Pennsylvania to shift freight from highway to rail. It initially served 40 destinations under the […]
A UP intermodal train heads west through Glen Ellyn, Ill., on March 8, 2020. CEOs at UP and CSX see the potential for new business resulting from changes brought by the coronavirus pandemic. TRAINS: David Lassen Potential long-term changes wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic could present growth opportunities for railroads once the health crisis passes, […]
CSX GP40-2 No. 6498 leads a train eastbound at Vale on the Union Pacific in River Forest, Ill., in November 2019. CSX has cut its locomotive fleet in half in the last three years. TRAINS: David Lassen JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — CSX Transportation on Wednesday reported lower quarterly revenue and earnings as coal volume sank and […]
More Tuesday morning rail news: — The Wilmington, N.C., City Council is scheduled to vote today on a $2.5 million contract for engineering work on a plan to relocate a CSX Transportation rail line out of the city and turn the existing right-of-way into a light rail system, a concept which could cost $1 billion. […]
Still more Friday morning rail news: — Nonprofit organization Operation Gratitude and CSX Transportation are teaming to deliver supplies and gifts of gratitude to frontline medical workers today for a network of 11 hospitals in eastern Pennsylvania. The newly formed Coalition to Support COVID-19 Frontline Responders was formed with Operation Gratitude by companies including CSX, […]
A Chicago-bound Illinois Zephyr passes through Downers Grove, Ill. Amtrak ridership has dropped from 100,000 passengers a day to about 4,000 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the passenger railroad’s CEO says. TRAINS: David Lassen Monday morning rail news: — Amtrak, which normally handles 100,000 passengers a day, is down to about 4,000 a day because […]
Still more Thursday rail news: — A resolution in Delaware’s General Assembly would direction the state’s Department of Transportation to work with neighboring states and railroads to fill a 20-mile gap in commuter rail service between Newark, Del., and Perryville, Md. Delaware Public Media reports the resolution seek to have Maryland’s MARC and Pennsylvania’s SEPTA […]
Canadian National’s purchase of the CSX Massena line, shown in purple, has been approved. Canadian National WASHINGTON — Federal regulators on Monday approved Canadian National’s acquisition of CSX Transportation’s line linking the Montreal area with Syracuse, N.Y., a deal the railroads say will improve service for cross-border traffic. The U.S. Surface Transportation Board decision, effective […]
Sunday rail news related to the coronavirus pandemic: — D.C. Metro will further reduce rail and bus service on Monday, with rail service ending at 9 p.m. and bus service ending at 11 p.m. Service will begin at 5 a.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. on weekends. In announcing the cuts, Metro said the decision […]
Dr. Josef Theurer Plasser & Theurer — Plasser & Theurer founder Dr. Josef Theurer has died, the track maintenance equipment firm has announced. Theurer, 91, died March 19. A holder of more than 1,000 patents, Theurer and Franz Plasser founded the company, which developed machinery to replace much of the manual labor in track maintenance, […]
PARKERSBURG, W.Va. – CSX Transportation will lease its 39-mile Marietta Subdivision and related trackage in West Virginia and Ohio to a short line operator. Employees on the line, which runs from Parkersburg, W.Va., to Marietta and Relief, Ohio, were informed of the pending transaction in a letter dated Wednesday. Belpre Industrial Parkersburg Railroad, which will […]
