Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern offers to buy rail lines from South Dakota

Map of South Dakota showing Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern Railroad and other rail lines

PIERRE, S.D. — Genesee & Wyoming’s Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern Railroad is proposing to buy two sections of state-owned rail lines totaling 19.5 miles from the state of South Dakota. At a Dec. 17 meeting of the state Railroad Board and Railroad Authority, the RCP&E proposed to pay $3.125 million for 4.2 miles of […]

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Union Pacific to develop industrial park near Houston

Map of available proporty at new industrial park near Rosenberg, Texas

OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific has announced plans to develop a 2,000-acre industrial park outside Houston that will feature 1,300 acres of rail-served land. The Mainline Texas Industrial Park is just west of Rosenberg, Texas, and about 40 miles southwest of downtown Houston. It will be bordered on one side by the main line of […]

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Engineer and trackworker unions to oppose UP-NS merger

Two crew members stand next to their train as another train passes

The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen and the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division will oppose the Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger despite UP’s promises of lifetime job protection. “This debt-ridden tie-up won’t make rail more competitive with trucks as merger proponents claim,” BLET National President Mark Wallace said in a statement on Wednesday […]

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OmniTRAX Co-CEO Dean Piacente to retire, shift focus as board member

OmniTrax CEO Dean Piacente

DENVER – OmniTRAX Co-CEO Dean Piacente will retire at the end of the year as part of a planned leadership transition, the company said on Tuesday. Piacente will continue to serve on the OmniTRAX board and will focus on the shortline holding company’s eastern growth strategy. Co-CEO Colby Tanner, a former BNSF executive, will assume […]

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Judge’s ruling allows NS to proceed with crew-change facility in New York village

Map of Norfolk Southern and CSX routes in New England

VOORHEESVILLE, N.Y. — A federal judge has granted a preliminary injunction allowing Norfolk Southern to begin work on a new crew-change facility in the village of Voorheesville, which sought to block the project. The Albany Times-Union reports U.S. District Court Judge Brenda K. Sannes of the Northern District of New York approved the preliminary injunction […]

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Maya Train continues to sustain massive losses as anniversary arrives

Passenger train on bridge

CANCUN — Mexico’s Maya Train continues to sustain massive losses as it marks two years of operation, and one year as a completed route. Latest figures show subsidies are nearly 10 times the operation’s revenue from tickets and merchandise, according to a report by the newspaper Reforma. Mexico News Daily, quoting the paywalled Reforma report, […]

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Congressmen from Mississippi, Louisiana voice support for UP-NS merger

Train crossing bridge over canal

WASHINGTON — A trio of Southern Democratic congressmen have come out in favor of the Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger. Calling rail freight “vital to our states and the country’s economy,” a letter from U.S. Reps. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, and Troy Carter and Cleo Fields of Louisiana urged Surface Transportation Board Chairman Patrick Fuchs to […]

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News & Products for the week of December 15th 2025

Color photo showing group of HO scale three-bay covered hoppers with exterior posts in various paint schemes on white background.

News & Products for the week of December 15th 2025 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. The following are the products Model Railroader editors have news on for the week of December 15th, 2025. HO […]

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Union Pacific completes expansion of Casa Grande, Ariz., yard

Elevated view of small yard at sunset

CASA GRANDE, Ariz. — Union Pacific has completed expansion of its Gasa Grande Yard, doubling capacity at the facility about 70 miles west of Tucson on the railroad’s Gila Subdivision. The project added four tracks and a new industrial lead, and included a powered switch, a new yard control point, and upgraded mainline signals. “The […]

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Union Pacific adds retiring CF Industries CEO to its board

OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific has appointed W. Anthony “Tony” Will to its board of directors, effective Jan. 5. Will has served as president, CEO and board member of CF Industries Holdings, a global manufacturer of hydrogen and nitrogen products, since 2014. He plans to retire Jan. 4, and will serve in an advisory role […]

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