CHICAGO – A federal court has tossed out the Surface Transportation Board’s 2024 reciprocal switching rule that would have allowed shippers who suffer from inadequate rail service to gain access to a second railroad. The STB exceeded its authority when it adopted the rule, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit said in […]
CHICAGO — CSX announced Tuesday (July 8, 2025) that the final girder has been placed for the Forest Hill Flyover, a landmark moment in the portion of the CREATE’s massive 75th Street Corridor Improvement Project that will separate CSX main lines in South Chicago from tracks used by Norfolk Southern, Metra, and the Belt Railway […]
Q: I’m curious why I’ve never seen four 20-foot intermodal containers in a single well car, stacked two on top and two on the bottom. I’ve only ever seen two 20-foot containers in the well and a 40-foot (or larger) container on top. — Benjamin Stewart A: David Lassen, senior editor at Trains magazine, put me […]
WASHINGTON — A conductor who made an incorrect cut during switching, fouling a main track, was killed when a car he was riding on sideswiped the car fouling the main during a subsequent move, the National Transportation Safety Board said in its preliminary report on a fatal accident that occurred June 9, 2025, at Union […]
CALGARY, Alberta — The premiers of Alberta and Ontario have signed agreements to pursue construction of more rail lines and pipelines to tap into natural resources including Alberta oil and Ontario’s “Ring of Fire” mineral region. At a Monday press conference in Calgary, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Ontario’s Doug Ford announced the signing of […]
WASHINGTON — BNSF Railway wants to launch international double-stack service this week between Southern California and Salt Lake City via trackage rights over Union Pacific’s former Western Pacific route through the Feather River Canyon. Not so fast, UP says. UP says that BNSF has not provided sufficient notice so that UP can hire and train […]
BURLINGTON, Iowa — Burlington Junction Railway welcomed more than 100 employees and family members to a recent event in Burlington to mark the 40th anniversary of the founding of the short line in 1985. The railroad began when Steve and JoEllen Hoth of Burlington began with a single locomotive, 3 miles of track, and three […]
A Midwestern grain co-op west of Chicago has an abundance of soybeans piled high into silos with a processing plant eager to buy them across the border in Indiana. It’s a 300-mile haul. The company leases covered hoppers and transit times, including the Chicago hand-off, are palatable thanks to improved velocities. But there’s the problem. […]
News & Products for the week of July 7th 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 July 7th, […]
ATLANTA – Heavy rainfall from Tropical Storm Chantal has washed out Norfolk Southern’s main line between Raleigh and Greensboro, N.C., in multiple locations. NS shut down the line early on July 6 due to flash flooding, the railroad said in a service advisory today. “Access to the area has been hindered by the closure of […]
WASHINGTON — Canadian Pacific Kansas City can send Midwestern grain to export at the ports of Houston and Galveston via haulage rights over Union Pacific south of Beaumont, Texas, the Surface Transportation Board said today. Union Pacific in 2023 had sought to block CPKC’s use of Kansas City Southern’s so-called South End haulage rights, which […]
Canadian Pacific Kansas City was the fastest-growing railroad in the second quarter, with its overall volume up 6%. CPKC’s industry-leading growth was due to double-digit increases in intermodal (14%), grain (16%), and coal (10%). Union Pacific ranked No. 2 for the quarter, with its volume up 4% overall, led by a 31% increase in coal […]
