East Troy Industrial Park, Ep. 11 | Laying curved track

Hosts David Popp and Bryson Sleppy take a swing at the curves! Specifically, the process required to install sections of flexible track around the arching mainline, sidings, and spurs on the HO scale (1:87.1) East Troy Industrial Park project layout. Follow their insightful instructions for making free-flowing, yet reliable trackwork on your next model railroad! […]

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Walthers HO 50-foot single-door boxcar

Color photo of HO scale boxcar painted red with black and white graphics

Walthers HO 50-foot single-door boxcar Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: $34.98 Era: post-World War II to 1980s Manufacturer: Wm. K. Walthers Inc., 5601 W. Florist Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53218; 414-527-0770; walthers.com Walthers HO 50-foot single-door boxcar features: 4-3-1 improved Dreadnaught ends 7-run side and end ladders 8’-0” Youngstown doors 8-panel riveted car sides 33” turned-metal wheelsets […]

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State resolution seeking funding for Alaska Railroad extensions killed in committee

Map of proposed Alaska Railroad spur

JUNEAU, Alaska — A resolution calling for federal funding for two extensions of the Alaska Railroad network is dead for this year after failing to advance out of a Senate committee. The Senate Rules Committee voted 14-6 on May 20 against advancing House Joint Resolution 14. Features of the resolution include a call for the […]

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Union Pacific working to shift Ferromex crew swap to U.S. soil at Eagle Pass, Texas

Train on bridge approaching small building covering tracks

OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific is working to finalize agreements with Ferromex and U.S. Customs and Border Patrol to shift cross-border crew changes from the International Railroad Bridge to UP’s yard in Eagle Pass, Texas. Currently, trains using the Eagle Pass-Piedras Negras, Mexico, gateway swap crews on the single-track bridge over the Rio Grande. It’s […]

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AAR seeks FRA permission to scale back visual track inspections where automated systems are used to find defects

Boxcar equipped with scientific instruments for railroad track inspection.

WASHINGTON — The Association of American Railroads has asked the Federal Railroad Administration to allow less frequent visual track inspections in territory where automated track inspection systems are used. “The primary benefit of using automated inspection technologies is earlier detection of track defects enabling railroads to switch from reactive to preventative maintenance practices. A strictly […]

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What switch crews know

Railroaders pose with caboose at night

What do switch crews know? If you want to know how trains operate smoothly, ask the experts — the railroaders themselves. Things happen for a reason in the real world. Take switch-stand locations. Railroads hate to have brakemen crossing and recrossing tracks. It’s dangerous. It’s far safer to put all the switch stands on one […]

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Aurora Miniatures HO Transcona Shops boxcar

Color photo of HO scale boxcar painted oxide red with silver roof and white graphics

Aurora Miniatures HO Transcona Shops boxcar Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: $59.99 Era: 2003 to present Manufacturer: Aurora Miniatures North America Inc., na.auroraminiatures.com Aurora Miniatures HO Transcona Shops boxcar features: 10-foot wide single plug door 36” metal wheelsets with RP-25 contour All-new model Aurora-designed 100-ton Barber roller-bearing trucks with bolster and center plate detail, brake beams, […]

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CPKC’s Creel says the rail industry is finally poised for growth

Freshly painted red and black diesels with gold trim and white letters

NEW YORK — What will it take for railroad stocks to outperform the broader market again? Is the industry stuck in a particularly long and challenging cyclical downturn — or has something fundamentally changed within the Class I railroads? Wolfe Research analyst Scott Group put these questions to CPKC CEO Keith Creel at the Wall […]

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Union Pacific to open new Kansas City intermodal ramp in July

Yellow locomotives lead container train in snowy landscape

OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific announced yesterday that it plans to open its new Kansas City Intermodal Terminal in mid-July as the railroad looks to strengthen its position in the Kansas City market. UP would not disclose the terminal’s annual lift capacity, but said the facility, located in Armourdale Yard, will have twice as much […]

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