CHICAGO — Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker led an entourage of local and national political firepower Thursday in touting Amtrak’s application for federal funding for the Chicago Hub project, a more than $1.1 billion plan to improve Chicago Union Station and routes into the city. The request to the Federal Railroad Administration for an $872.8 million Federal-State […]
ATLANTA – Six months after the disastrous hazardous materials derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw has penned a letter to area residents outlining the railroad’s ongoing commitment to the community and to improving its safety culture. “We promised to make things right for you and your neighbors, and we’ve made a […]
ATLANTA – Norfolk Southern, in a lawsuit filed this week in Delaware, accuses CSX Transportation of hampering its access to New England by repeatedly violating the operating agreements related to CSX’s 2022 acquisition of regional Pan Am Railways. The agreements became conditions for the Surface Transportation Board’s approval of the June 1 Pan Am acquisition. […]
Resurrecting N scale engines: Several years ago I bought a couple Athearn N scale Electro-Motive Division (EMD) F45 locomotives that came with factory-installed Digital Command Control (DCC) sound decoders. I was thrilled. Only two railroads had ordered these big engines, and one was my beloved Santa Fe. (The other was Great Northern, also well-liked.) The […]
Thanks to these model railroad fascia fixtures, your layout’s fascia can do more than give the edge of your layout a finished look. That stretch of tempered hardboard, medium density fiberboard, plywood, or linoleum can also serve a practical purpose. Consider adding some of these model railroad fascia fixtures to make life easier for your […]
Tips for N scale figures: The biggest advantage of N scale is its small size. This advantage has been gaining importance ever since N scale first appeared in the late 1960s, and particularly since the 1990s, when N scale came of age. This is because since the 1960s, prototype locomotives and cars have been getting […]
WASHINGTON — Canadian Pacific Kansas City has asked federal regulators to prevent Union Pacific from blocking the movement of its grain trains to the ports of Houston and Galveston via trackage rights on UP via Beaumont, Texas. The Interstate Commerce Commission granted Kansas City Southern “South End” rights over UP as part of its approval […]
NEW YORK — Consultant WSP USA will perform the environmental review for the Interborough Express, the proposed 14-mile light rail line in Brooklyn and Queens which will use the right-of-way of Long Island Rail Road’s Bay Ridge Branch for a route connecting 17 subway lines and LIRR commuter rail service. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority also […]
CLINTON, N.C. — Short line owner and operator Regional Rail has acquired the Clinton Terminal Railroad, a 3.5-mile switching railroad in Clinton that interchanges with CSX Transportation. Carolina Coastal Railway, a Regional Rail operation in northeastern North Carolina, will become the new owner and operator of the Clinton Terminal assets, operating the line as its […]
WASHINGTON — U.S. rail traffic remained below 2022 levels in July, but statistics from the Association of American Railroads provided mixed messages about traffic trends. Meanwhile, traffic for the week ending July 29 continued the recent trend of lesser declines than had been the case for much of the year, with overall traffic down 2.6% […]
LINCOLN, Neb. — The Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division has sued BNSF Railway in federal court, charging that — in reducing its maintenance-of-way workforce while contracting out more work — the railroad has violated its agreements with the union and is therefore in violation of the Railway Labor Act. The BMWED filed the […]
WASHINGTON — The design of the grade crossing, which made it difficult for a driver to see an approaching train, was a contributing factor in last year’s fatal collision and derailment involving Amtrak’s Southwest Chief in Mendon, Mo., the National Transportation Safety Board said in its final accident report released today (Aug. 2, 2023). The […]
