Gulf & Atlantic completes acquisition of three short lines

Logo of Gulf & Atlantic Railways

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Gulf & Atlantic Railways has completed its acquisition of three railroads in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, expanding the company to five railroads. The company announced today (May 16) that it closed on May 12 on the acquisition of the Camp Chase Railroad; Chesapeake & Indiana Railroad; and Vermilion Valley Railroad. It had […]

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New BNSF intermodal service to link Port Houston with Dallas/Fort Worth and Denver

Locomotive and train of orange and yellow containers

FORT WORTH, Texas — BNSF Railway will add service from the port of Houston to Alliance, Texas, and Denver next month. “As part of our continued commitment to adjusting to our customers’ and the marketplace’s needs to enable growth and the efficient movement of shipments, BNSF is expanding our network of lane offerings with new […]

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Union Pacific to consolidate Global 1 intermodal traffic at expanded, upgraded Global 2 terminal

Freight train on curve

OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific will shift intermodal traffic from its Global 1 terminal in Chicago to the expanded Global 2 terminal in Northlake, Ill., effective June 19, the railroad said in a customer advisory on Monday. UP has invested more than $150 million in the expansion and upgrade of Global 2. Lift capacity has […]

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Registration opens for first courses at transportation organization’s North American Regional Training Center

Logo of the International Association of Public Transportation

NEWARK, N.J. — Registration has now opened for the first courses to be offered by the International Association of Public Transportation’s North American Regional Training Center. The training center is a partnership of the association, UITP; NJ Transit; and Rutgers University’s Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation, or CAIT, with classes to be held at […]

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News photos: Metro-North introduces heritage unit to mark 40th anniversary

Red, blue, and silver diesel locomotive in yard

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — The Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Metro-North Railroad has introduced the first of what it says will be up to five heritage locomotives to mark the commuter operation’s 40th anniversary. GE P32ACDM No. 208 has been vinyl wrapped in a silver, blue, and red design honoring the original paint scheme created in 1983 […]

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Olympia & Sand Creek, Episode 12 | Paint stripper. Retaining wall. Tunnel centered.

Our host proves that you don’t have to focus on just one thing for great lengths to find the fun in this hobby! This time out, he’s got a paint stripping project to tackle, retaining walls to install, and a tunnel to daylight a tad more. And if that’s not enough, David even discovers a […]

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Character, not caricature, in N scale

Character not caricature in N scale

Character, not caricature, in N scale: A few years ago I rode the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge RR. It was, in a few words, spectacular, beautiful, gorgeous, awesome, and any other superlative you can think of. The steam locomotives and most of the equipment are the real thing and served the line when it […]

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The case for body-mounted couplers

Thecaseforbodymountedcouplers

The case for body-mounted couplers: For 40 or so years N scalers have been debating – sometimes rather fiercely­ – the merits of body-mounted couplers versus the truck-mounted type that come on most rolling stock. My position is simple. I think that for 90 percent of N scalers, converting to body-mounts wouldn’t be worth the […]

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Analysis: Can U.S. railroads bounce back from a dismal decade?

Train on bridge along river

Well, this isn’t a pretty picture. From 2013 to 2022 U.S. industrial production eked out 3% growth, overall economic output increased 57%, and truck tonnage grew 26%. Yet volume on the big four U.S. railroads increased by an average of just 2% for the decade — a figure that mercifully does not include coal traffic. […]

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Lac-Mégantic to commemorate 10 years since rail disaster

Fire-damaged town and derailed train

LAC-MÉGANTIC, Quebec —Lac-Mégantic plans four days of events in July to mark the the passage of 10 years since of the train derailment and fire that killed 47 people and destroyed much of the community’s downtown, the Canadian Press reports. Mayor Julie Morin says the city has a “duty to remember” the tragedy, and will […]

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News photos: ‘Poseidon’ helps CN fight Alberta fires

Canadian National has turned a flatcar, two tank cars, and a track maintenance vehicle into a firefighting train, dubbed "Poseidon," fighting Alberta widefires. CN

EVANSBURG, Alberta — A 10-mile stretch of Canadian National’s transcontinental main line about 65 miles west of Edmonton, Alta., continues to be surrounded by what has become the Yellowhead County wildfire, but trains are getting through the area in part because of CN firefighting equipment known as “Poseidon.” The compact fire train was fashioned out […]

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New plan released for redevelopment of Washington Union Station

Rendering of large open space at train station

WASHINGTON — A significant reduction in parking spaces — including elimination of above-ground parking and bus facilities — and a larger train hall are key features of a revised plan for redevelopment of Washington Union Station released Friday. The Washington Post reports the revised plan from the Federal Railroad Administration — developed after a two-year […]

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