CHICAGO — Water spray splashing the wheels of Lincoln Service train no. 300 coming off the Chicago River bridge Wednesday morning has nothing to do with Amtrak’s need to wash Windy City trains, and everything to do with making sure hot weather doesn’t sideline them. With temperatures expected to reach 100 degrees as they did […]
WASHINGTON — Union Pacific has asked federal regulators to dismiss a shipper’s complaint that claims the railroad violated its common-carrier obligations by providing unreliable service and unilaterally reducing local service from five days per week to three. The shipper, Sanimax, brought the case to the Surface Transportation Board in November 2020. It asked the board […]
Longtime model and prototype railroad publisher and author Don Heimburger died June 10, 2022, at his home in the Chicago area. He was 75. An avid model railroader, the Urbana, Ill., native started S Gaugian magazine when he was 15 years old. He worked as a newspaper reporter while earning a journalism degree from the […]
Longtime model and prototype railroad publisher and author Don Heimburger passed away June 10, 2022, at his home in the Chicago area. He was 75. An avid model railroader, he started S Gaugian magazine when he was 15 years old. He worked as a newspaper reporter while earning a journalism degree from the University of […]
MR&T blue diesel locomotives MR&T blue diesel locomotives: The Milwaukee, Racine & Troy, Model Railroader’s HO scale staff layout, has been around for more than 45 years. Similar to many full-size railroads, the freelanced MR&T changed paint schemes on its diesel locomotives over the years. The railroad’s first paint scheme, Amtrak Blue, was used from […]
WASHINGTON — The Federal Transit Administration has issued four special directives to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, giving the transit agency periods ranging from 24 hours to 30 days to address safety concerns. Those concerns address procedural issues revealed by a series of five runaway-train incidents in yards since February 2021; maintenance procedures and programs; […]
WASHINGTON — The National Mediation Board will end mediation between railroads and their unions over the long-running negotiations for a new national contract, moving the contract process closer to intervention by President Joe Biden. The organization representing railroads in the negotiations, the National Carriers’ Conference Committee, said in a press release that it was “disappointed […]
CHICAGO — Higher interest rates may not be significantly pulling back inflationary pressure thus far, but they are cooling down lumber prices, returning them to near pre-pandemic norms in an inadvertent sacrifice of Class I railroad carloads. According to rail carload data, so far this year the country’s seven Class I railroads have hauled approximately […]
WASHINGTON — An engineer’s failure to operate his train in accordance with restricted speed rules, and his prohibited use of a personal electronic device, were the probable cause of a fatal collision with track maintenance equipment on the Alabama Export Railroad in November 2020, the National Transportation Safety Board said in an accident report issued […]
BOSTON — A new company has announced plans to provide locomotive leasing for commuter rail agencies, saying it will offer proven, like-new units on flexible lease terms. Rolling Stock Solutions announced the venture last week, with initial plans to lease fully overhauled F40PH locomotives. “Having spent two decades at the intersection of government operations and […]
OTTAWA — Canada is lifting its COVID-19 vaccination requirement for travel and federally regulated forms of transportation as of June 20, meaning railroads will no longer be required to mandate vaccinations for workers and rail passengers are no longer required to have been vaccinated. Visitors to Canada will still have to be fully vaccinated or […]
Facts & features Name: Sierra Northern Scale: N (1:160) Size: 3′-0″ x 7′-6″ Prototype: Northern Pacific, Southern Pacific, Union Pacific Locale: Western mountain railroad Era: 1949 Style: island Mainline run: 18 feet Minimum radius: 16″ Minimum turnout: no. 4 (main line), no. 6 (branch) Maximum grade: none Benchwork: hollow-core door Height: 42″ Roadbed: cork Track: […]
