WASHINGTON — Chicago commuter operator Metra has become the third entity to sue over the Surface Transportation Board’s approval of the Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger. In a single-page filing with the board, Metra notified the STB today (Wednesday, May 17) that it had initiated a suit on May 12 in the U.S. Court of […]
California holds a rich railroad heritage. There’s the Central Pacific building over Donner Pass and the Southern Pacific’s cab-forward locomotives battling the same grade. Narrow-gauge logging lines and restored interurbans. Depots of all shapes and sizes just waiting for you to explore them. I often get asked: “Bob, I’m going to (insert state here). What […]
The MTH Premier SD24 is a massive model of a historic locomotive more widely used than its initial owners list would indicate. Many units found second and third lives on other railroads after their initial stints. Like all of MTH’s newer offerings this wasn’t in a catalog. Instead, it was announced in 2022 as a […]
News & Products for the week of May 15th 2023 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 May 15th 2023. […]
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. […]
Rare genset diesel locomotives South of Sacramento and north of Modesto lies Stockton, Calif., home to Central California Traction Company and its rare genset diesel locomotives. Built by Brookville Equipment Corp. of Pennsylvania in early 2015, the units, designated BL12CG, are powered by a pair of Cummins prime movers connected to EMD D78 traction motors […]
OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific has released its 2022 Building America Report, outlining the company’s efforts to address sustainability, safety, corporate accountability, and community engagement by outlining its actions in areas ranging from workforce training to cybersecurity to contributions to nonprofit organizations. “This report highlights our progress to achieve the goals outlined in our Building […]
CALGARY, Alberta — CPKC today launched the Mexico Midwest Express premium intermodal service linking Chicago, Kansas City, and Laredo, Texas, with Monterrey and San Luis Potosi in Mexico. A nighttime photo on CPKC’s home page showed train MMX-181 about to break through a CPKC de Mexico banner on its inaugural northbound run. The newly merged […]
WASHINGTON — A Union Pacific train was going about 48 mph when it was sent onto a yard track from the main line and 35 mph when it hit a parked train at a yard in Chico, Texas, on April 16, according to a preliminary report released Wednesday by the National Transportation Safety Board. Two […]
The best-selling early GE diesel locomotives are familiar to fans of mid-century diesel power. General Electric has a long relationship with railroad motive power. The company began building heavy electric locomotives in the 1890s, furnished traction motors and electrical equipment to other builders through the 1950s, and eventually become the dominant diesel-electric locomotive manufacturer […]
Wabtec’s Fort Worth plant FORT WORTH, Texas — In October 2022, following my attendance at the Railway Supply Institute Expo and Technical Conference, I also had a chance to visit Wabtec’s locomotive assembly plant in Fort Worth. My visit happened to fall on the day Canadian National accepted the first of a series of 50 […]
OMAHA, Neb. — BNSF Railway’s first-quarter profit sank as volume fell in all four of the railroad’s business groups. BNSF’s pre-tax earnings declined 8.8%, to $1.6 billion, as revenue increased 1.9%, to $5.8 billion, BNSF’s parent, Berkshire Hathaway, reported on Saturday. The railroad’s operating ratio was 68.4%, a 3.8-point increase from a year ago, as […]
