Norfolk Southern has been fined $77,640 for violations of the Clean Water Act and other regulations stemming from an Oct. 9, 2019, derailment near Kathleen, Ga., according to a story in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The derailment, on a bridge, caused cars to accordion together with some breaking open. As a result, 50 gallons of diesel […]
Type of Train: Freight
Rail traffic slump continues in August, AAR says
WASHINGTON — U.S. rail traffic slumped 4.3% in August, with both carload and intermodal volume showing declines, according to the Association of American Railroads. “August was the third straight month in which total year-over-year U.S. rail carloads have fallen,” said AAR Senior Vice President John T. Gray. “A major reason why is that other than […]
Proposed reciprocal switching rule takes aim at inadequate railroad service (updated)
WASHINGTON – Shippers who suffer from inadequate railroad service would be able to gain access to a second carrier under a new reciprocal switching rule that the Surface Transportation Board proposed today. The board unanimously voted to approve the 51-page notice of proposed rulemaking, which it said would provide a streamlined path for access to […]
Norfolk Southern, DrayNow create joint venture to improve intermodal tracing and drayage
ATLANTA – Norfolk Southern has invested $8 million in DrayNow as part of a joint venture to improve the intermodal drayage experience for truckers and customers. DrayNow’s app for mobile devices provides customers with real-time shipment tracking and connects small fleet owner-operators with brokers who need first- and last-mile drayage service – in much the […]
Swiss Spectacular, Part 1: Tunnel(s) Vision
LOCARNO, Switzerland — The trains are new, modern, run on time, and everyone uses them to go everywhere. Clearly, I’m not at home. In fact, and as the dateline has given away, I am in Switzerland. This is night two of my second trip here, this time a three-week adventure. And while I am badly […]
CSX CEO talks growth, new CPKC interchange, and the importance of motivated railroaders
BOSTON – CSX Transportation still expects to see growth in revenue ton miles this year despite declines in several key commodity segments, CEO Joe Hinrichs told an investor conference today. While the railroad’s automotive, coal, minerals, and metals business has been strong, its chemicals, forest products, and international intermodal traffic are all down year over […]
House panel raps Department of Transportation response to rail and air safety issues
WASHINGTON – The House of Representatives Oversight Committee is probing the Department of Transportation’s response to a series of rail and aviation safety issues. The committee’s Republicans sent a letter yesterday to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg regarding train derailments and near-misses involving airlines. The letter asks DOT to provide documents related to “efforts to investigate […]
Nonhazardous waste from East Palestine to be trucked out
COSHOCTON COUNTY, Ohio — Beginning in mid-September, nonhazardous wastewater from Norfolk Southern’s East Palestine, Ohio, derailment cleanup will be trucked here for disposal, according to statements from the Environmental Protection Agency and a Spectrum News story. Currently, the site from the Feb. 3, derailment generates one million gallons of wastewater per week from excavation-related stormwater […]
Lionel Husky-Stack Cars
Lionel Husky Stack-Cars are now available. For the modern-day modeler, a hole in the market for the better part of the last decade would be the availability of scale intermodal cars. Atlas’s Gunderson well cars are next to impossible to find on the secondhand market, and previous releases by Lionel lacked details. Many were not […]
News & Products for the week of September 5th 2023
News & Products for the week of September 5th 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 September 5th […]
Meet Actor Michael Gross | Trains.com EXCLUSIVE Interview
Meet actor and model railroader Michael Gross. While he was in Milwaukee, Wisc., for Trainfest 2022, he carved out some time to talk with us about his family’s storied history in railroading and how he became a modeler. Michael also shares with us how Trains.com features like the magazine archive and video streaming have provided […]
Union Pacific, EPA to conduct soil testing near former SP tie treatment plant in Houston
HOUSTON – Union Pacific and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are seeking residents’ permission to conduct soil testing on their properties this month as part of the railroad’s ongoing effort to clean up contamination from the former Southern Pacific crosstie treatment plant in the Fifth Ward. The Houston Health Department independently conducted some additional soil […]