Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: $219.99 (direct current with 21-pin NEM connector), $319.99 (with dual-mode SoundTraxx Tsunami2 sound decoder). Add $10 for Primed for Grime models. Era: Late 1960s to 2019 (varies depending on paint scheme) Manufacturer: Athearn Trains, 2904 Research Rd., Champaign, IL 61822, 800-338-4639, athearn.com Electro-Motive Division SW1000 features: Injection-molded plastic body Separate, factory-installed wire […]
OMAHA, Neb. — BNSF Railway’s revenue and profits grew in the first quarter despite a decline in volume. The railway’s operating income rose 8%, to $2 billion, as revenue increased 10%, to $6 billion, thanks to higher revenue per carload and intermodal unit, the railroad’s parent company, Berkshire Hathaway, reported on Saturday. BNSF’s operating ratio […]
Norfolk Southern CEO Jim Squires retired over the weekend, passing the baton to new NS President Alan Shaw effective May 1. Squires, who became chief executive in 2015, had an eventful tenure at the helm. Under Squires’ watch, NS fended off unwanted merger advances from Canadian Pacific, pared its Triple Crown RoadRailer service amid the […]
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WINNIPEG, Manitoba — A track-repair error led to a rail-joint failure, causing a 2019 derailment of a Canadian National oil train, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada said in its summary of a report released Friday. The Feb. 16, 2019, accident near St-Lazare, Man., led to the derailment of 37 cars of a 110-car crude […]
BURLINGTON, N.D. — Fifteen cars of a BNSF Railway intermodal train derailed early Sunday near Burlington, with some cars catching fire, closing the railroad’s Glasgow Subdivision main line just west of Minot, N.D. KMOT-TV reports that while the derailment occurred about 1 a.m., as of 3:15 p.m., the fire was still burning because firefighters were […]
MONTICELLO, Ill. — The Monticello Railway Museum kicked off its opening weekend of 2022 operations using former Chicago & Illinois Midland Railroad RS1325 No. 31 as power for its passenger train. The museum acquired the RS1325, one of only two of the model built by Electro-Motive Division, in late 2020. New this year was the […]
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Brightline and the Florida Department of Transportation will seek a $25 million federal grant to help fund a $45 million project to address ongoing grade-crossing accidents along the passenger operator’s route in South Florida. The Palm Beach Post reports in a paywalled article that the project would make improvements at […]
OMAHA, Neb. — Railroad union members, who have been increasingly vocal about working conditions and the lack of a new contract, protested Saturday at the annual meeting of BNSF Railway parent Berkshire Hathaway, picketing and handing out leaflets outside the meeting site. The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen has also taken out ads in […]
WASHINGTON — The Rail Passengers Association and a major union reacted positively to nominations by President Joe Biden to fill five positions on the 10-member Amtrak board of directors. “America’s passengers asked President Biden to make the Amtrak Board a top priority, and he did,” Rail Passengers Association CEO Jim Mathews said in a press […]
NEW ORLEANS — A former Amtrak employee has pleaded guilty to charges of making false statements and theft of government funds for actions related to money received under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Stacey V. Santemore, 46, of Houston, entered the plea on April 27 in U.S. District Court, the U.S. […]
SHELTON, Neb. — Fifteen cars of a Union Pacific train derailed Friday evening near Shelton, Neb., temporarily closing the railroad’s main line on the Kearney Subdivision. The Grand Island Independent reports the derailment occurred about 5:45 p.m. about a mile west of Shelton along U.S. Route 30. No injuries were reported, and no hazardous materials […]
