Two CN lines in British Columbia shut down by fires (updated)

LYTTON, B.C. — Less than 24 hours after Canadian National reopened its fire-damaged main line in British Columbia, that line has been shut down again — as has the former British Columbia Railway line that had been used to reroute some traffic. Bloomberg reports CN informed customers on Wednesday that it was suspending operations between […]

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Broken coupler led to CP yard derailment, TSB report finds

CALGARY, Alberta — A coupler failure led to a string of cars rolling uncontrolled in a Canadian Pacific yard in Calgary and hitting a group of stationary cars, causing a 22-car derailment, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada determined in its investigation of the January 2019 incident. According to the TSB’s summary of the incident, […]

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Biden executive order prods STB to examine rail access, competition

WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden signed an executive order Friday afternoon that encourages the Surface Transportation Board to adopt rail regulatory reforms that shippers have long sought to promote competition. Among the potential changes sure to rile freight railroads: Rules that would permit reciprocal switching for captive shippers and removal of so-called bottleneck restrictions that […]

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Kansas City Southern discloses other merger suitors

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Southern was indeed the pretty girl at the dance. KCS was pursued by at least two other suitors besides Canadian Pacific and Canadian National – including an unnamed Class I system that was interested in acquiring only part of the cross-border railroad — during the lengthy process leading to […]

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CN, KCS make final case for voting trust to federal regulators

WASHINGTON — Responding to comments made to the Surface Transportation Board on their voting trust proposal, Canadian National and Kansas City Southern have made their final case for approval of a voting trust while the CN-KCS merger is being considered by regulators, rebutting at length claims made by rival Canadian Pacific. The Tuesday filing, available […]

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New report says railroads showed resilience during pandemic

EVANSTON, Ill. — A new report from the Northwestern University Transpotation Center says the U.S. freight rail proved to be reliable and resilient during the COVID-19 pandemic, even as other parts of the nation’s supply chain struggled. The report, available here, was prepared by Northwestern’s Joseph Schofer, Hani Mahmassani, Max Ng, and Breton Johnson. It […]

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Cleanup, investigation continue after CP derailment in Alberta

LACOMBE, Alberta — Cleanup and investigation are ongoing after the derailment of 23 cars of a Canadian Pacific train on Friday. The CBC reports the derailment was reported about 8:15 p.m. on Friday, and involved a 128-car train which included 110 loaded cars. Among the cars that derailed were four carrying tar oil, also known […]

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Model railroad locomotive, freight car, passenger car, structure, detail, and electronics announcements for July 8, 2021

Product news 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. Here are the products Model Railroader editors have news on for the week of July 8, 2021. HO scale locomotives  General Electric U23B diesel locomotive. New […]

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