WASHINGTON — The Association of American Railroads and American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association reacted positively Wednesday after Senate confirmation of Amit Bose as Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration. “For the nation’s railroads, there is no higher priority than safety,” AAR CEO Ian Jefferies said in a statement, “and the industry is committed […]
Read More…
Reviving a 1980s Z scale train set I bought this 1980s Z scale train set, made by Märklin, as a high school student in 1981 while on a short exchange program visit to southern Germany. I immediately set it up in the bedroom of my host family in the village of Marienthal, in the Rhineland […]
Read More…
LOMBARD, Ill. — Alan Shaw introduced himself to the Midwest Association of Rail Shippers with a statement he clearly would have preferred to avoid. “We don’t have a good product right now,” Shaw said. “That’s unacceptable to me, that’s unacceptable for our employees, and it’s unacceptable to our customers,” continued the new president of Norfolk […]
Read More…
WASHINGTON — Amtrak today unveiled a specially painted P42DC to mark the 50th Anniversary of Operation Lifesaver. P4DC No. 203, repainted with the message, “See Tracks? Think Train!” was released into service today during a ceremony at Washington Union Station. The black-and-yellow locomotive commemorates the 50th anniversary of Operation Lifesaver, the nonprofit organization dedicated to […]
Read More…
Model train layout operating ideas can come from a variety of places. I returned from a couple of operating weekends in the fall of 2021 ready to run more trains, but I also picked up a few ideas I thought were worth sharing. In the Omaha, Neb., area, I visited Don Zinnacker’s Chicago, Burlington […]
Read More…
LOMBARD, Ill. — Mexico’s port of Lazaro Cardenas will become a significant option in addressing congestion at U.S. West Coast ports and a “necessary” addition to the intermodal supply chain under the Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger, CP CEO Keith Creel contends. Creel and KCS CEO Patrick Ottensmeyer, appearing jointly at the Midwest Association of […]
Read More…
Q: I have made several stacks of scale 4 x 8 plywood for use as scenery on my HO scale layout. I place them as boxcar loads, but was wondering how lumber is shipped on the railroads? Was plywood in fact shipped in boxcars, or were other types of railcars used? – David Bellamy, Caledon, […]
Read More…
A solar-powered garden railroad building is a fairly easy project for most do-it-yourselfers. But one day while shopping at a home-improvement store, I stumbled on to a solar pathway light similar in shape to an HO scale model I liked. I thought the size would work well in my garden railroad as a structure. I […]
Read More…
LUDLOW, Ky. – Norfolk Southern and the Ludlow Heritage Museum have signed a lease agreement to preserve the NS-owned former Southern Railway Ludlow Yard Store House building, the last remaining original structure in Ludlow used by the Cincinnati, New Orleans & Texas Pacific Railway, which was leased to Southern in 1894. The agreement allows museum […]
Read More…
NEWARK, N.J. – NJ Transit has awarded contracts for two station renovation projects in Newark and Trenton. In Newark, the agency has approved an all-inclusive professional services contract to perform master planning, design services, and construction support services as part of a long-term project for the restoration and renovation of Newark Penn Station. NJ Transit’s […]
Read More…
ABILENE, Kan. — The Abilene & Smoky Valley Railroad is launching a fundraising campaign to upgrade its former Rock Island track between Abilene and Enterprise, Kan. Abilene & Smoky Valley, organized in 1993, purchased the right-of-way from Union Pacific and has been operating excursion trains on the Abilene-Enterprise route since 1994. The railroad is best […]
Read More…
PITTSBURGH — Precision Terminal Logistics, a material-handling firm owned in part by Anacostia Rail Holdings, has acquired The Kearney Companies Inc. of New Orleans and Kearney Page Warehouse Services of Savannah, Ga., gaining rail-served warehouse and yard capacity. The transaction was effective Dec. 31, 2021. KPWS will be rebranded as The Kearney Companies-Savannah. David Kearney […]
Read More…