News Wire Top 10, No. 7: Railroad crew shortages

At the onset of the pandemic in 2020, Class I railroads furloughed train crews as volume sank at its fastest rate ever. When volume rebounded, crew members were not called back to work at the same rate as traffic returned because railroads were moving their tonnage on fewer but longer trains. Then three things happened […]

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NS intermodal train derails, closing Georgia highway

SYCAMORE, Ga. — Some 14 cars of a Norfolk Southern intermodal train derailed Friday near Sycamore, closing an adjacent highway. No injuries were reported and no hazardous materials were involved. Turner County Fire/Emergency Management Agency reported U.S. 41 had been blocked by the derailment, which occurred about 7:30 a.m. Friday. Part of the route was […]

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Ask MR: What is dynamic braking and how does it work?

Q: What is dynamic braking on trains? – Mark Kroll A: Unlike a typical diesel-powered car or truck, a diesel locomotive doesn’t have a direct mechanical linkage between its diesel engine and its wheels. These locomotives are more properly called diesel-electrics. Rather than turning a driveshaft that drives the wheels, the engine (or “prime mover”) […]

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Analysis: Do railroad mergers match their rosy growth projections?

Do railroad mergers live up to the hype? It’s a question that’s been rattling around in my head as federal regulators review the Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger, the first between Class I railroads in two decades. First, the projections. Within three years of the merger, Canadian Pacific Kansas City expects to gain 80,000 carloads […]

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Tennessee man killed at NS project in Pennsylvania

DAUPHIN, Pa. — A 27-year-old Kingsport, Tenn., man has been identified as the victim of a fatal accident on a Norfolk Southern project earlier this month. The Kingsport Times-News reports Kolton Parker Helbert, an employee of National Salvage & Service Corp., was killed in the Dec. 8 accident. National Salvage provides demolition and dismantlement services. […]

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Greenbrier joins Rail Pulse technology consortium

LAKE OSWEGO, Ore. — Railcar manufacturer The Greenbrier Companies has joined the Rail Pulse coalition, becoming the first company beyond the five founding members to join the effort to develop GPS and telematic technology for railcar tracking and other applications. Norfolk Southern, Genesee & Wyoming, Watco, GATX Corp, and TrinityRail formed Rail Pulse in 2020. […]

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Model railroad locomotive, freight car, passenger equipment, structure, and accessory announcements for December 16, 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 December 16, 2021. HO scale locomotives Electro-Motive Division SW1500 diesel locomotive. Burlington […]

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