William Gray, midwestern preservation figure, dies at 49

FOUNTAINTOWN, Ind. — One of the Midwestern leaders of U.S. railway preservation has passed away. William Walter Gray, 49, died Oct. 12 from brain cancer. Known as one of the driving forces behind Indiana’s Whitewater Valley Railroad tourist line, he was a professional railroader, having worked as a Cincinnati-based CSX locomotive engineer for 26 years. […]

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STB sets new schedule for Amtrak Gulf Coast case

WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board has granted a new extension for the process of addressing Amtrak’s request to require CSX and Norfolk Southern to allow passenger service between New Orleans and Mobile, Ala. — while cautioning that it will not look favorably on further efforts to delay the process. Amtrak filed the request in […]

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Where on a car should a consolidated stencil be placed?

Q: I’m interested in correctly applying consolidated stencils to rail cars existing in 1972 when consolidated stencils were introduced. Please describe the parameters of the area on a rail car within which the consolidated stencil must be located. This is possibly described in AAR Field Guide, Rule 80. – Chris Roehl A: Hi, Chris. You’re right; the […]

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Top KCS Precision Scheduled Railroading official to leave company

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Sameh Fahmy, Kansas City Southern’s executive vice president, precision scheduled railroading, will leave KCS by year’s end, the railroad has announced. Fahmy joined KCS in January 2019. Since then, the railroad says it has increased train velocity by 37%, decreasing freight car dwell by 18%, enacted double-digit reductions in equipment, and […]

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Model railroad locomotive, freight car, passenger car, structure, detail, and weathering supply announcements for October 14, 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 October 14, 2021. HO scale locomotives Electro-Motive Division GP38-2 diesel locomotive. CSX […]

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News photo: New Brightline equipment en route to Florida

HOPKINSVILLE, Ky. — Brightline’s newest equipment is making its way to Florida. On Friday, Oct. 8, Union Pacific ET44AH No. 2603 leads a new trainset, operating as CSX train CSX W989 on the Henderson Subdivision at CSX Casky yard in Hopkinsville, Ky. The new equipment — to be used as service is expanded to Orlando, […]

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Canadian Pacific Holiday Train to remain sidelined in 2021

CALGARY, Alberta — Canadian Pacific’s Holiday Train will again be sidelined by COVID-19 considerations in 2021, but the railroad will continue with the actions it took in 2020, donating to food banks and holding an online benefit concert. “The spirit of the Holiday Train is about giving generously and inspiring those around us to give […]

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Reading Company: A railroad history

Reading Company, as a railroad, disappeared into Conrail more than 40 years ago. But it is still possible to “take a ride on the Reading.” This can be done when playing the board game Monopoly, or (more literally) by boarding a Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority commuter train in the Philadelphia area. Today, the Reading (pronounced […]

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Iowa Pacific Railroad equipment in late 2021

ALAMOSA, Colorado — Iowa Pacific Railroad equipment rolled out of Alamosa in the San Luis Valley bound for days of fun, music, and beer in the Colorado mountains until just a few years ago. The Illinois Central colors of Iowa Pacific Holdings and the trains of the San Luis & Rio Grande added to the […]

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