Did you ever wonder how a railroad goes about building a train schedule? It’s more complex than you may think. Train schedules have intrigued me since my father returned from a 1966 business trip with a present of current public timetables from 13 railroads. To 11-year-old me the timetables were like windows to a new […]
Type of Train: Freight
Flooding halts Amtrak, Metro-North, CSX operations in Hudson Valley
CROTON-HARMON, N.Y. — Flooding in New York’s Hudson River Valley has disrupted Amtrak, Metro-North, and CSX Transportation operations today (Monday, July 10). An alert on the Amtrak website says service between New York and Albany is suspended for at least the remainder of today as the Metro-North Railroad repairs tracks damaged by flooding. The New […]
Union Pacific, conductors announce agreement on sick time (updated)
OMAHA Neb. — Union Pacific has reached a tentative agreement on paid sick leave with the union representing conductors over paid sick leave, the railroad announced today (Sunday, June 9). The agreement, which will cover about 5,900 employees, means UP now has tentative or ratified sick-time agreements with all 13 of its labor unions. The […]
NTSB to investigate derailment of NS coal train in Virginia
ELLISTON, Va. — The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the derailment of a Norfolk Southern coal train Thursday night near Elliston, the Associated Press reports. The NTSB confirmed its investigation plans in a Twitter post this evening (July 7). Nineteen cars derailed but stayed upright in the incident, which came after the train crew […]
Montana Rail Link main line still closed, with no estimate for reopening
REED POINT, Mont. — The Montana Rail Line main line remains closed at the site of the June 24 bridge collapse and derailment that sent 10 freight cars into the Yellowstone River, but work is continuing “around the clock” to restore normal operations as soon as possible, according to the latest update from the Unified […]
FRA issues safety bulletin on shove movements after conductor trainee death
WASHINGTON – The Federal Railroad Administration has issued a safety bulletin after a CSX Transportation conductor trainee was killed during a shove movement in Baltimore. The FRA is investigating the June 26 accident at the Seagirt Marine Terminal at the Port of Baltimore [see “NTSB investigating CSX employee death …,” Trains News Wire, June 27, […]
AAR sues to block Ohio crew-size law
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Association of American Railroads has filed suit to overturn an Ohio law requiring two-person crews for freight trains, saying federal law preempts the state action, the Associated Press reports. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court on June 29, argues that the state’s crew-size law “cannot be squared” with several federal […]
California funds to allow expansion of rail facilities at San Joaquin Valley inland port
ATWATER, Calif. — The California State Transportation Agency, or CalSTA, has awarded Merced County a $49.6 million grant for buildout of an inland port at the Castle Commerce Center, a 1,900-acre freight transportation hub at the site of the former Castle Air Force Base. The grant, one of the largest in the history of the […]
British Columbia dockworker strike continues to hit Canadian rail traffic
The dockworker strike at Western Canadian ports has dragged into its sixth day today (Thursday, July 6), putting a dent in Canadian rail traffic. Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Kansas City have both issued embargoes for certain types of freight moving to Vancouver and, in the case of CN, Prince Rupert, British Columbia. “CPKC is […]
The Hills Line with James McNab | Goals, givens and druthers, Episode 13
In this episode of The Hills Line, host James McNab is making plans to build a portable layout that complements his HO scale Hills Line layout. He explains where the idea came from and sorts out the goals, givens and druthers that go along with this project. […]
Regulators set schedule for hearing coal producer’s common carrier complaint against BNSF
WASHINGTON — Federal regulators have set a procedural schedule for handling Navajo Transitional Energy Co.’s common carrier complaint against BNSF Railway. The Surface Transportation Board last month issued a preliminary injunction that ordered BNSF to handle a minimum of 4.2 million tons of coal from NTEC’s Spring Creek mine in Montana to export at the […]
First run of the Lionel Pennsylvania RR L1 Mikado
With the release of the Lionel Pennsylvania RR L1 Mikado, it seems that we’ve returned to pre-pandemic manufacturing timelines with the manufacturer. This Legacy engine, cataloged in Lionel’s 2022 Volume II edition, has been delivered in less than a year. This is another product made with tooling acquired from MTH Trains a few years ago. […]