WORCESTER, Mass. — When Trains Magazine wrote about baseball parks near railroad tracks (“High iron baseball,” June 2023), one of the qualifications for the article was the ability to see trains pass from within the ballpark. Worcester’s Polar Park didn’t make the magazine — although it’s in this Trains.com article — but it’s clear it […]
Type of Train: Freight
U.S. weekly rail traffic shows more moderate decline
WASHINGTON — U.S. rail traffic for the week ending June 17 was one of the mildest weekly declines this year, according to statistics from the Association of American Railroads. Overall traffic was 477,126 carloads and intermodal units, down just 3% from the same week in 2022. That included 228,724 carloads, up 1.2%, and 248,402 containers […]
Federal proposal would require railroads to maintain, provide information on hazardous materials in train consists
WASHINGTON — A new proposal from the federal government would require railroads to maintain updated electronic information on hazardous materials in train consists, and to transmit that information to local first responders as soon as the railroad is aware of an incident. The Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration announced the proposed […]
CPKC and Americold team up to locate cold storage facilities along rail network
CALGARY, Alberta — A global operator of temperature-controlled warehouses will locate facilities along the CPKC network, the railway and Americold Realty Trust announced on Wednesday. The first cold storage facility under the collaboration deal will be built in Kansas City, Mo., which is on the route of CPKC’s new Mexico Midwest Express intermodal service linking […]
BNSF, Carmen’s union seek expansion of test program for brake monitoring
FORT WORTH, Texas — The Brotherhood of Railway Carmen Division has joined with BNSF Railway to support an effort to further use of technology analyzing the health of railcar brake systems. The union is joining with the railroad to support a request to the Federal Railroad Administration to expand a test waiver for the Brake […]
Amtrak, BNSF seek closure of Seattle street for yard expansion
SEATTLE — Amtrak and BNSF Railway are asking the city of Seattle to close a section of a street near the Seattle Mariners’ ballpark in the city’s Sodo neighborhood to expand the passenger carrier’s maintenance facility and eliminate a busy grade crossing. The Seattle Times reports the proposal would close South Holgate Street, which splits […]
B&O freight on the old Buffalo & Susquehanna
Consolidation 3127 climbs toward Cutler Summit with the first cut of a train the elderly 2-8-0 is doubling up the hill. This is Baltimore & Ohio’s former Buffalo & Susquehanna line near the New York-Pennsylvania boundary in September 1955. Philip R. Hastings photo […]
News & Products for the week of June 19th 2023
News & Products for the week of June 19th 2023 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. The following are the products Model Railroader editors have news on for the week of June 19th 2023. […]
NS sells land in Georgia for breakbulk facility
SAVANNAH, Ga. — Bulk storage firm Colonial Terminals has purchased 16.7 acres from Norfolk Southern in Savannah to develop a breakbulk facility along the Savannah River, the two companies have announced. The land is adjacent to a Norfolk Southern rail terminal and an existing Colonial Terminal riverfront facility. The new rail-served facility should allow in […]
Coast Guard bridge plan ignores practices elsewhere, realities of railroad operation: Analysis
STUART, Fla. — The U.S. Coast Guard’s recent decision to mandate scheduled openings for a St. Lucie River drawbridge does not reflect protocols successfully implemented to the south in Fort Lauderdale when Brightline trains first began frequent operation in May 2018. The “temporary deviation” from current rules published in the Federal Register calls for openings […]
NTSB releases witness list for East Palestine hearing
WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board on Friday released the list of witnesses scheduled to appear at next week’s investigative hearing on the Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern derailment and hazardous material release in East Palestine, Ohio. That hearing is scheduled for June 22-23 at East Palestine High School and will deal with the decision […]
NTSB says slack action was probable cause of BNSF yard fatality
WASHINGTON — Slack action was the probable cause of the Feb. 9, 2022, death of a BNSF Railway remote control operator helper who fell from the front platform of his locomotive in Denver, the National Transportation Safety Board said today. “Surveillance video evidence reviewed by NTSB investigators shows slack action in the train consist at […]