OTTAWA, Ontario — Canada’s Federal Court of Appeals has overturned a lower-court ruling blocking Canadian National Railway’s development of a Toronto-area intermodal facility, allowing construction of the terminal to move forward. The Canadian Press reports that a three-judge panel ruled on Friday that the federal government’s decision to allow construction of the facility in Milton, […]
Type of Train: Freight
Freight, passenger railroads on high alert as Hurricane Milton intensifies to Category 5 (updated)
TAMPA, Fla. — Hurricane Milton is still 700 miles from Florida’s coastal railroads, but the storm’s rapid strengthening from a weekend tropical storm into a Category 5 hurricane has freight railroads on high alert, and Amtrak is already canceling most of its Florida service for the week. Amtrak’s southbound Silver Star No. 91 and Silver […]
News & Products for the week of October 7th 2024
News & Products for the week of October 7th 2024 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 October 7th […]
Coal train derailment blocks CSX main line in western Virginia
COVINGTON, Va. — Approximately 25 cars of a CSX coal train derailed this early this morning near Covington, blocking two local highways as well as both tracks of the railroad’s main line along the I-64 Corridor. A CSX spokesman said the derailment occurred about 2:21 a.m. No injuries were reported, and the railroad is working […]
Indiana’s Rochester & Erie doubles carload business in first year of operation
ROCHESTER, Ind. — It was spring 2023 when Eric Thurlow received an unexpecting phone call asking him if he’d want to become part owner in an Indiana short line. At the time, Thurlow was assistant vice president of sales and marketing at Genesee & Wyoming. On the other end of the phone was Corey Tumpane, […]
SMART-MD members ratify contracts with BNSF, CSX, NS
WASHINGTON — Members of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation’s Railroad, Mechanical, and Engineering Department (SMART-MD) has ratified new contracts with BNSF Railway, CSX, and Norfolk Southern, the union announced. Union members voted 69% in favor of the deal at BNSF, 68% at CSX, and 62% at NS. The five-year agreements, […]
Terminal operations improvements speed up BNSF’s merchandise network
FORT WORTH, Texas — BNSF Railway’s merchandise network is now running better than it has in years due to a focus on improving terminal operations. BNSF began looking at ways to unclog its yards earlier this year, an effort that was accelerated in July after the railroad brought in veteran operations guru Ed Harris, a […]
What happens if railroads can’t grow? Nothing good — Analysis
Let’s suppose, for the sake of argument, that the Class I railroads cannot successfully shift into growth mode. What happens then? Carload business will slowly wither away, except for the few bulk and dangerous commodities that have no other way to move. Intermodal will remain stuck in neutral, with domestic container and trailer traffic unable […]
CN Winter Plan outlines seasonal preparedness
MONTREAL — Canadian National Railway this week published its Winter Plan or 2024-25, an annual document required by the Canadian government to address operating plans in the demanding conditions that can develop in the northern climate. Highlights of the preparations, as outlined by the railroad, include: — Air car program: CN has spent more than […]
Athearn N ACF 2970 Center Flow
An American Car & Foundry 2,970-cubic-foot capacity two-bay Center Flow covered hopper is now part of Athearn’s Genesis series. The N scale model, which we last reviewed in the June 2010 issue, still features injection-molded plastic construction, body-mounted couplers, and metal wheelsets. Among the product upgrades are rubber train line hoses; separate, factory-applied uncoupling levers; […]
Port strike ends on third day (updated)
The strike by dockworkers that shut down East Coast ports came to an end today (Thursday, Oct. 3) when the International Longshoremen’s Association and the United States Maritime Alliance announced they had come to a tentative agreement on wages and an extension of the master contract. The agreement ended the strike on its third day. […]
Train dispatchers ratify new agreement with BNSF Railway
FORT WORTH, Texas — The American Train Dispatchers Association (ATDA) has voted to ratify a new contract agreement with BNSF Railway. The new agreement, announced today, increases wages, accelerates paid vacation accrual, and includes other contractual improvements. The news comes a month ahead of the opening of the next collective bargaining round and provides a […]