The MTH Premier SD24 is a massive model of a historic locomotive more widely used than its initial owners list would indicate. Many units found second and third lives on other railroads after their initial stints. Like all of MTH’s newer offerings this wasn’t in a catalog. Instead, it was announced in 2022 as a […]
Type of Train: Freight
Cincinnati Southern board delays decision on election
CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Southern Railway board of trustees will decide in July whether to place the proposed sale of the city-owned railroad on the November ballot, WVXU Radio reports. The city has agreed to sell the railroad, the nation’s only municipally owned interstate rail line, to Norfolk Southern for $1.62 billion. But city voters […]
Gulf & Atlantic completes acquisition of three short lines
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Gulf & Atlantic Railways has completed its acquisition of three railroads in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, expanding the company to five railroads. The company announced today (May 16) that it closed on May 12 on the acquisition of the Camp Chase Railroad; Chesapeake & Indiana Railroad; and Vermilion Valley Railroad. It had […]
New BNSF intermodal service to link Port Houston with Dallas/Fort Worth and Denver
FORT WORTH, Texas — BNSF Railway will add service from the port of Houston to Alliance, Texas, and Denver next month. “As part of our continued commitment to adjusting to our customers’ and the marketplace’s needs to enable growth and the efficient movement of shipments, BNSF is expanding our network of lane offerings with new […]
Union Pacific to consolidate Global 1 intermodal traffic at expanded, upgraded Global 2 terminal
OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific will shift intermodal traffic from its Global 1 terminal in Chicago to the expanded Global 2 terminal in Northlake, Ill., effective June 19, the railroad said in a customer advisory on Monday. UP has invested more than $150 million in the expansion and upgrade of Global 2. Lift capacity has […]
Clean-up under way after 31-car BNSF derailment in Texas
DACUS, Texas — Clean-up is in progress following the weekend derailment of 31 cars of a BNSF Railway train of crushed limestone in the small town of Dacus. No injuries were reported. There is some disagreement between the railroad and local officials over the reporting of the incident. BNSF told KTRK-TV on Monday that it […]
Analysis: Can U.S. railroads bounce back from a dismal decade?
Well, this isn’t a pretty picture. From 2013 to 2022 U.S. industrial production eked out 3% growth, overall economic output increased 57%, and truck tonnage grew 26%. Yet volume on the big four U.S. railroads increased by an average of just 2% for the decade — a figure that mercifully does not include coal traffic. […]
Pennsylvania legislature sees series of rail-regulation bills
HARRISBURG, Pa. — While one wide-ranging bill has advanced out of a Pennsylvania House committee, four other bills aimed at regulating railroads in the state have also been introduced since the East Palestine, Ohio, derailment, which also impacted Pennsylvania residents. The Tribune-Democrat of Johnstown, Pa., reports none have yet been voted on by the state House […]
Genesee & Wyoming opens new dispatching center (corrected)
ST. ALBANS, Vt. — Genesee & Wyoming held a grand opening ceremony on Thursday for its American Rail Dispatching Center, from which the company dispatches movements on 100 railroads in 42 states. G&W announced plans for the 10,000-square-foot facility early in 2022 [see “Plans set for new Genesee & Wyoming dispatching center,” Trains News Wire, […]
Preservation group goes to court over Bismarck bridge
BISMARCK, N.D. — The preservation group seeking to block demolition of a 140-year-old BNSF Railway bridge has taken its effort to court. The Bismarck Tribune reports that the group Friends of the Rail Bridge has filed an appeal with the state’s South Central District Court seeking to overturn a decision by the state Department of […]
FRA issues safety advisory in wake of Union Pacific collision in Texas
WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration issued a safety advisory this week in the aftermath of an April collision and derailment on Union Pacific that involved a misaligned hand-throw switch. The FRA continues to investigate the April 16 collision in Texas that occurred in dark territory with no positive train control overlay. The National Transportation […]
Chicago suburbs sue over CPKC merger
CHICAGO — A group of western Chicago suburbs opposed to the union of Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern is asking that regulators reconsider the CPKC merger. In a federal lawsuit filed Thursday with the U.S. Seventh Circuit, the eight communities and one county that make up the Coalition to Stop CPKC called the Surface […]