News & Products for the week of May 8th 2023

News & Products for the week of May 8th 2023: Image of a model locomotive

News & Products for the week of May 8th 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 May 8th 2023. […]

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BNSF’s first-quarter profit sags as volume declines 10%

OMAHA, Neb. — BNSF Railway’s first-quarter profit sank as volume fell in all four of the railroad’s business groups. BNSF’s pre-tax earnings declined 8.8%, to $1.6 billion, as revenue increased 1.9%, to $5.8 billion, BNSF’s parent, Berkshire Hathaway, reported on Saturday. The railroad’s operating ratio was 68.4%, a 3.8-point increase from a year ago, as […]

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Victorville officials kill plans for intermodal facility

Rendering of large intermodal terminal

VICTORVILLE, Calif. — Officials in Victorville have terminated longstanding plans to build an intermodal facility, which have become outdated with BNSF Railway’s plan to build its $1.5 billion Barstow International Gateway. The Victorville Daily Press reports that Victorville’s city council last week dissolved an agreement to develop the Southern California Logistics Rail Authority, approved by […]

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Kansas governor calls for regulation requiring two-person crews

Freight train with five locomotives from three railroads on bridge

TOPEKA, Kan. — Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly is seeking a regulation which would require two-person crews for trains operating within the state, calling it a “commonsense, necessary measure” for the safety of communities and crew members. Kelly, a Democrat, said in a press release that she has directed the state’s Department of Transportation to propose […]

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CN derailment in Ontario leads to small chemical leak

Work crews around derailed tank cars and damaged track

KINGSTON, Ontario — Six cars of a Canadian National train carrying hazardous materials derailed Friday in Kingston, Ontario, leading to a small chemical leak and collapsing a portion of a bridge, the CBC reports. No members of the train’s three-person crew were injured. Two tanks cars of the 12-car train ended up in Little Cataraqui […]

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BNSF resumes freight service on Surf Line

BNSF Railway logo

 SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. ­– ­BNSF Railway has resumed freight service on the ex-Santa Fe “Surf Line” between Los Angeles and San Diego past the site of a landslide in San Clemente, the Los Angeles Times reported. BNSF began running two to four trains a day through the area at speeds of 10 to 15 mph, […]

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At CN, holding for tonnage is out; running to schedule is in

CHICAGO — Canadian National executives on Wednesday dissected the long-train strategy that the railway has cast aside in favor of an operating plan where sticking to schedule is gospel. “The plan is sacred” was a phrase CN officials used multiple times during the railway’s investor day presentations. “You have this phrase around here … ‘the […]

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