Confidential Close Call reporting basics

Confidential Close Call reporting basics A New Jersey Transit train zips northward from Atlantic City to New York’s Penn Station on Jan. 23, 2010. If the crew were to err, they could report the close call and be part of a bigger program to improve safety, rather than be punished. Dennis A. Livesay photograph Confidential […]

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2018 Railroad Hobby Show report

Athearn Trains HO scale Altoona, Pa.,-rebuilt SD60E diesel locomotive HO scale locomotives Altoona, Pa.,-rebuilt SD60E diesel locomotive. Norfolk Southern with Crescent cab. Four road numbers, including “Honoring First Responders.” Detailed cab interior, standard cab roof or Positive Train Control antenna array as appropriate, and railroad-specific long-hood detail. Direct-current model, $219.98; with SoundTraxx Digital Command Control […]

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New model trains for the week of January 18, 2018

HO scale locomotives Electro-Motive Division GP7 diesel locomotive. New paint schemes: Algoma Central (maroon, gray, and yellow), Amtrak (silver and black), Central California Traction (red), Great Northern (Empire Builder scheme), and Missouri-Kansas-Texas (green and yellow). New road numbers: Bangor & Aroostook (gray, red, and black), Belt Ry. of Chicago (gray, black, and yellow, two numbers), […]

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‘There is no turning back’ NEWSWIRE

CSX CEO James M. Foote CSX Corp. JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jim Foote-era at CSX Transportation began with a rumble that emphatically signaled his commitment to following through on what the late CEO E. Hunter Harrison began. In a symbolic move, Foote’s first decision after being named chief executive in December was ordering the hump […]

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New model trains for the week of January 11, 2018

Schuylkill Iron Works HO scale Pacific Car & Foundry flatcars HO scale freight cars Pacific Car & Foundry flatcars. Shielded-deck flatcar, rail deck flatcar, and I-beam deck flatcar. Cast-resin kits with trucks but no wheels. $29 each plus shipping (mix and match any three, $85). Pennsylvania residents add 6 percent sales tax. Schuylkill Iron Works, […]

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UP: Capital spending to be flat in 2018 NEWSWIRE

Kevin Hicks, Union Pacific’s associate vice president, engineering-design, reviews 2017 and announces UP’s capital spending plans for 2018 at the NRC conference in Los Angeles. TRAINS: David Lassen LOS ANGELES — A Union Pacific leader says the railroad will likely keep its capital spending right around $3 billion this year — the same as for […]

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Pension changes not a big deal, eh? NEWSWIRE

Canadian National and Canadian Pacific are likely to see their operating ratios rise this year — but for a reason that has nothing to do with the railways’ industry-leading efficiency. An accounting rules change that went into effect on Jan. 1 will disproportionately affect CN and CP. As a result, CN’s operating ratio is expected […]

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New model trains for the week of January 4, 2018

HO scale locomotives Electro-Motive Division GP40P-2 diesel locomotive. Southern Pacific (no. 3197 in American Revolution Bicentennial and scarlet and gray schemes; nos. 7600 through 7602 in factory weathered scarlet and gray) and Union Pacific (two road numbers). Light-emitting-diode headlights, vinyl m.u. hoses, and wire grab irons. Direct-current model, $189.98; with dual-mode SoundTraxx Tsunami2 sound decoder, […]

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Making your rail mileage count

An NS 21st Century Steam excursion adds to the mileage totals for riders at Williamstown, Ky., in May 2014. Two photos, Robert S. McGonigal Railroads are all about places – where the rails go to transport freight and passengers. In the 1920s, the “Index of Railroad Stations” at the back of each edition of The […]

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CSX CEO Hunter Harrison has died NEWSWIRE

CSX CEO E. Hunter Harrison R.G. Edmonson JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – CSX Transportation CEO E. Hunter Harrison, the influential and innovative railroader who was respected, sought after, feared, and loathed in equal measures, died today. He was 73. Harrison worked his way up through the ranks after beginning his rail career as a carman for the […]

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Bowser Trains HO scale GMDD SD40-2F

Bowser Trains HO scale GMDD SD20-2F The plastic body shell features many separate metal and plastic detail parts. Engineer’s side of the Bowser Trains HO scale SD40-2F For the first time in plastic, a cowl-body SD40-2F rolls along HO scale rails thanks to Bowser Trains. Dubbed “Red Barn” by railfans, the cowl body locomotive is […]

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