Pan Am paints second GE locomotive NEWSWIRE

Freshly painted Pan Am Railway C40-8 No. 7635 rolls west in the consist of Waterville-to-Portland train WAPO on Feb. 10, 2018, near New Gloucester, Maine. Chris Guss WATERVILLE, Maine — Pan Am Railways’ second C40-8 rolled out of the paint booth last week. MEC No. 7635, formerly a CSX Transportation locomotive of the same road […]

Read More…

New model trains for the week of February 8, 2018

HO scale locomotives Electro-Motive Division SD40 diesel locomotive. CSX (Norfolk Southern patchout), Pennsylvania RR (four road numbers), Southern Pacific (no. 7342 in orange and Daylight Red and orange), and Southern Ry. (as-delivered scheme and Norfolk Southern heritage unit no. 3170). Three numbers per scheme unless noted. Prototype-specific details, factory-installed and painted wire grab irons, and […]

Read More…

Ahead of the rest

A southbound ‘Acela’ races across a stretch of positive train control trackage on Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor at Perryville, Md., on June 5, 2011. Michael T. Burkhart This story first appeared in the October 2011 issue of Trains Magazine. The Advanced Civil Speed Enforcement System highlighted here was not active at the time of the of […]

Read More…

Positive Train Control: Beyond the basics

Positive Train Control Tick, tock. U.S. railroads have collectively spent decades and billions of dollars on positive train control research. Tick. Public outcry after a 2008 commuter crash that killed 25 people — a crash that a Federal safety panel says PTC could have prevented — pushed Congress to act. Tock. With a Congressional deadline […]

Read More…

Scheduling freight trains

Northbound CSX Transportation aggregates train K944 is seen meeting intermodal train Q145 at Opelika, Ala., in 2010. Class I railroads use different kinds of schedules to keep their networks fluid and profitable, even on single-track lines. Frank Orona What time will the train depart? When will it arrive? While most people associate schedules with passenger […]

Read More…

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 […]

Read More…

Sanborn lands at UP NEWSWIRE

Cindy Sanborn OMAHA, Neb. – Former CSX Transportation Chief Operating Officer Cindy Sanborn, who left the railroad as part of an October management purge, has landed on her feet at Union Pacific. Sanborn on Friday was named regional vice president of transportation for UP’s Western Region. She will move into the new role on Feb. […]

Read More…

Letter: NS may move train dispatchers to Atlanta NEWSWIRE

ATLANTA — A union message to its members indicates that Norfolk Southern may soon move all train dispatching to a corporate base in Atlanta. A representative from the American Train Dispatchers Association, affiliated with the AFL-CIO, sent a message to members this week telling them that NS executives plan to relocate and centralize all train […]

Read More…

Union Pacific to build new hump yard in Texas NEWSWIRE

Hearne, Texas Google Maps OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific will build a new hump yard in Texas to handle growth in carload traffic that threatens to eventually swamp existing yards in the Lone Star State. The $550 millon Brazos Yard, to be built in Hearne, Texas, is scheduled to open in 2020, Chief Operating Officer […]

Read More…

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), […]

Read More…

‘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 […]

Read More…