Sanders blocks Senate resolution to impose rail settlement

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WASHINGTON — An objection by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Wednesday blocked a resolution offered by two Republican senators seeking to avert a rail work stoppage by imposing the recommendations made in August by a Presidential Emergency Board. The Capitol Hill website Roll Call reports Sens. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) had sought […]

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Pullman-Standard 60-foot double-door auto parts boxcar

Model of green boxcar in front of white background

Pullman-Standard 60-foot double-door auto parts boxcar Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: $34.98 ($29.98 undecorated) Era: 1960s to 2000s Manufacturer: Wm. K. Walthers Inc., 5601 W. Florist Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53218; 414-527-0770; walthers.com 60-foot Pullman-Standard double door auto parts boxcar features: Updated tooling with new car sides Based on cars with 10- and 6-foot doors 70-ton trucks […]

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CN CEO hopes railroads and labor can avert a strike

Train of hopper cars rounds curve

LAGUNA, Calif. — Canadian National CEO Tracy Robinson hopes U.S. railroads and their labor unions can reach a tentative contract deal and avoid a strike. “We need to fix this labor situation down here in the United States,” she told an investor conference on Wednesday. “And it’s a critical one for all of us … […]

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Machinists reject tentative contract deal and authorize a strike

WASHINGTON – Members of the union representing machinists have rejected the tentative agreement that union leaders had reached with the Class I railroads and have voted to authorize a strike. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) District 19 said today that its 4,900 members had voted to reject the deal that had […]

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Atlas O 68-foot bulkhead flatcar

Yellow flatcar with bulkheads and white background

68-foot bulkhead flatcar Scale: O (1:48) Price: $62.95 (undecorated, $59.95) Era: 1997 to present (varies depending on scheme) Manufacturer: Atlas Model Railroad Co., 378 Florence Ave., Hillside, NJ 07205; 908-687-0880; shop.atlasrr.com   62-foot bulkhead flatcar features: Side stake pockets Simulated tie-loops Fish-belly center sill Pull-plates and lift rings Minimum radius: 36” Release date: Available now Road names: New […]

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Residents speak out against CP-KCS merger at Iowa meeting

Freight train with red locomotives on tracks near river

DAVENPORT, Iowa — The second in a series of comment sessions on the draft environmental report for the proposed Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger was held Tuesday evening in Davenport, with Iowa residents questioning whether the report from the Surface Transportation Board’s Office of Environmental Assessment accurately reflected the impact on their communities. The Quad […]

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NS to halt bulk moves by unit train on Thursday

Train passing grain facility

ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern has told customers it will halt bulk commodity movements by unit train on Thursday, Bloomberg is reporting, stepping up that railroad’s plans for a potential shutdown ahead of Friday’s end of the cooling-off period for labor negotiations. NS has previously announced it would stop accept accepting intermodal and automotive shipments on […]

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Metra says some lines will be halted by freight rail strike

Commuter trains meet on curve

CHICAGO —Metra expects it will be unable to operate on at least some of its 11 Chicago-area commuter rail lines in the event of a work stoppage on Class I freight rail lines, the agency said in a statement today (Tuesday, Sept. 13). Commuter operators elsewhere are also beginning to assess their situations in light […]

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Shippers ratchet up warnings about impact of potential rail strike

Man throwing switch as train with blue and yellow locomotive waits

WASHINGTON – The National Industrial Transportation League, the largest and oldest group of rail shippers, has asked congressional leaders to prevent a railroad strike or lockout that could begin as early as 12:01 a.m. on Friday. Meanwhile, the Class I railroads today reached a tentative agreement with the National Conference of Firemen & Oilers, SEIU, […]

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