Yes it is, Brian. In fact, intermodal passed coal in 2013 as railroads’ biggest revenue source. In 2014, U.S. railroads tacked more than a half million intermodal loads onto their 2013 totals, notching a record 13.5 million shipments. Intermodal is likely to become even more significant in coming years as the industry spends […]
Sure thing, Angela. Since the Baltimore & Ohio began hauling flour from Ellicott’s Mills to Baltimore in 1830 — grain, flour, and seeds have been an important part of railroading. Grain moved in boxcars for decades, but in the early 1960s, Southern Railway’s new, 100-ton — Big John — covered hopper revolutionized grain […]
For an industry which hauls the heaviest, densest loads overland, no other material has proven itself more useful to railroads than that combination of iron, carbon, and trace minerals. For more than 150 years, U.S. steelmakers have needed railroads to efficiently haul their heavy iron ore, taconite pellets, and coal, and also to transport […]
But this new source of revenue has a troubling side. Rapid growth strains the capacity of railroads to move crude oil. And, safety has become an even bigger issue following the tragic derailment of a crude oil train in Quebec in July 2013 that killed 47 people and leveled a town. Other spectacular […]
Thanks, Jim. Canadian National is the No. 1 lumber-hauling railroad in the U.S. It takes particleboard out of British Columbia and moves it across the continent to where its needed. If you see new homes or condos or apartments being built, chances are that the wood for them came by rail. CN moves about […]
This video was originally published by Trains as part of the Locomotive 2017 DVD. BNSF Needles Subdivision stretches from the Arizona/California state line at Needles west to Barstow, California across almost 170 miles of desert that tests man and machine every day in the struggle to keep the railroad moving. For the majority of its […]
Originally, cars didn’t have it so good. They went in boxcars. They went on flatcars, stacked one on top of the other. Trains were important in making cars, too, and auto-parts special trains with nicknames like the *Sparkplug* began to appear. It didn’t take long to realize that something better had to come […]
At first glance, aggregates — stone, sand, and gravel — are unlikely darlings among railroad commodities. They’re low-value and they tend to move only short distances. But even though their revenue per car is low, they are nearly perfect freight: indestructible and relatively harmless if spilled. In fact, stones and sand not only make […]
It’s a new year and a new Cody’s Office! Cody shares the Railway Prototype Cyclopedia Vol. 35, an HO scale Menards water tower, an Athearn N scale Pullman-Standard 4,427-cubic-foot covered hopper, modeling tip, and viewer mail. […]
What’s a port without the water? A drydock at best! So after months of work around and about his N scale (1:160) layout, host Steve Brown finally gets his feet wet in the Port Smith scene. Follow along to see what went right, what went wrong, and how he fixed it all the “Regular Guy” […]
Cody’s Office shares new 40-foot containers from Jacksonville Terminal, Bachmann’s new Siemen’s SC-44 Charger, and Trains magazine’s new special issue, Big Projects: Tracks, Trestles, and Tunnels, plus a modeling tip and viewer mail! […]
Railfans and model railroaders alike will enjoy a glimpse of the forthcoming series, Big Skies & Iron Rails, hosted by designer, photographer, and now videographer Tom Danneman. Watch for full-length episodes highlighting stunning natural vistas and railroads of the American West to arrive in early 2021…exclusively on Trains.com! Trains.com Members have exclusive access to this […]
