The Five Days Around Christmas | Day 4 – Plastic Kit Tips

On the fourth day around Christmas, David Popp shares professional tips for building a vehicle maintenance facility. He moves beyond basic instructions to demonstrate plastic part preparation, from using flush-cutting pliers to sanding away stubborn ejector pin marks. Learn how to ensure rock-solid wall alignment using a framing square and solvent-based adhesives—while protecting yourself with […]

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Trains’ top stories of 2025, No. 2: NextGen Acelas debut

Nine years after Amtrak inked a $2.45 billion contract with Alstom, builder of France’s TGV, to build 28 trainsets in the U.S., the new equipment debuted on Aug. 27 with a media trip from Washington Union Station to Boston’s South Station. Beginning the next day, the five Next Generation trainsets that had been accepted began […]

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Goss, R.J. Corman Railroad Co. president, to retire

Head and shoulders image of man in coat and tie

NICHOLASVILLE, Ky. — Raymond Goss, president of the R.J. Corman Railroad Co., will retire effective Jan. 30, 2026, the company has announced. He will depart following five decades in the rail industry and seven years leading R.J. Corman short line and switching operations. “Ray has been an exceptional leader whose steady hand and deep industry […]

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UP says it did not misuse confidential material in Metra filing

Two commuter trains side by side at suburban station

WASHINGTON — Union Pacific is disputing Metra’s claim that it “misused confidential communications” in a recent Surface Transportation Board filing in the ongoing fight over the commuter operator’s access to UP’s lines. In a Dec. 24 filing posted to the STB website today (Dec. 29), UP says the material it cited was permissible because it […]

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Holiday toy train photo gallery #2

Christmas tree with trains and décor around it

Please enjoy this selection of holiday-themed photos of toy trains from Lionel and American Flyer in O gauge, S gauge, and Standard gauge. If you have a photo you’d like considered for a future gallery, contact editor@classictoytrains.com See even more holiday photos! […]

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At least 13 dead in derailment of Mexico’s Interoceanic Train

People climbing hillside

NIZANDA, Mexico — At least 13 people have been killed in a Sunday derailment of Mexico’s Interoceanic train, the two-year-old service across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec launched with a mix of secondhand U.S. and British equipment. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, in a social media post quoting the secretary of the navy, said that 98 people […]

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The Five Days Around Christmas | Day 3 – Simple Shingles

On the third day of the Trains.com seasonal mini-series, David Popp resuscitates a shed that has been roofless for two years. Using self-adhesive diamond-tab shingles, David demonstrates how to transform cardstock structures with ease. Follow along as David shares expert shortcuts, including using a spacing guide for perfect rows and splicing leftover scraps for seamless […]

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UP-NS merger plan calls for idling of intermodal, automotive facilities in gateway cities

Freight train with yellow locomotives passing building with "Union Station" sign

OMAHA, Neb. — While the end-to-end nature of Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger limits the amount of redundant trackage or facilities, the railroads do have some duplication of facilities at their current interchange gateways. The merger application submitted to the Surface Transportation Board on Dec. 19 calls for two intermodal terminals and two auto processing facilities […]

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Trains’ top stories of 2025: No. 3, CSX’s big projects

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — CSX made headlines in the fall when it completed a pair of massive projects within weeks of each other: The opening of the Howard Street Tunnel in Baltimore after a long-awaited double-stack clearance project, and the rebuilding of the hurricane-damaged Blue Ridge Subdivision in western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee. CSX shut […]

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CN locomotive promotes mental health hotline

Red, white, and black locomotive with purple section of long hood and logo of 988 Lifeline

Canadian National recently introduced a locomotive painted to promote the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, a service offering support by phone, text, or chat for those facing mental health challenges, emotional distress, or other concerns. The 988 Lifeline logo and “You Are Not Alone” message are displayed on the long hood of SD75IACC No. 8357. […]

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