SEATTLE— BNSF Railway is not subject to local zoning laws in its plan to add a second track along part of its main line through Washington’s Columbia Gorge, a U.S. appeals court has ruled. The decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court judgment that federal law — specifically, the Interstate […]
Type of Train: Freight
Geared for success
Geared for success Brimstone’s 3-truck Shay No. 35 pulls coal in Tennessee. Lumber railroads were the primary users, but a few coal-haulers used Shays and/or the two other popular geared locomotives in North America, Heislers and Climaxes. Dwight Smith, Jim Wrinn collection […]
Transportation Safety Board to investigate CN derailment in New Brunswick
MONCTON, New Brunswick — The Transportation Safety Board of Canada announced Monday it was sending investigators to the site of a Saturday derailment of a Canadian National train northwest of Moncton. The CBC reported 30 cars derailed, 20 of which ended up on their side. A CN spokesman said no hazardous materials were involved but […]
Garden railroad inspired by Union Pacific and the Big Boy locomotives
My garden railroad, the Snake River Railroad, is named after my interest in the Union Pacific. This has been my favorite railroad ever since I saw the Big Boy. The 200 by 300-foot railroad is shaped like a mirror image of Idaho, because of large Ponderosa pines in the backyard. There are two separate […]
Germany hit by second national rail strike in two weeks
BERLIN — German passenger rail service is in the midst of a second two-day strike this month, part of a larger action by the GDL union, which represents the nation’s train drivers in a dispute with national rail operator Deutsche Bahn. Freight-train drivers went on strike at 5 p.m. local time Friday, with passenger drivers […]
A visit to John Staschak’s O gauge layout
John’s layout appears in the September 2021 issue of Classic Toy Trains. It features tremendous trackwork and wonderful scenery (see the plan here), in addition to some spectacular modern trains. Watch and hear freight and passenger consists work their way around it. […]
A visit to John Staschak’s O gauge layout
John’s layout appears in the September 2021 issue of Classic Toy Trains. It features tremendous trackwork and wonderful scenery (see the plan here), in addition to some spectacular modern trains. Watch and hear freight and passenger consists work their way around it. […]
NTSB report: Track damage from flooding led to 2019 UP derailment, fire
WASHINGTON — Flooding from a nearby lake that weakened and washed out track structure was the probable cause of a 2019 Union Pacific derailment and fire in Fort Worth, Texas, the National Transportation Board said in a report released Thursday. The April 24, 2019, incident saw 26 cars of a 98-train of ethanol derail at […]
Illinois DOT announces project to unsnarl junction near St. Louis
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The Illinois Department of Transportation has announced a $10.1 million project to improve rail operations in Mitchell, Ill., northeast of St. Louis. The project will reconfigure rail lines and replace a 97-year-old interlocking tower, with funding from six sources: $5.1 million from the Federal Railroad Administration’s Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvments […]
State of the art
State of the art A classic A-B-B-A set of EMD FTs — the state of the locomotive art in 1940 — lead a Santa Fe freight over Southern California’s Cajon Pass. Santa Fe photo […]
CSX train derails in Indiana (updated)
FOUNTAINTOWN, Ind. — Fourteen cars of a CSX train derailed this morning in an unincorporated area near Greenfield, Ind., blocking a state highway and knocking down some local power lines. CSX says in a statement that the derailment occurred about 8:11 a.m., and involved six empty cars and eight loaded cars. No hazardous materials were […]
KCS shareholders to vote on CN merger on Sept. 3 (updated)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Southern shareholders will vote on the proposed merger with Canadian National on Sept. 3. KCS this morning convened and adjourned its previously scheduled special meeting of shareholders, delaying the vote in the absence of a Surface Transportation Board decision on CN’s request to put KCS into a voting trust […]