Asked who my main influence has been as a writer, my reflexive answer is always “David P. Morgan.” The great editor’s inspiring use of language is what, in my opinion, made Trains magazine so important to generations of readers. And although I’d never be foolish enough to compare anything I write to that of D.P.M., […]
OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific furloughed 94 mechanical employees at shops across the system this week due to soft traffic volumes and a higher number of locomotives placed in storage. “As a routine part of business, we constantly examine our resources against volume needs. While some targeted furloughs are occurring in a handful of mechanical […]
BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority will shut down a 5-mile, 11-station segment of Red Line rail service for 16 days in October to address track maintenance, the agency announced today. The shutdown from Oct. 14 to Oct. 29 will affect the Ashmont Branch between the JFK/UMass and Ashmont stations, as well as the […]
CHICAGO — “Unforeseen mechanical issues” resulted in the cancellation of Amtrak’s westbound Cardinal out of New York on Wednesday, Aug. 23, despite the fact that the triweekly train’s equipment had arrived at the Big Apple’s Sunnyside Yard late Sunday. As has been recent custom, this resulted in the cancellation of its eastbound counterpart from Chicago […]
Roadbed for main lines and spurs: Lots of modelers in all scales take measures to differentiate mainline track from spurs and sidings. Spurs are dead-end tracks leading to industries, loading ramps, and sometimes stations. Sidings are tracks usually parallel to mainline tracks and are double-ended so a train can take the siding, stop, and wait […]
3D printed structures in N scale: In the heart of Tehachapi, Calif., near the Union Pacific’s double-track main line, stands a steam-era Southern Pacific 65,000-gallon water tank. It was brought to the town from another location on the railroad after a major earthquake destroyed its predecessor on April 21, 1952. Without it, Tehachapi had a […]
OTTAWA, Ontario — A union representing more than 5,000 Canadian National Railway employees in Canada has charged the railroad has been tracking the off-hours location of employees through company-issued computer tablets. The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, in a message to members earlier this month on its website, said it had “become aware CN is utilizating […]
LEXINGTON, N.C. — Siemens Mobility broke ground Wednesday, Aug. 23, on its new Lexington, N.C., plant, which aims to begin production in 2024 and expects to employ more than 500 people by 2028. The new facility, on a 200-acre site with room for expansion, will produce passenger cars as well as offering locomotive and passenger […]
CHICAGO — Norfolk Southern has selected four teams of structural design consultants for the Belt Junction and 80th Street Junction Replacements, part of the CREATE program’s massive 75th Street Corridor Improvement Project on Chicogo’s South Side. The project, EW2 in the CREATE list of 70 projects to improve rail traffic flow in the Chicago area, […]
NEW CANAAN, Conn. — Metro-North’s New Canaan Branch, which has been idled since May 30 for track work, will resume operation on Saturday, Sept. 2, the Connecticut Department of Transportation has announced. Work on the electrified 8-mile, single-track branch — which normally sees 41 trains each weekday — has included tie and rail replacement, insulated […]
WASHINGTON — U.S. rail traffic showed another week of mild decline for the week ending Aug. 19. According to statistics from the Association of American Railroads, the week’s total volume was 478,853 carloads and intermodal units, down 2.7% from the same week in 2022. That marks the seventh time in nine weeks the drop has […]
WASHINGTON — The union representing railroad conductors is calling for the Federal Railroad Administration to set standards for those involved in training of conductor trainees, while also issuing an advisory to its members regarding their duties and responsibilities regarding such training and trainees. The actions from the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and […]
