TACOMA, Wash. — Prosecutors in Pierce County, Wash., have filed a felony charge against a 65-year-old Tacoma man accused with derailing one car of an oil train to derail on Tuesday in Tacoma’s Tideflats industrial area. The Tacoma News Tribune reports the man was charged in Pierce County Superior Court with a felony count of […]
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Intermodal traffic still the issue as weekly US rail traffic remains down
WASHINGTON — As has been the case every week in 2023, weekly U.S. rail traffic was below 2022 levels for the week ending May 6, 2022, in this case by 6.6%. Total traffic was 471,859 carloads and intermodal units, with 231,718 carloads, down 0.04%, and 240,141 intermodal units, down 12.1% compared to the corresponding week […]
BLET ratifies contract with South Buffalo Railway
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio — Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen members have ratified a new agreement with the South Buffalo Railway, the union announced Wednesday. Union members ratified the agreement on May 5. The three-year contract includes a $1,000 signing bonus and wage increases of 5.5% this year, 4.5% in 2024, and 4% in 2025. It […]
End-of-train devices replaced cabooses
End-of-train devices replaced cabooses that, not so long ago, train watchers almost everywhere could count on as a final point of interest at the end of each freight train. The distinctive little cars housed crew members who would observe the cars ahead for defects, process the train’s paperwork, operate track switches, monitor the air-brake system […]
Railway Safety Act advances out of committee (second update)
WASHINGTON — The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation approved a significantly revised version of the Railway Safety Act today (Wednesday, May 10), advancing the bill to the full Senate. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports the bill, introduced in the wake of the Feb. 3 East Palestine, Ohio, derailment, passed by a 16-11 margin, a […]
A Lionel GE locomotive history
The Lionel-GE locomotive history arguably goes back more than a century. The first General Electric models made by the toy train manufacturer in electric and diesel profiles were separated by about 60 years. The internal-combustion model came almost a decade-and-a-half after GE started making that type of engine. Lionel GE locomotive history General Electric entered […]
Martinez mercury spill larger than first realized; station still closed
MARTINEZ, Calif. — A mercury spill at the Martinez Amtrak station has led to a health advisory for the city’s downtown after the spill area was discovered to be larger than originally realized. KPIX-TV reports that by Tuesday afternoon, traces of Mercury had been found in a five-block area, according to county agency Contra Costa Health. […]
Meet Jack Burgess
Meet Jack Burgess What was the best decision you made regarding model railroading? In the late 1960s I built a freelance layout. I soon met a modeler who was photographing freight cars in the local SPRR yard and scratchbuilding models of them. I thus got hooked on modeling prototype equipment rather than freelancing. I decided […]
Norfolk Southern tells senators it will reimburse property-value losses because of East Palestine derailment
WASHINGTON — Norfolk Southern will establish a fund to reimburse homeowners near the site of the East Palestine derailment who sell their homes for less than they were worth before the incident, Reuters reports. NS CEO Alan Shaw informed U.S. senators of the plan in a letter on Tuesday, saying those eligible will be “within […]
Five former steam excursion locomotives that left an impact
Steam excursions in the United States are like taking center stage. Star-studded locomotives arrived with some staying while others received curtain calls. Of those that have taken their final bow, here are five former U.S. steam excursion locomotives that left an impact. Grand Trunk Western No. 5629 Excursion service 1959-1973: The class K-4a, 4-6-2 No. […]
Built by Others: Bob Wundrock’s HO scale Gold Hill Central
Built by Others is an article series showcasing layouts constructed by modelers using plans and projects from the pages of Model Railroader magazine. The Gold Hills Central was a layout built live by staff and MR contributors at Model Railroader’s 50th Anniversary Conference, held in Milwaukee in 1983. The original story and plan ran in […]
Senate committee to vote on Railway Safety Act
WASHINGTON — Expect changes today when the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation votes on the Railway Safety Act, the bipartisan bill introduced in March in the wake of the East Palestine, Ohio, derailment. The American Chemistry Council and Association of American Railroads both issued statements Tuesday in favor of an amended version of […]
