EMD’s Triclops locomotives At the beginning of the comfort cab revolution in the United States, EMD constructed its first “North American cab” SD60M for customer Union Pacific. Numbered 6085, it was a similar design to what Canadian National had been using for years, with one visual difference. The new cab featured three front windows instead […]
WASHINGTON – U.S. railroad traffic fell 4.4% for the week ending April 15, the Association of American Railroads reported today. Total carloads for the week ending April 15 were 234,066 carloads, up 5.8% compared with the same week in 2022, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 234,131 containers and trailers, down 12.8% compared to 2022. […]
Spectacular scenery on an O gauge layout: When layouts with a New York setting appear in Classic Toy Trains, they typically highlight passenger traffic moving in and out of Grand Central Terminal or freight trains delivering perishables to New York City. On those O gauge railroads, the Pennsylvania RR or the New Haven dominates, especially […]
Model train décor using coffee table layouts: I always love the idea of a model railroad “hidden in plain sight.” Although a shelf layout is an effective and efficient way to integrate a model railroad into a living space, it is also very obvious where the layout is when you enter the room – particularly […]
Bessie and Roxey Two things children love are dogs and trains. This idea inspired Heather Hill Worthington, a children’s books author, to write a story about a dog named Roxey — a dog who was a mascot on the Long Island Rail Road between 1901 and 1914. Naturally, a children’s book needs illustrations to captivate […]
WASHINGTON — A section of fractured rail is being examined as part of the investigation of the March 30 derailment and fire involving a BNSF Railway train in Raymond, Minn., according to the National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary accident report. Twenty-three cars were part of that derailment. It involved 10 cars of ethanol, some of […]
WASHINGTON – The National Transportation Safety Board today removed National Steel Car from its investigation into the March 4 derailment of a Norfolk Southern train in Ohio and was critical of the carmaker’s claims that its wheelsets had been ruled out as a potential cause of the wreck. “In a statement Friday, National Steel Car […]
MONTREAL – Canadian National has launched a new sustainability tool, My Carbon Emissions, that allows customers to calculate the greenhouse gas emissions of all of their loaded shipments moving on the railway. CN’s initial Carbon Calculator, the first in the industry when it debuted 13 years ago, gave customers visibility into their estimated greenhouse gas […]
WASHINGTON – BNSF Railway and Montana Rail Link have reached a trackage rights agreement that will permit BNSF to operate three of the regional railroad’s branch lines. BNSF in March won Surface Transportation Board approval to resume operation of lines it leased to MRL in 1987. The branch lines that MRL acquired from Burlington Northern, […]
DULUTH, Minn. – The Lake Superior Railroad Museum is celebrating its golden anniversary this year. It was 1973 when the Lake Superior Museum of Transportation & Industry was incorporated (the name was formally changed to Lake Superior Railroad Museum Dec. 1, 1997). Three men were primarily responsible for the museum’s establishment: rail historians Frank A. […]
Distributed power Placing locomotives at various locations within a train is nothing new, although the latest technology has improved the operation and extended the length of trains. The adoption of Precision Scheduled Railroading by most Class I railroads accelerated the push to make trains longer, lowering crew starts, and improving train handling in most situations. […]
WASHINGTON – Navajo Transitional Energy Co. says BNSF Railway has violated its common carrier obligations by failing to provide adequate service for its Powder River Basin export coal trains. NTEC, in a complaint filed with the Surface Transportation Board on Friday, says BNSF has failed to provide adequate service from the Spring Creek Mine in […]
