What could a Big Boy West Coast Steam Tour be?

A Big Boy locomotive leads a yellow passenger train through the Great Plains.

On the same route of the proposed Big Boy West Coast Steam Tour, Union Pacific 4-8-8-4 No. 4014 leads a matched UP office car train westward through Speer, Wyo., in 2019. Jim Wrinn photograph There was a collective groan that could be heard from many railfans west of the Rockies in 2022 when the Union […]

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The Lionel F40PH

Lionel F40PH Panama Canal front end

The Lionel F40PH is a great model of a locomotive that has quietly become one of the true diesel success stories in railroad history. The F40PH saw construction in various phases by General Motors’ Electro-Motive Division between 1975-92. Its purpose was initially short-haul passenger service for Amtrak. This mission was quickly revised to add long-distance […]

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Cleveland RTA set to have Siemens build new Red Line cars

Rendering of two-unit rapid-transit trainset

CLEVELAND — The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority is prepared to have Siemens Mobility build new railcars to replace its Red Line rapid-transit fleet — but is not yet sure it has the funding to order the equipment. Cleveland.com reports the RTA Board of Trustees, in a committee of the whole, voted to advance a […]

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Gravel spilled in Ohio shortline derailment

Derailed hopper cars and damaged track

SARDINIA, Ohio — Ten railcars of gravel derailed on a Cincinnati Eastern Railroad train Tuesday afternoon, with two cars overturning, according to WCPO-TV and WXIX-TV. No injuries were reported. A grade crossing at Cowboy Road was blocked as a result of the derailment; Eastern Joint Fire and EMS District estimates the road will remain closed […]

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News photo: The ‘Adirondack’ is back

Passenger train with red and blue locomotive with body of water in foreground and high-rise apartments behind

MONTREAL — The last of Amtrak’s cross-border trains, and the last route suspended at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, has finally been fully restored. After the New York-Montreal Adirondack made its first run on Monday, April 3, the first southbound train made the return trip today (Tuesday, April 4). It is shown above passing […]

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Charlotte transit agency told to fully staff light rail control center or suspend service

Light rail train at station

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — In the latest issue for Charlotte’s increasingly troubled light rail system, the North Carolina Department of Transportation has said the Charlotte Area Transit System must fully staff its control center or suspend service. The Charlotte Observer reports that an unannounced inspection found that CATS was sometimes operating its Rail Operating Control Center, […]

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MBTA releases safety plan, faces hiring challenges

Men working on MBTA Orange Line car

BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority on Monday released a three-year Safety Improvement Plan, gathering together its proposals to address efforts mandated by the Federal Transportation Administration, Federal Railroad Administration, and other agencies. That report was released on the same day a study by the Massachusetts Taxpayer Foundation said the MBTA is facing a […]

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ASLRRA honors Pacific Harbor Line with two awards

Two black and silver locomotives with strings of containers

NEW ORLEANS — Southern California’s Pacific Harbor Line was recipient of two awards Monday — the inaugural Environmental Award and the Veterans Engagement Award — at the American Short Line and Regional Rail Association’s Annual Conference and Exhibition. Also, the ASLRRA posthumously awarded its Schlosser Distinguished Service Award to Jack Parliament, retired from the D&I […]

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Intense media focus on derailments belies long-term safety trends

Firefighters watching burning railcars

Why are there so many derailments? Freight train derailments have been in the headlines since the disastrous Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern wreck in East Palestine, Ohio. Some have been spectacular, like the derailment of a Norfolk Southern train caught on video at a grade crossing in Springfield, Ohio.; the fiery derailment of a BNSF Railway […]

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Lionel Sandy Andy Automatic Gravel Loader

Lionel Sandy Andy Gravel Loader box

The Lionel Sandy Andy Automatic Gravel Loader was part of the catalog in the late 1970s. It’s a shame it didn’t last longer because it’s among the most interesting products the company ever made. It’s not neat because of what it does; after all, Lionel produced numerous coal and gravel loading and dumping structures over […]

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Bowser HO scale SD30C-ECO

Screen shot of Bowser HO scale SD30C-ECO video.

Bowser HO scale SD30C-ECO. A modern-era diesel from Bowser Manufacturing Co. Inc. recently visited our HO scale Wisconsin & Southern project layout. Join Model Railroader editor Eric White and senior editor Cody Grivno as they talk about the features and operate the Canadian Pacific SD30C-ECO. The Bowser SD30C-ECO is decorated for Canadian Pacific in 12 […]

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