Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society announces Cigar Train

PLEASANT LAKE, Ind. — The Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society and Fort Wayne cigar and wine store Rudy’s Shop have announced plans for Rudy’s Rolling Smoke, a Cigar Train experience aboard vintage rail equipment to be offered on July 1. Tickets, starting at $199, are now on sale at the Cigar Train page of the […]

Read More…

Saskatchewan announces grants for short line railways

Two red locomotives

SASKATOON, Saskatchewan — Thirteen provincially regulated short line railways will receive a total of C$530,000 in grants through Saskatchewan’s Short Line Railway Improvement Program, the provincial government announced Thursday. Grants are determined by the trackage of each railway, with the smallest lines, of less than 80 kilometers (50 miles) receiving $25,000. Seven lines — Thunder […]

Read More…

Twenty cars of CN train derail in Saskatchewan

Canadian National logo

FORT QU’APPELLE, Saskatchewan — No injuries were reported after a locomotive and 20 cars of a Canadian National train derailed Wednesday evening near the town of Fort Qu’Appelle, CKOM Radio reports. CN said in a statement to the station that no hazardous materials were involved and no fires occurred as a result. Cars were expected […]

Read More…

BNSF derailment in Arizona leads to Southwest Chief cancellations

Aerial view of derailed auto racks

WILLIAMS, Ariz. — Twenty-three cars of a BNSF Railway train carrying new vehicles derailed east of Williams, Ariz., Thursday night, leading to cancellation of Amtrak Southwest Chief service through the area today, KAFF Radio reports. The derailment involving a 167-car train occurred about 11:20 p.m., according to Coconino County Emergency Management. A BNSF representative told […]

Read More…

Steamtown National Historic Site profile

Steam locomotive moving between buildings

The restored Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad shop complex in Scranton is home to one of the most complete railroad history museums known as Steamtown National Historic Site. Located on 66 acres, the park includes outdoor exhibits, tours of a working restoration shop, and train rides behind historic steam and diesel locomotives. It also affords […]

Read More…

Texas State Railroad profile

Texas State Railroad logo

The Texas State Railroad offers a relaxing ride through the piney woods region of east Texas between the towns of Rusk and Palestine. A variety of steam and diesel locomotives pull trains at a leisurely pace, giving riders a glimpse into the railroad’s long history of hauling agricultural and timber products in the early 20th […]

Read More…

Freight forecaster: Intermodal doldrums will run through next year

Yellow locomotives leading train of double-stacked containers over bridge

Don’t expect North American intermodal traffic to break out of its slump anytime soon. The decline of imports from pandemic-related highs, the ongoing shift of imports to East Coast and Gulf Coast ports, and tough truck competition are all contributing to the 10% decline in intermodal volume for the year to date, says Todd Tranausky, […]

Read More…

CSX makes $5 million gift to B&O Railroad Museum

Rendering of event space next to brick museum building

BALTIMORE — CSX Corp. has announced a $5 million gift to the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum, which will go toward the museum’s $30 million capital campaign as it prepares for the bicentennial of the B&O in 2027. The donation will be used to build the CSX Bicentennial Garden, an amphitheater and multiuse space that […]

Read More…

N scale decoder woes

Nscaledecoderwoes1

N scale decoder woes: This month I’m going to vent about a round of recent frustrations dealing with N scale Digital Command Control (DCC) decoder installations. The villain of the story will be the Internet, but in an unexpected twist of plot, that same villain shall emerge as the hero. The moral is that the […]

Read More…

Cleaning an airbrush while weathering can be a chore

An airbrush sprays a faint mist of paint across a green model freight car

Q: I would like some advice on cleaning an airbrush while weathering. I use an older Paasche airbrush to weather my N scale rolling stock. Since N scale models take very little paint, the painting process usually only takes a few seconds to a minute per color. But cleaning the tip, the air point, and […]

Read More…