Groundbreaking marks start of work on Penn Station Access

Woman speaking at podium with video screen to her left

BRONX, N.Y.— New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and other officials held a groundbreaking ceremony Friday for the Penn Station Access project, which will allow trains from Metro-North’s New Haven Line to directly serve Penn Station while adding four new stations in the Bronx. Hochul said in a press release that the project “will not only […]

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Food Machinery Corporation 50-foot plug door boxcar from Athearn

Food Machinery Corporation 50-foot boxcar: an orange boxcar illustration against a white background

Food Machinery Corporation 50-foot plug door boxcar from Athearn Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: $39.99. Add $5 for Prime for Grime models. Era: 1977+ (varies depending on paint scheme) Manufacturer: Athearn Trains, 2904 Research Rd., Champaign, IL 61822; 800-338-4639; athearn.com FMC 50’ boxcar features: Separately applied grab irons, end ladders and brake wheel Photo-etched cross-over platform 33” […]

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GMD-1 Canadian prairie locomotive

Black white and red switching locomotive in a rail yard.

Think of the GMD-1 as the Canadian prairie locomotive. With a legacy stretching six decades the EMD GMD-1 (General Motors Diesel of Canada) was a locomotive model that was used exclusively in Canada by the Canadian National and the Northern Alberta Railways. Build at the General Motors Diesel plant in London, Ontario, the 1,200-horsepower diesel […]

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Conowingo Models caboose No. three

Caboose no. three: A blue caboose against a blue sky and green grass

Conowingo Models caboose No. three Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: $33.00 Manufacturer:  Conowingo Models; conowingomodels.com Conowingo Models Bobber boxcar features: LaBelle trucks Plastic wheels Laser-cut wood construction Board-on-board deck 3D-printed smoke jack Tichy Train Group windows and stirrups Conowingo Railroad decals included Kadee couplers and coupler boxes Release date: Available now News & Products is a regular feature […]

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Winchester & Western to serve new West Virginia steel mill

Black diesel locomotives on freight train in farm fields

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — The Winchester & Western Railroad has signed an agreement to serve a new Commercial Metals Co. steel mill in West Virginia, OmniTRAX, the railroad’s parent company, has announced. OmniTRAX says CMC, the largest manufacture rof steel reinforcing bar in North America and central Europe, selected the Falling Waters, W.Va., site after a […]

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FTA sends a dozen corrective plans back to MBTA for revisions

Subway train at station

BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority must resubmit a dozen corrective action plans to address Federal Transit Administration safety directives after the FTA asked for revisions to those plans, the Boston Herald reports. To date, the FTA has only received approval for eight of the 20 plans stemming from directives issued by the FTA […]

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BLET ratifies four-year contract with Long Island Rail Road

Commuter train with diesel locomotive and four bilevel cars on three-track main line

INDEPENDENCE, Ohio — The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen has decisively ratified a new contract with the Long Island Rail Road, with 84.97% of votes cast in favor of the agreement. Almost 74% of those eligible voted on the contract, the union said in announcing the agreement on Wednesday, Dec. 7. The four-year agreement […]

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MARTA shuts down streetcar line over wheel issues

Light rail vehicle rounding curve with brick church in background

ATLANTA — The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority has shut down its 3-mile-long downtown streetcar line after inspections found wheel degradation that could pose a safety risk, WSB-TV reports. Reporter Newspapers, citing a paywalled Atlanta Journal-Constitution report, says repairs are expected to cost $7.4 million and are expected to be completed by the end of […]

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Opening of Tacoma light rail project to be delayed

Tacoma_Streetcar_Lassen

TACOMA, Wash. — Opening of the Hilltop Extension of Sound Transit’s Tacoma light rail line will be delayed for a second time, the agency said Thursday, pushing opening of the 2.4-mile addition close to a year behind schedule. The Urbanist website says the project had originally been scheduled to open in May 2022, but had […]

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