Trains Magazine, Kalmbach to begin holiday break

Trains Magazine logo

WAUKESHA, Wis. — The staff of Trains Magazine and all Kalmbach Media employees will begin an extended break for the New Year’s holiday at the close of business today (Thursday, Dec. 29). With New Year’s Day falling on Sunday, we will be closed on Friday, Dec. 30, to observe New Year’s Eve, and on Monday, […]

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U.S. rail traffic remains down as year’s end approaches

Weekly table showing U.S. carload rail traffic by commodity type plus overall intermodal traffic

WASHINGTON — U.S. rail traffic’s year-end slump continued in the week ending Dec. 24, with volume down 4.8% compared to the same week in 2021, according to the latest statistics from the Association of American Railroads. The overall figure of 400,289 carloads and intermodal units included 193,195 carloads, down 4.1%, and 207,094 trailers, down 5.5%. […]

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Industrial health organization offers resources for rail industry

Logo of American Industrial Hygiene Association

FALLS CHURCH, Va. — The American Industrial Hygiene Association, the organization for individuals in the field of occupational and environmental health and safety, is now offering resources to help rail companies support worker health and safety. The organization has launched a rail-specific section of its Worker Health and Safety website including fact sheets, articles, and […]

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Trinity 3281 hopper from Walthers Mainline

Trinity 3281 hopper: A pink model hopper car is shown against a white background

Trinity 3281 hopper from Walthers Mainline Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: $31.98 Era: Late 1990s+ (varies depending on paint scheme) Manufacturer: Wm. K. Walthers Inc., 5601 W. Florist Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53218, 414-527-0770, walthers.com Trinity 3281 hopper features: Separately-applied brake gear, running board, discharge gates, inlet hatches, and end ladder cages Correct 36″ RP-25 metal wheelsets Proto-Max […]

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Top 10 stories of 2022: No. 6, Jim Wrinn

Man at work at computer in office full of rail memorabilia

Continuing our countdown of the Trains News Wire Top 10 stories of 2022, as determined by a vote of Trains editors, columnists, and masthead correspondents: When a college advisor at the University of North Carolina asked Jim Wrinn in 1979 to name his dream job, he didn’t hesitate: editor of Trains magazine. There is no […]

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San Diego County’s Sprinter gets $7 million for improvements

Two-tone blue two-car passenger train

SAN DIEGO — The North County Transit District’s Sprinter commuter rail line between Escondido and Oceanside will receive $7 million in federal funding for signal improvements, the first phase of a program to allow frequencies on the 22-mile, 15-station line to double from every 30 minutes to every 15 minutes. The San Diego Union-Tribune reports […]

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CRP&A, Chicago author receive R&LHS research grants

Detail view of side of steam locomotive

The Center for Railroad Photography & Art and Chicago author Sandra Jackson-Opoku have received 2022 research grants, each worth $2,500, from the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society. R&LHS President Robert Holzweiss said “the proposals could not be more different, but both were adjudged to be worthy of our support. The Center applies every year and often […]

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One passenger injured as Amtrak Piedmont hits truck

Amtrak logo.

LEXINGTON, N.C. — One passenger was reportedly hospitalized after a Charlotte-bound Amtrak Piedmont train struck a tractor-trailer at a grade crossing on Tuesday morning, the Raleigh News & Observer reports. The accident occurred about 9 a.m. No additional information was available on the injured passenger. No other injuries to passengers or crew were reported, and […]

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Communication issues lead to cost increases, delays for Amtrak Airo equipment, report says

Blue and red cab car leads train into curveint

WASHINGTON — Communications issues within Amtrak have contributed to changes in equipment orders, costs increases, and schedule delays for Amtrak’s forthcoming Airo corridor equipment and the maintenance-facility changes planned to accommodate that equipment, the Amtrak Office of Inspector General in a report issued today (Tuesday, Dec. 27.) As an example of what it calls “early […]

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