Welcome aboard the Trains–Special Interest Tours 2024 Alaska by Rail adventure. Please join us as we travel on the Alaska Railroad for 9 days from Sept. 8 to 17, heading south from Fairbanks to Anchorage, Alaska. We begin with an Alaskan vocabulary lesson. Today’s term: termination snow. Dial back to the Day 4 entry when […]
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Broadway Limited HO scale EMD GP35
A sample from the latest run of Broadway Limited HO scale EMD GP35 diesel locomotives paid a visit to our Winston-Salem Southbound layout. Join Model Railroader Senior Editor Cody Grivno as he shares a brief history of the four-axle road locomotive and Burlington Northern No. 2510, points out the details on the plastic and die-cast […]
Broadway Limited HO scale EMD GP35
A sample from the latest run of Broadway Limited HO scale EMD GP35 diesel locomotives paid a visit to our Winston-Salem Southbound layout. Join Model Railroader Senior Editor Cody Grivno as he shares a brief history of the four-axle road locomotive and Burlington Northern No. 2510, points out the details on the plastic and die-cast […]
Heartland of America: The Big Boy cometh
VILLA GROVE, Ill. — Villa Grove Mayor Cassandra Eversole-Gunter sat behind engineer Ed Dickens, manager of Union Pacific’s Heritage Program on Monday as the Big Boy “Heartland of America” tour made a scheduled service stop at Watseka, Ill. The mayor, in her second term, rode No. 4014 from Watseka back to Villa Grove arriving at […]
Colorado’s San Luis Central reopens line
MONTE VISTA, Colo. — The San Luis Central reopens its main line running the first train to operate since May 24, 2024. Here, it crosses an irrigation canal on newly installed culverts that repaired a washout on this section of line on Sept. 9, 2024. Electro-Motive SW8, No. 70, with General Manager Tom Tancula at […]
Nominees to Amtrak board support national network at hearing
WASHINGTON — As is usually the case with hearings held by U.S. Senate and House committees responsible for Amtrak, the most revealing part of the event usually comes in the witness question-and-answer session well after opening statements. Yesterday’s Senate Commerce Committee cross examination of four prospective Amtrak Board of Directors nominees was no exception. [Near […]
US weekly rail traffic marks fourth consecutive week of gains
WASHINGTON — For the week ending Sept. 7, 2024, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 479,179 carloads and intermodal units, up 7.3% compared with the same week last year, according to the Association of American Railroads. Total carloads for the week were 222,201, up 2.2% compared with the same week in 2023, while U.S. weekly […]
Using the Lionel Base3 on large club-size layouts
In July of 2024, Lionel Trains’ long-awaited Base3 arrived in stores, homes, and our own Firecrown office here in Brookfield, Wis. This new command control takes all of the manufacturer’s previous systems in a backwards-compatible manner and centralizes them into one package. Out of this sole setup, you can control Lionel Legacy, TMCC, LionChief, LionChief+, […]
Florida’s Sugar Express adds former Florida East Coast observation car to its fleet
Sugar Express CLEWISTON, Fla. — U.S. Sugar’s Sugar Express train consist continues to grow in length, and its latest addition is an historic streamlined railcar with a strong Florida pedigree. Round-end observation lounge car Bay Biscayne arrived on U.S. Sugar’s Clewiston headquarters in July, and has been added to the Sugar Express 9-car excursion train […]
Alaska by Rail trek Day 4 — Traveling from winter to fall
Welcome aboard the Trains–Special Interest Tours 2024 Alaska by Rail adventure. Please join us as we travel on the Alaska Railroad for 9 days from Sept. 8 to 17, heading south from Fairbanks to Anchorage, Alaska. Jump back to yesterday when we were bounding along Park Road inside Denali National Park and Preserve observing wildlife […]
Norfolk Southern dismisses CEO Alan Shaw, promotes Chief Financial Officer Mark George to president and chief executive
ATLANTA – Norfolk Southern today terminated the contracts of embattled CEO Alan Shaw and the railroad’s chief legal officer, Nabanita Nag, for having a consensual relationship in violation of company policy. The NS board unanimously named Chief Financial Officer Mark George as president and chief executive officer, effective immediately, the railroad announced Wednesday evening. George […]
Swiss Saga, 2024, Part 1: In Chur, for sure
CHUR, Switzerland — I’m baack … For the second year in a row and third time since joining Trains Magazine, your senior editor is wandering Switzerland by train, developing some stories for the magazine. While this is my first blog post from this trip, it’s actually day three of my 2024 visit. I’ve been on […]