WASHINGTON — Weekly U.S. rail traffic showed another significant drop for the week ending Sept. 24, according to statistics from the Association of American Railroads. Total volume for the week was 489,111 carloads and intermodal units, a 4.4% decrease from the same week in 2021. Since the figures for the week ending Sept. 3 showed […]
WASHINGTON — On Wednesday’s first day of public hearings regarding their proposed merger, Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern sought to blunt criticism of their $31 billion combination by preemptively addressing concerns raised by other Class I railroads, Chicago-area commuter railroad Metra, and lineside communities in the Midwest. Merger opponents — including Metra and communities […]
ARLINGTON, Va. — A third union has ratified its tentative agreement with freight railroads, the bargaining group representing the railroads has announced. The National Carriers’ Conference Committee announced the ratification by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, which represents almost 4,000 rail workers. The margin by which the contract was ratified was not announced. “The […]
BEECH GROVE, Ind. — Amtrak is auctioning off its Talgo Series VI trainsets, retired in the wake of the fatal derailment of an Amtrak Cascades train in December 2017. A “Material and Pricing Schedule” for the auction lists 28 cars for sale: two baggage cars, two bistro cars, two dining cars, 11 coaches, two cars […]
Electro-Motive Division’s NW5 history Electro-Motive Division’s NW5: Steam was still king when Electro-Motive Division (EMD) produced the NW5 diesel locomotive. However, railroads were taking note of the economy of performance offered by the various yard diesels entering the marketplace. This led railroads to approach EMD about the possibility of constructing low-cost diesels that could be […]
To celebrate the season, enjoy a photo gallery of Halloween-themed toy train layout photos. While Christmas is king with many toy-train collectors and operators, Halloween isn’t that far behind. Manufacturers like Lemax and Department 56 sell fall and Halloween-themed buildings, accessories, and figures that work will on layouts. If you’d like to build a Halloween […]
CLINTON, Iowa — Clinton’s city council has unanimously approved a $1 million agreement with Canadian Pacific to address impacts of its proposed merger with Kansas City Southern, KWQC-TV reports. Under the agreement passed Tuesday night, the city will receive the funds if the Surface Transportation Board approves the first merger of two Class I railroads […]
WASHINGTON — In a Tuesday evening update to its original advisory, Amtrak has now cancelled all northbound and southbound departures of the New York-Miami Silver Star, and the Lorton, Va.-Sanford, Fla., Auto Train, through Friday because of the approaching Hurricane Ian. Also cancelled is the Saturday, Oct. 1, northbound departure of the Silver Star from […]
CHICAGO — Amazon’s move to increase control of its domestic supply chain by purchasing additional 53-foot intermodal containers could be a pivot-to-growth story for U.S. Class I railroads in the years ahead. The online sales giant has grown its container fleet from 250 containers in 2019 to more than 5,000 today. That’s the equivalent of […]
WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board’s Office of Proceedings on Tuesday granted a request by all parties involved to extend board-sponsored mediation regarding Amtrak’s effort to launch Gulf Coast passenger service to Oct. 11. The request was granted without additional comment. Amtrak, CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern, and the Alabama State Port Authority had filed the […]
BRECKSVILLE, Ohio — Protection of the right-of-way of the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Rallroad will be part of infrastructure work at Cuyahoga Valley National Park funded by a $14 million grant through the Great American Outdoors Act, the park has announced. The funds will stabilize the riverbank at locations along the Cuyahoga River where the railroad line […]
WASHINGTON — Three days of scheduled hearings on the Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger — the first combination of two Class I railroads in two decades — will begin this morning (Wednesday, Sept. 28) in the hearing room at the Surface Transportation Board headquarters in Washington, D.C. The hearing will begin at 9:30 a.m. EDT […]
