Progress Rail to offer diesel-battery hybrid locomotives

Blue and gray end-cab locomotive with three-axle trucks

BERLIN — Progress rail will begin offering diesel-battery-electric hybrid locomotives, with the first two such units to be delivered this year to Rumo, a Brazilian railway and logistics company. The company announced the addition of the hybrid locomotive to its offerings on Tuesday at the InnoTrans rail trade fair. Rumo will begin testing two GT38H […]

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Five commuter rail systems receive grants for grade crossing safety

Light blue locomotie with bilevel commuter cars crossing street

WASHINGTON — Five projects in four states will receive a total of $59 million for grade-crossing improvements through grants announced Tuesday under the Federal Highway Adminstration’s Commuter Authority Safety Rail Safety Improvement, or CARSI, program. “These grants show how multi-modal coordination and investment will improve safety for drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians traveling where roads and […]

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New York City to install security cameras on all subway cars

Man and woman talking on platform between subway trains

NEW YORK — New York City Transit will install security cameras on its entire fleet of subway cars, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Tuesday. “I am proud that we will be installing cameras on all Subway cars — expanding our security capabilities, deterring crime, and providing our law enforcement with support,” Hochul said in a press […]

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Rail workers’ group calls for Wednesday picketing

People with picket signs on sidewalk

An ad-hoc rail workers’ group is calling for informational picketing on Wednesday to address what it calls “the staffing shortages and lack of a decent quality of life” for employees as railroads, employees, and customers wait to see if unions will ratify tentative agreements that averted a strike last week. Meanwhile, the International Association of […]

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Amtrak’s Maple Leaf overtakes a freight train

Passenger train approaches on track next to passing freight

Amtrak’s Maple Leaf catches a CSX intermodal train   With vehicle-train collisions near the top of the issues list following the Southwest Chief derailment at a Missouri roadway earlier in the summer, Trains News Wire scouted an appropriate photo location in western New York during a recent trip to capture an Amtrak train at a […]

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Walthers 40-foot Ortner 100-ton aggregate hopper

Model of yellow hopper with white background

40-foot Ortner 100-ton aggregate hopper Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: $44.98 Era: 1970s to present (varies depending on paint scheme) Manufacturer: Wm. K. Walthers Inc., 5601 W. Florist Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53218; 414-527-0770; walthers.com 40-foot Ortner 100-ton aggregate hopper features: Air-equipped door details as appropriate Factory-installed wire grab irons and end railings Removable load Detailed brake […]

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Five ways to make durable signs for your structures

two signs on the side of a model building

We share five ways to make durable signs for your large-scale structures. Methods include using decals, vinyl stencils, styrene and magnets, and more. Weathered enamel signs Here’s an easy way to simulate old, rusting enamel signs. First, invent and print the sign, or take a photo of a real one. Print the image on glossy […]

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Innotrans trade fair opens in Berlin

Cab ends of red trainset and blue and white trainset on adjacent display tracks

BERLIN — The world’s biggest rail industry trade fair, InnoTrans, has returned after a four-year gap caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The show opened its doors in Berlin today (Tuesday, Sept. 20), with 2,834 exhibitors from 56 countries using the entire Messe Berlin exhibition grounds, which includes 26 buildings covering more than 1.7 million square feet, […]

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Wabtec signs deal for FLXdrive locomotives, LNG conversions in Kazakhstan

Logo of Wabtec Corp. Five-mind blowing facts — Wabtec

PITTSBURGH — Wabtec has announced a $600 million agreement to provide 150 battery-electric switch engines using its FLXdrive technology for Kazakhstan Temir Zholy, Kazakhstan’s national railway company. The memorandum of understanding also includes modernization work to convert KTZ’s mainline locomotive fleet with its NextFuel liquid natural gas system. The announcement coincides with the InnoTrans international […]

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Norfolk Southern train derails in Southern Illinois

Norfolk Southern logo

ALBERS, Ill. — Twenty-six cars of a Norfolk Southern train derailed Monday morning between the towns of Albers and New Baden, leading to an extensive response from authorities that included a hazardous-materials team as a precautionary measure. No injuries were reported. The Belleville News-Democrat reports the derailment was reported at 11:22 a.m., leading a response […]

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