For 146 years, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus Train criss-crossed the nation as America’s longest passenger train. With a mile-long train of passenger cars and container flats and housing about 300 performers and crew, the circus train was a regular sight on American railroads. The Ringling Bros. shut down operations in 2017 […]
Type of Train: Freight
Lionel Catalog Volume 1 for 2024
Lionel Catalog Volume 1 for 2024 is filled with plenty of treasures. What’s there? How about fantastic locomotives loaded with tons of special effects and realistic details as well as lots of superb pieces of scale rolling stock and entertaining operating cars of all sorts? And plenty of spectacular and enjoyable train sets for modelers […]
Colorado bill to protect mountain rail lines for passenger service takes first step
DENVER — A bill that includes provisions to protect rail lines for Colorado’s proposed Denver-Craig rail service, even if coal traffic drops below sustainable levels, has cleared its first step in the state Senate. SB24-190, sponsored by Sen. Dylan Roberts (D-Frisco), also enhances the ability of the state to sell the Moffat Tunnel, which it […]
U.S. weekly rail traffic remains ahead of 2023 levels
WASHINGTON — The well-established pattern for U.S. rail traffic continued for the week ending April 6: carload traffic was down compared to the same week in 2023, while intermodal traffic was up. Overall, that added up to 450,142 carloads and intermodal units, a 1.6% increase compared with the corresponding week a year ago, according to […]
Vermont Rail System to acquire New Hampshire Central
BURLINGTON, Vt. — Vermont Rail System has reached an agreement to purchase assets and operating rights of the New Hampshire Central Railroad to expand its operations in northern New Hampshire, the companies announced Tuesday. “VRS has a 60-year tradition of helping local businesses with efficient and reliable freight service,” Selden Houghton, Vermont Rail System president, […]
Schulte named president of Anacostia’s Northern Lines Railway
CHICAGO — Quentin Schulte has been named president of Northern Lines Railway, Anacostia Rail Holdings has announced. Schulte has previously been the general manager of the 25-mile railroad that operates BNSF Railway trackage in the St. Cloud, Minn., area, handling more than 10,000 carloads annually. He joined the short line after 15 years with BNSF […]
Norfolk Southern releases preliminary financial results, announces settlement of East Palestine class action lawsuit
ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern, which remains under pressure from an activist investor, today took the unusual step of releasing preliminary first quarter financial results, which included a $600 million proposed settlement of a class action lawsuit related to the East Palestine, Ohio, hazardous materials wreck. Including the impact of the settlement, the railroad’s operating income […]
Colorado rail regulation bill advances
DENVER — Colorado legislation limiting train lengths and requiring wayside detectors, among other provisions, has passed the state’s House of Representatives and been introduced in the Senate. HB24-1030 is sponsored in the House by state Rep. Javier Mabrey (D-Denver) and in the Senate by Sens. Lisa Cutter (D-Lakewood) and Tony Exum (D-Colorado Springs.). As passed […]
Dispatchers’ workday
At the Pennsylvania Railroad’s Pittsburgh Region desk F (foreground), the dispatcher for the Esplen (south end of the Ohio Connecting Bridge)–Brownsville, Pa., line works with a new style of trainsheet, while his colleague on desk I, Pittsburgh–Gould Tunnel, Ohio, uses the standard type in 1956. Philip R. Hastings photo […]
News & Products for the week of April 8th 2024
News & Products for the week of April 8th 2024 Model railroad operators and builders can get the latest information about locomotives, freight cars, passenger cars, tools, track, and more by reading Model Railroader’s frequent product updates. The following are the products Model Railroader editors have news on for the week of April 8th […]
Ancora’s activist campaign gains support of Norfolk Southern investor (updated)
CLEVELAND – Ancora Holdings’ campaign to oust Norfolk Southern’s management team last week gained the support of New York investment management firm Neuberger Berman, which said it has concerns about the railroad’s operations, strategy, safety, and service. “We believe a change in management and refreshment of the board … are warranted and could stimulate improved […]
Norfolk Southern prunes intermodal network and puts focus on operating ratio improvement
ATLANTA – Norfolk Southern has pruned its intermodal network and made the operating ratio a key component of its executive compensation plans, the railroad announced yesterday amid its proxy battle with activist investor Ancora Holdings. NS has eliminated 53 low-volume intermodal lanes — or 15% of its intermodal network — that had limited growth prospects. […]