WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives’ vote on appropriations for the Department of Transportation, which would include a 64% cut in Amtrak funding as well as a prohibition on federal funds for California’s high speed rail project, is still pending. It had originally been reported as on the schedule for Wednesday [see “House set to […]
WASHINGTON — In a new report, the National Transportation Safety Board calls on the Federal Railroad Administration to incorporate new technologies into existing positive train control systems and address issues with PTC in its current form. The 51-page report, available here, says safety issues remain in existing PTC systems in the form of: — Insufficient […]
WASHINGTON — U.S. rail traffic reached its highest level in 28 months in October, according to statistics from the Association of American Railroads, while weekly traffic figures ended their run of increases over 2022 levels. The month saw railroads originate just under 2 million carloads and intermodal units — 921,591 carloads, down 0.3% from October […]
Everyone has a story worth sharing. Nick Ozorak uses that as a guiding philosophy for his digital media and marketing agency, Streamliner Media, as well as his railroading podcast, The Roundhouse. Streamliner Media produces high-quality videos for the freight and rail preservation industries, with clients ranging from the Iowa Interstate Railroad to the East Broad […]
RODESSA, La. — At least 10 cars of a CPKC train derailed near Rodessa this morning (Wednesday, Nov. 1), leading to the closure of State Route 1 while heavy machinery assists in cleanup at the scene. The Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office reports the derailment occurred about 6 a.m. Caddo Fire District 8 responded to the […]
STANLEY, Wis. — Approximately 10 cars of a Canadian National Railway train derailed early this morning (Wednesday, Nov. 1), the Stanley Police department said in a press release posted on Facebook. The derailment occurred about 1:07 a.m. No injuries were reported and no hazardous materials were involved, police said. Stanley, population 3,378, is about 30 […]
MILWAUKEE — Amtrak’s Chicago-Milwaukee Hiawatha service will now feature variable ticket pricing, ending a flat fare of $25 that had been in effect since 2016. The new sliding fares of $19 to $31, based on demand and advanced purchase, are effective today (Nov. 1). They follow Amtrak’s nationwide adoption of a two-tiered pricing system; as […]
CLEVELAND — The group restoring Reading Co. T-1 4-8-4 No. 2100 has announced the locomotive will wear an American Freedom Train paint scheme nearly identical to that worn by another T-1, No. 2101, during the 1975-76 Freedom Train tour. “Our initial plan was to debut the 2100 in the original black Reading freight scheme, and […]
OMAHA, Neb. — A round of layoffs are under way today at Union Pacific headquarters as new CEO Jim Vena aims to streamline management and speed up decision making at the sprawling railroad. “Union Pacific is changing its culture and announced organizational changes to reduce layers, expand spans of control and focus on empowering employees […]
An N scale layout on a door is to that scale what a 4 x 8-foot table is to HO: a popular and convenient platform on which to build a compact layout. And for good reason. A hollow-core door is a lightweight, rigid surface, easy to handle and build on, and not too expensive. It’s […]
Q: I want to replace some wheelsets on my 1:32 passenger cars but don’t know where to measure the model railroad car wheels’ diameter. I’d like to keep the wheel sizes the same with the new as the old so I don’t need to deal with altering the height of my couplers. Is the wheel […]
OMAHA, Neb. — The head of the track workers’ union has warned federal regulators that Union Pacific aims to furlough up to 1,350 maintenance-of-way employees next month and will push the remainder of this year’s planned trackwork projects into 2024 as a cost-saving measure. But the railroad says the move is nothing unusual. “This is […]
