SARNIA, Ontario — Fourteen cars of a Canadian National train, including three tank cars carrying liquified petroleum gas, have derailed this morning as the train entered the railroad’s Sarnia yard, CKNX Radio reports. No leaks have been reported. At least one grade crossing, at St. Andrew Street, has been blocked by the derailment. No other […]
Type of Train: Freight
U.S. weekly rail traffic once again shows increase
WASHINGTON — Once again carried by intermodal traffic, weekly U.S. rail volume remained above 2023 levels for the ninth straight week, according to statistics from the Association of American Railroads. For the week ending March 23, total traffic was 470,593 carloads and intermodal units, up 2.1% compared to the corresponding week a year earlier. The […]
Built by Others: Cody Grivno’s Red Wing Division
Built by Others in an article series showing layouts constructed by modelers using plans and projects from the pages of Model Railroader and its associated products. The Soo Line Red Wing Division originally appeared in the December 1994 issue. In this installment on Cody Grivno’s Red Wing Division, MR’s senior editor shares how he adapted […]
Broken rail caused 2021 CP potash derailment, TSB determines
WINNIPEG, Manitoba — An undetected rail flaw that led to a broken rail as the train passed over it caused the derailment of a Canadian Pacific potash train at Silton, Saskatchewan in October 2021, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada said in an investigation report released today (Tuesday, March 26). The incident occurred at 5:02 […]
BNSF continuing cleanup after Monday derailment in New Mexico
SOCORRO, N.M. — BNSF Railway is estimating it will reopen its main line at approximately 7 a.m. local time Wednesday after a Monday, March 25, derailment of an undetermined number of railcars near Socorro. The railroad indicated in an advisory to customers that the derailment occurred about 10 p.m. KOB-TV reports that no one was […]
NTSB looks at NS rules, procedures, and training as investigation of three-train Pennsylvania incident continues
WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board is looking at Norfolk Southern rules, procedures, and crew training relating to train handling as it continues its investigation into the collision and derailment involving three trains that occurred March 2 in Lower Saucon Township, Pa., according to the preliminary investigation report issued today (Tuesday, March 26). The […]
STB asked to head off potential shortage of boxcars
WASHINGTON — The Railway Supply Institute, the trade group representing the companies that build and lease freight cars, today asked federal regulators to take action that would prevent the North American boxcar fleet from hurtling over a looming retirement cliff. The problem: Boxcars are being scrapped at a faster rate than they are being built. […]
Activist investor group would put Norfolk Southern back on PSR path, reduce operating ratio to 57%
CLEVELAND — An activist investor group says its proposed Norfolk Southern management team would improve the railroad’s operations, service, and profitability by jettisoning CEO Alan Shaw’s resilience strategy and adopting the low-cost Precision Scheduled Railroading operating model. In a letter to shareholders today, Ancora Holdings says its plan for NS would cut costs, focus on […]
Baltimore bridge tragedy to affect rail traffic with port access blocked (updated)
BALTIMORE — The tragic collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge today (March 26) after a ship strike has cut off the Port of Baltimore’s busiest terminals from Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean beyond. At least six people remain unaccounted for after the container ship Dali struck the bridge about 1:28 a.m. today, CNN […]
Union Railroad buys land at former steel plant for transload facility
DUQUESNE, Pa. — Pittsburgh’s Union Railroad is buying 13 acres of the former U.S. Steel Duquesne Works to develop a transload facility, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. The railroad purchased the land from the Regional Industrial Development Corp. for $400,000 to develop a facility for truck-to-rail and rail-to-truck transloading, according to the development agency’s president, Don […]
Canadian government to fund rail project at Port of Montreal
MONTREAL — The Canadian government will fund a C$16.75 million project to improve rail access and add storage at the Port of Montreal, Transportation Minister Pablo Rodriguez announced Monday, March 25. The project will include rehabilitation of, and adding a fourth track to, the Pie-IX rail bridge, along with adding a storage area, which Transport […]
D&RGW freight at Orestod
Having taken on coal and water, Rio Grande 4-8-2 No. 1505 is eastbound at Orestod, Colo., with a freight from Grand Junction in the 1940s. G. L. Campbell photo […]