Modelers supporting Ukrainian refugees: The HUB Division of the National Model Railroad Association, a 501(c)3 organization, has set up a fund to help our fellow model railroaders and prototype steam railroaders in their support of the Ukrainian refugee families who have arrived in Wolsztyn Poland. 100% of all funds donated go directly to this support. […]
BALTIMORE — Autonomous trucks are beginning to roam highways with the blessing of the Department of Transportation, yet the Federal Railroad Administration wants to mandate two-person train crews. Why is the regulatory playing field different for trucks and trains, FRA Administrator Amit Bose was asked at a shippers’ conference on Thursday. “We think having a […]
TAHAWAUS, N.Y. — The bankruptcy sale of a portion of the former Saratoga & North Creek Railroad is jeopardy after the buyers failed to submit a deposit in timely fashion, according to the bankruptcy trustee. The Adirondack Explorer news site reports buyers Carol McLean-Wright and John Wright, operating as Doc N Duchess Railway, did not […]
BALTIMORE – CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern are working to improve their service amid ongoing crew shortages and supply chain disruptions, executives told shippers on Thursday. “We’re aware that it’s been a tough two years. Clearly we haven’t shown our best self,” Farrukh Bezar, CSX’s senior vice president and chief strategy officer, told the North […]
HORNELL, N.Y. — Testing of Amtrak’s next-generation Acela trainsets on the Northeast Corridor has shown that further modifications will be necessary, pushing back the date the equipment will be placed in service because additional testing will be necessary. Amtrak revealed last week at a Philadelphia media event that the first of the 28 nine-unit trainsets […]
RICHMOND HILL, Ontario — A complex series of factors led to a string-line derailment that killed a Canadian National crew member in an August 15, 2019, derailment at MacMillan Yard in Vaughan, Ontario, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada said in an accident report released this week. The worker, who was operating a remote-control locomotive […]
RALEIGH, N.C. — The fire that destroyed four former Ringling Bros. & Barnum and Bailey circus railcars in March may have been arson, a law enforcement officer told a state legislative committee on Thursday. The Raleigh News and Observer reports Chief Deputy Brandon Medina of the Nash County Sheriff’s Office told the Joint Legislative Transportation […]
CHICAGO — Commuter rail operator Metra will make significant additions to its weekday Union Pacific Northwest schedule and minor changes to its UP North line, effective April 25. On the Northwest line, to McHenry and Harvard, Ill., weekday trains will increase from 45 to 66 trains. The new schedule increases service for those with early […]
WASHINGTON – Federal regulators have ordered officials from BNSF Railway, CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern, and Union Pacific to appear a two-day hearing this month regarding ongoing rail service problems. The Surface Transportation Board announced on Thursday that it will hold the public hearings on April 26 and 27. The announcement comes in the wake of […]
WOODSTOCK, Ontario — A Canadian National executive special carrying new CEO Tracy Robinson and other managers passes through Woodstock, Ontario, this morning (Thursday, April 7). The train with two locomotives and four business cars is en route from Brampton Intermodal Terminal, near Toronto, to Chicago. It is expected to pass through Michigan and arrive in […]
James (Jim) A. Sacco, founder of City Classics, died on March 6 after a multi-year battle with cancer. He was 66. Jim started City Classics in 1989. The company was well known for its structure offerings in HO and N scales. Over the years Jim added other products to the company’s lineup, including window treatments, […]
Bob Phelps, former principal product design engineer at Pritchard Patent Product Co. Ltd. (Peco), passed away at his home in France on March 24. He was 84 years old. Phelps joined Peco in 1964 as a product designer. Steve Haynes, sales manager at Peco, said, “Bob was a huge American model railroading fan and a […]
