Washington’s Tunnel 5 Fire SKAMANIA COUNTY, Wash. — In a preliminary report initially obtained by the Columbia Insight, later acquired for Trains News Wire, the Wildland Fire Investigation of the Washington State Department of Natural Resources has determined a BNSF Railway freight train as the main cause of the Tunnel 5 Fire. As the name […]
If it works as intended, the Surface Transportation Board’s proposed reciprocal switching rule just might — emphasis on might — lead to better service for Class I railroad carload customers. Earlier this month the board unveiled the long-awaited rule, which for the first time proposes service standards for railroads. If a railroad fails to meet […]
News & Products for the week of September 18th 2023 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 September 18th […]
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today marks the start of Rail Safety Week across North America. While rail remains the safest way to move goods over land, according to the Association of American Railroads, this week, railroads and other safety advocates are intensifying their efforts to enhance public safety near railroad tracks — the single largest, most […]
Death Valley Railroad Of all the places to run a railroad, perhaps the last you might expect to find one is California’s Death Valley. I mean, come on. Locals, what there are of them, claim it can be the hottest place on Earth in the summer. As for water, well, there’s not much of that […]
Genesee & Wyoming is undergoing the largest-ever transformation of its corporate locomotive fleet. A consent decree announced in January between the Environmental Protection Agency and G&W requires the company to remove and destroy 88 older locomotives, replacing them with locomotives meeting EPA emission standards [see “Genesee & Wyoming agrees to settlement …,” Trains News Wire, […]
Missouri River bridge BISMARCK, N.D. — On. Sept. 14 the North Dakota Supreme Court denied a request by Friends of the Rail Bridge that the court take “original jurisdiction” in a case that sought to revoke permits for construction and demolition of the BNSF Railway bridge over the Missouri River between Bismarck and Mandan, N.D., […]
The Lionel 700E Hudson steam engine, a super-detailed 1:48 scale model of the J-1e New York Central 4-6-4 Hudson, was a masterpiece. Of museum quality and accuracy, yet functional, it was targeted at O gauge model railroaders, but appealed to just about everyone who saw it. New York Central President Frank Williamson kept a 700E […]
PORTSMOUTH, R. I. — A 1952 vintage New York Central boxcar was saved thanks to quick action by the Newport & Narragansett Bay Railroad. The car had been sitting in an abandoned state for decades in Millis, Mass., on a siding on the Bay Colony Railroad. The property owners wanted the car removed, so it […]
RICHLAND VILLAGE, N.J. — Cape May Seashore Lines is going “back to the future” with its recently acquired GP38 No. 2000. The unit once belonged to predecessor railroad Pennsylvania Reading Seashore Lines. It joins two other ex-PRSL GP38s the railroad is leasing: GMTX 2661 (former PRSL Nos. 2011) and LLPX 2014 (PRSL 2012). Pennsylvania – […]
TACOMA, Wash. — The 2.4-mile Hilltop Link light rail extension in Tacoma officially opened Sept. 16 to riders. The T Light Rail Line (formerly known as Tacoma Link) formerly operated a 1.6-mile route between the Tacoma Dome station and downtown Tacoma. The new line more than doubled the length of T Line, starting with a […]
ZERMATT, Switzerland — Finally getting back up to date on events on the Trains/Special Interest Tours “Majestic Switzerland” tour: Sunday, Sept. 17 This was our longest day, leaving Chur at 6:25 a.m. and getting to Zermatt at 6:14 p.m. Those times were dictated by our trip on the Furka Cogwheel Steam Railway, the all-volunteer steam […]
