Ways to turn a train

A pencil sketch on graph paper lists pros and cons of using a wye, a turnback loop, and a turntable to turn trains

Unless you’re content with watching your trains go around and around a simple loop, eventually you’re going to be looking for ways to turn a train. Don’t get me wrong, it’s entirely possible to go through your entire train-operating career and never have to turn a train; maybe you always play the yardmaster, or your […]

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Union Pacific sued over thefts from trains in Los Angeles

Pink and white intermodal containers, with tractor lifting one box in center of photo

OMAHA, Neb. — A Singapore-based shipping firm, Ocean Network Express, is suing Union Pacific over the thefts of packages it says were stolen from UP trains during a widely reported series of break-ins to intermodal trains in Los Angeles. The Omaha World Herald reports ONE has filed suit over the theft of $166,000 worth of […]

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Pittsburgh introduces new name, color scheme for transit system

Logo of Pittsburgh Regional Transit

PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh’s public transit has a new name. The Port Authority of Allegheny County has rebranded itself as Pittsburgh Regional Transit, the agency announced in a Thursday press conference at its Gateway light rail station in downtown Pittsburgh. Along with the new name comes a new logo: the letters PRT in yellow circles. The […]

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Workers protest after employee death at Canadian railcar plant

National Steel Car logo

HAMILTON, Ontario — Workers at a railcar manufacturing plant in Hamilton staged a protest on Thursday, seeking a police investigation after the third workplace death at the factory in 21 months. The CBC reports members of United Steelworkers Local 7135 led the rally outside the National Steel Car plant in response to Monday’s death of […]

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Railroad Development Corp. names new managing director for international business development

Head shot of man in coat and tie

PITTSBURGH — Railroad Development Corp. has appointed Dr. Juan de Dios Oleachea as managing director, international business development. He will lead business-development activities in selected markets, with Latin America and mining-related opportunities worldwide as initial targets. Oleachea is a founding shareholder of Peru’s Ferrocarril Central Andino, where he has served as chairman since its formation […]

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Switching scrap metal, stopping for coal, heading into a tunnel, and more Trackside Photos

A steam engine switches a gondola of baled scrap metal next to an old-fashioned downtown scene

Send us your Trackside Photos Trackside Photos is a showcase for the work of Model Railroader readers. Send your photos (digital images 5 megapixels or larger) to: Model Railroader, Trackside Photos, P.O. Box 1612, Waukesha, WI 53187-1612; or upload them to fileupload.kalmbach.com/contribute. For our photo submission guidelines, contact senior associate editor Steven Otte at sotte@kalmbach.com. […]

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Athearn HO scale 40-foot Pfaudler milk car

green HO milk car

40-foot Pfaudler milk car Scale: HO (1:87) Price: $36.99 Era: 1920s to 1950s Manufacturer: Athearn Trains, 2904 Research Rd., Champaign, IL 61822, 800-338-4639, athearn.com Features: Screw-mounted express-type trucks Machined metal RP-25 contour wheels Body-mounted McHenry couplers Injection-molded plastic body Minimum radius: 18” Available July 2023 Road names: Chicago & North Western, Alderney Dairy Co., Merkle Dairy […]

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Amtrak receives FRA funding for apprenticeship program

Amtrak logo.

WASHINGTON — Amtrak has received an $8 million grant from the Federal Railroad Administration to expand the apprenticeship program it launched earlier this year. The funds are among the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvement grants announced earlier this month [see “FRA announces CRISI grants …,” Trains News Wire, June 2, 2022]. They will support […]

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