Grand Canyon No. 4960 labors through Saturday excursion

GC4960

WILLIAMS, Ariz. — Grand Canyon Railway and Hotel’s No. 4960 was at the head of Sept. 2’s round trip from Williams to the south rim of Grand Canyon National Park. The busy Labor Day weekend resulted in a 16-car excursion train that maxed out the platform length at the Williams Station, according to Eric Hadder, […]

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Atlas enters Z scale freight car market

Illustration of two-tone green boxcar with white and orange graphics.

In late August 2023, Atlas announced that it is entering the Z scale freight car market. The company’s debut car will be the Evans 53-foot double-plug-door boxcar, which it also offers in N, HO, and O scales. The Master Line model is scheduled for release in the second quarter of 2024. Road names in the […]

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News & Products for the week of September 5th 2023

A model boxcar

News & Products for the week of September 5th 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 5th […]

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Union Pacific, EPA to conduct soil testing near former SP tie treatment plant in Houston

Union Pacific logo with Building America slogan

HOUSTON – Union Pacific and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are seeking residents’ permission to conduct soil testing on their properties this month as part of the railroad’s ongoing effort to clean up contamination from the former Southern Pacific crosstie treatment plant in the Fifth Ward. The Houston Health Department independently conducted some additional soil […]

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How to own and maintain a caboose

A red caboose sitting perpendicular over railroad track tied to a crane on an overcast day.

Privately owned caboose Welcome to the world of privately owned cabooses. The craving for a cab is a continuing urge for Americans. So, let’s probe this topic deeper. Matt Bumgarner, noted railroad author, publisher, and driving force behind the Southeastern Narrow Gauge and Short Line Museum in Newton, N.C., answers the following questions about his […]

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Federal regulators say five of seven U.S. Class I railroads were ‘revenue adequate’ in 2022

WASHINGTON — Five of the seven Class I railroads operating in the U.S. last year were revenue adequate in 2022, the Surface Transportation Board said today. Being revenue adequate means a railroads achieved a rate of return equal to or greater than the board’s calculation of the average cost of capital to the freight rail […]

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Federal regulators pause controversial rule allowing shipment of LNG by rail

WASHINGTON – Federal regulators have suspended a rule that would have allowed the shipment of liquefied natural gas in railroad tank cars. The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, in coordination with the Federal Railroad Administration, last week said the rule adopted in 2020 would be shelved until whichever comes first: June 30, 2025 or […]

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Waterloo Central Railway begins Sunday Dayliner Service

yellow and white unit with smoke

WATERLOO, Ontario — On Sept. 3, heritage operator Waterloo Central Railway (WCR) officially launched their Sunday Dayliner Service with RDC1 No. 9114. The trains are scheduled to operate between the Northfield station in north Waterloo, Ontario, and the town of Elmira on the Waterloo Spur. RDC1 No. 9114 last operated under its own power in […]

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Add maintenance operation to a layout

Two green-clad workers guide a rail truck out from under a gondola car

Q: Reading Jerry Dziedzic’s essay on “Turning waybills into dollar bills” (August 2023) made me realize that I don’t know anything about how prototype railroads handle the inspection and shopping of freight cars. Are cars sent in for inspection, paint, and maintenance at fixed times, or after a certain number of miles, or only when a […]

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