WASHINGTON – OmniTRAX will take over operations of the South Branch Valley Railroad, a 52.4-mile state-owned short line in West Virginia, on or after Sept. 13, the shortline holding company said in a regulatory filing this week. The former Baltimore & Ohio line is currently owned and operated by the West Virginia State Rail Authority. […]
WASHINGTON — Union Pacific has asked federal regulators to toss out a complaint that Canadian Pacific Kansas City filed this month that would allow it to route grain trains to the ports of Houston and Galveston using trackage rights over UP south of Beaumont, Texas. CPKC told the Surface Transportation Board that UP is blocking […]
NEW YORK — The departure of two key operations executives this year won’t affect CSX’s service, Chief Financial Officer Sean Pelkey said at an investor conference today. “We’re six years into the scheduled railroading journey. It’s in our DNA. And you’ve got a team of leaders across the operations group who understand what that plan […]
Q: I’m planning a small layout based on The Bay Line (BAYL), a north Florida short line, focusing on the Cottondale diamond crossing and CSX interchange. I found a fascinating picture of the diamond near the interchange in 1989, which shows a grade crossing-type gate across the railroad track just before the diamond. What would the […]
Q: I’ve been given several HO scale locomotives that unfortunately came without boxes or information about whether they were DCC equipped or not. Most are very nice, higher end models, not entry-level. Is there any way to safely find out if each locomotive is DC or DCC without taking off the shells? Even if I do remove […]
By Toyoji Sekine / Photos by Kaori Komatsu In the 1950s, when I was a small child, an O gauge train ran around the pond in my yard. It was a Japanese-style train made of tinplate, as nothing more realistic was available after the war. But I fell in love with American railroads, particularly the […]
Why horseshoe curves work better in N scale: Caliente, Calif., is a little town on the Union Pacific between Bakersfield and Tehachapi. Fans of the railroad’s Tehachapi Pass know Caliente for its horseshoe curve; the rest of the world likely has never heard of it. If you’re modeling Tehachapi Pass, as I am, Caliente will […]
FORT WORTH, Texas — A year-old partnership between BNSF Railway and three of its labor unions has dramatically reduced injuries and derailments. The Transportation Safety Agreement between BNSF and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, SMART-TD, and Transportation Communications Union was ratified early in 2022 and mostly covers southern portions of the railway. The […]
SD9043MACs Indiana Rail Road is in the process of replacing its core motive power. The backbone of its road fleet since 2008 has been 10 former CEFX SD9043MACs that replaced a group of leased SD60s. EMD’s 4,300-hp SD9043MAC, introduced in 1995, is a unique model designed to accept a larger 6,000-hp H engine being developed […]
WASHINGTON — NJ Transit was honored as the Outstanding Public Transportation System with 50 million or more annual passenger trips when the American Public Transportation Association announced its 2023 Public Transportation Awards on Monday. The organization also announced six new members for the APTA Hall of Fame and individual awards in four categories. “The achievements […]
PHILADELPHIA — Renovations underway at Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station will restore a direct pedestrian tunnel connection to the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority’s Market-Frankfort Line, eliminated in 1984, the website Billy Penn reports. Currently, the connection requires going above ground and following a route without signage that crosses a street that is an exit route off Interstate […]
POCAHONTAS, Tenn. — An estimated 15 cars of a Norfolk Southern train derailed Sunday evening in southwest Tennesseee, WBBJ-TV reports, citing information from Hardeman County Sheriff John Doolen. No injuries were reported. The derailment occurred about 7 p.m. in a remote area near the Hardeman and McNairy county lines in the Pocahontas area. A photo […]
