WASHINGTON COUNTY, Maryland — Hitachi Rail will build a new factory in Washington County to build the new 8000-series railcars for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, the company has announced. The $70 million factory, near the Hopewell Valley Industrial Park adjacent to Hagerstown, Md., is projected to employ up to 460 people, and will […]
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Rapido Trains to release HO scale Procor 3,000-cubic-foot capacity sodium chlorate hopper
Rapido Trains announced that it will be offering a Procor 3,000-cubic-foot capacity sodium chlorate hopper in HO scale. The release date for the model has yet to be announced. The first release of the sodium chlorate hopper will be decorated for Procor (1998+ with UNPX reporting marks, Procor wordmark, and top handrails; and 2000+ with […]
Canadian Pacific shutdown begins in Canada (updated)
CALGARY, Alberta — With each side blaming the other, a dispute between Canadian Pacific and the union representing 3,000 train crew members and yard workers has led to a halt of the railroad’s operations in Canada. Canada’s Minister of Labor, Seamus O’Regan, confirmed the stoppage had begun in a Twitter post at 12:01 a.m. EDT […]
Rapido Trains to release HO scale Great Northern 40-foot 12-panel boxcar
Rapido Trains announced that it will be offering a Great Northern 40-foot 12-panel boxcar in HO scale. The release date for the model has yet to be announced. The car will be offered in two versions. Boxcars with early improved Dreadnaught ends will be painted Mineral Red, Vermillion Red, Glacier Green, and Omaha Orange and […]
American Z Line to release Z scale Alco PA-1 and PB-1 diesel locomotives
American Z Line announced that Alco PA-1 and PB-1 diesel locomotives will be joining the company’s Z scale diesel locomotive lineup. The release date for the six-axle passenger units has yet to be announced. Initial road names on the Alco diesels are Denver & Rio Grande Western (PA-1 and PA-1/PB-1 set for the California Zephyr) […]
7 great Lionel locomotives and 4 duds
7 great Lionel locomotives and 4 duds – this list recognizes what we consider to be the Lionel Corporation’s crowning achievements in locomotive manufacturing 1900-1969. Admittedly, it’s subjective, based on experience owning, operating, and repairing Lionel locomotives. We both value solid construction and reliable operation, so those were key factors in awarding our trophies. Our […]
Adventures of a railroad station agent
I’d been hired as second-shift railroad station agent at Channing, Mich., for the Escanaba & Lake Superior Railroad in June 1980. The railroad had taken over operation of the Milwaukee Road’s lines north of Green Bay, Wis., three months earlier. I was 23 years old and had no qualifications for the job, other than I […]
44-ton locomotives in North America
44-ton locomotives in North America: There was a time in North American transportation where railroads were the king of moving goods and services, providing every industry whether it be 50 cars or one, a spot on their daily switch list. When steam was being dethroned by internal combustion, many railroads replaced them in-kind with similar […]
Emery Trust awards $350,000 in rail preservation grants
The John Emery Rail Heritage Trust has will award 22 grants totaling $350,000, for rail preservation projects in 2022. The list of grants selected comes from 34 applications requesting more than $1 million. The trust, the largest in the U.S. that makes 100% of its awards solely for rail restoration projects, was founded by long-time […]
Museum works to save two rare New York Central electric locomotives
GLENMONT, N.Y. — A plan is under way to rescue two historic New York Central electric locomotives stranded for three decades on isolated track along the Hudson River south of Albany. They are threatened by a project to build a factory to manufacture offshore wind-turbine towers to be erected off the coast of Long Island. […]
Montreal light rail project faces delay
MONTREAL — The controversial REM de L’Est, planned as the second phase of Montreal’s Réseau express métropolitain light rail project, faces an uncertain future after the pension fund behind the project said it will seek to delay environmental hearings. The CBC reports that CDPQ Infra, the infrastructure-project arm of Quebec pension fund manager Caisse de […]
Donation of $1 million will fund new building at Maine trolley museum
KENNEBUNKPORT, Maine — The Seashore Trolley Museum will use a $1 million donation — the second largest in its history — to replace an aging building providing covered storage for its cars. The Portland Press-Herald reports the anonymous gift will allow replacement of the 66-year-old Burton B. Shaw South Boston Car House, which is leaning […]