High iron baseball — exploring independent leagues

Trains are just as American as baseball, hot dogs, and apple pie. What’s even better is combining these. Imagine sitting back in the stands, munching a hot dog, watching a ballgame, and a train rumbles past outside the right-field fence. Could summertime be any better? This is high iron baseball — exploring independent leagues More […]

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EMD Joule Battery Electric Locomotive arrives in Southern California

EMD Joule locomotive Progress Rail’s long promised EMD Joule Battery Electric Locomotive has arrived at its destination at Pacific Harbor Line’s Wilmington, Calif., facility for long-term testing and demonstration purposes. The builder said it will be at home in switching service, regional service, and part of a consist with traditional diesel-electric locomotives. According to the […]

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CPKC to handle Schneider’s cross-border intermodal shipments between the Midwest and Mexico

CALGARY, Alberta – CPKC has landed a multi-year contract to handle Schneider National’s intermodal traffic between the U.S. and Mexico. The announcement today – which comes just a week after the Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern combination became effective – backs up pre-merger projections that CPKC’s single-line service would enable it to compete in the Chicago-Mexico […]

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Canadian government approves major West Coast container terminal

DELTA, British Columbia — The Canadian government announced Thursday it has approved a C$3.5 billion project to build a new West Coast container terminal, subject to some 370 legally binding conditions, the Globe and Mail newspaper reports. The Roberts Bank Terminal 2 project, which has been in development for more than a dozen years, involves […]

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CSX earnings improve as service improvements boost merchandise traffic

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Record on-time performance for carload shipments helped CSX Transportation gain merchandise traffic that contributed to higher first quarter revenue and profits. “With sufficient resources in place, we are able to use the benefits of our scheduled railroading model to deliver improvements in our customer service performance that are driving real, tangible financial […]

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What happened to EMD’s Triclops locomotives?

EMD’s Triclops locomotives At the beginning of the comfort cab revolution in the United States, EMD constructed its first “North American cab” SD60M for customer Union Pacific. Numbered 6085, it was a similar design to what Canadian National had been using for years, with one visual difference. The new cab featured three front windows instead […]

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Santa Fe 4-8-4 No. 2926 to steam up next month

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Santa Fe 4-8-4 No. 2926 will make a short trip next month from its restoration site to Tractor Brewing Company in Albuquerque. The short run down approximately four blocks of industrial track will operate May 6 as a fundraiser for the New Mexico Steam Locomotive & Railroad Historical Society, which restored the […]

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News & Products for the week of April 17th 2023

News & Products for the week of April 17th 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 April 17th 2023. […]

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Slide suspends Seattle-Portland ‘Cascades’ service through Friday

SEATTLE — Amtrak Cascades between Seattle and Portland, Ore., remain suspended through Friday, April 14, while BNSF Railway crews clear a mudslide that has kept passenger trains from operating since Tuesday. Portland-Eugene, Ore., and Seattle-Vancouver, B.C., trains have continued to operate, while the Coast Starlight to and from Los Angeles has been turning at Portland. […]

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Behind the scenes with Stephen Low

Stephen Low, IMAX filmmaker With big diesels, beautiful landscapes, and unique camera shots, the documentary Train Time takes the IMAX audience on an adventure from the crew’s point of view. Those working behind the scenes of the BNSF Railway openly share their triumphs and struggles as they battle brutal weather-related conditions, unforeseen delays, and much […]

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Venture business-class cars debut in Midwest: Trip report

First of two parts  CHICAGO — After being delayed for several years by production setbacks and acceptance issues, the first of 17 state-owned Siemens Venture business-class cars are now hosting passengers on Midwest Amtrak routes. They are not being advertised, however, and you only need a regular coach ticket to ride the cars. They feature […]

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