Eight forgotten Amtrak trains in the Midwest

Silver-and-blue diesel locomotive with passenger train at road crossing

These eight forgotten Amtrak trains are largely unremembered by railfans today. The shortest duration lasted just short of 14 months.   Black Hawk   The Black Hawk began service on the Illinois Central Iowa Division main line between Chicago and Dubuque, Iowa, on Feb. 14, 1974. It operated at first with Budd Rail Diesel Cars […]

Read More…

Report warns of danger of long hours for LIRR track workers

Track workers wait to work as commuter train passes

NEW YORK — Excessive work hours pose a high safety risk for many Long Island Rail Road workers, the Office of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Inspector General says in a report issued Thursday. The audit, addressing hours for workers not covered by Federal Railroad Administration hours-of-service regulations, found that engineering department employees, particularly track workers, […]

Read More…

Overcoming Amtrak’s equipment shortage challenges: Special report

Passenger train with white, green and brown locomotive at station

Second of two parts Part 1 of this report, available here, examined how lack of capacity has adversely impacted Amtrak’s long-distance trains compared with the mobility the company has been able to provide in the Northeast Corridor. Part 2 considers possible solutions. Foreseeable shortfall The shortage of active bilevels was evident when deployment plans for […]

Read More…

Mexican government announces deal with Grupo Mexico over seized rail line

Ferromex4022

MEXICO CITY — Mexican President Andres Manuel López Obrador said Thursday that that the government had extended a concession of rail operator Grupo Mexico’s Ferrosur unit for 8 years to compensate the company for the government’s seizure last month of a section of railway operated by Grupo Mexico. BNAmericas reports the extension covers the Medias […]

Read More…

Progress Rail to convert locomotive to battery power for Australia’s Aurizon

Four men standing on walkway of locomotive

REDBANK, Queensland — Australia’s largest freight rail company, Aurizon, has contracted with Progress Rail to build what the companies are calling the first zero-emission-capable freight locomotive to be constructed in Australia, a battery-electric unit. Progress Rail will retrofit one of Aurizon’s existing 4000-class diesel locomotives, Clyde Engineering units built by Walkers, at the Progress Rail […]

Read More…

NTSB: Critical hot box detector warning wasn’t heard before May 10 Norfolk Southern derailment (updated)

WASHINGTON — The 164th car of a Norfolk Southern train triggered a critical hot box detector alert before a May wreck in Pennsylvania, but the train continued on its journey for 15.34 miles before derailing because neither the crew nor the railroad’s network operations center received the warning that would have required the train to […]

Read More…

Soo Line diesel locomotives remembered

Three red-and-white Soo Line diesel locomotives

Soo Line diesel locomotives came from four builders and sported two distinctive paint schemes.     The Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie had long been known by its nickname, the Soo Line. The railroad adopted that name officially in 1961 when it merged the Wisconsin Central and Duluth, South Shore & Atlantic, both […]

Read More…

Modeling plate girder bridges

ModelingplategirderbridgesinNscale

Modeling plate girder bridges: The most commonly found type of railroad bridge in the country has to be the good old plate girder. You see them everywhere. They’re simple, inexpensive, and can handle spans up to about 100 feet. (The longer the span, the deeper the sideplates on the bridge.) As long as there are […]

Read More…

Tips for body mounting couplers

ThisAtlascoveredhopperwasmanufacturedintheearly90sandcamewithtruckmountedRapidostylecouplersBodymountingMicroTrainscouplersimprovedbothitslooksandperformance

Tips for body mounting couplers: “Oh, no,” I can hear you saying, “He’s off on couplers again.” Well, sorry, I am, and perhaps not for the last time. Almost all N scale rolling stock until recently has come with truck-mounted couplers. It’s true that cars so equipped can handle tighter curves, but it’s also true […]

Read More…

Axilflower or Magic Carpet Yellow

model steam locomotive approaches clump of yellow flowers

Common name: Axilflower, Magic Carpet Yellow, Baby Jump Up Latin name: Mecardonia x ‘Magic Carpet Yellow’, M. x ‘Gold Dust’, and M. x ‘Gold Flake’ Plant type: Annual USDA Hardiness Zones: 9-11, or grown as an annual Cultural needs: Moist, well drained, neutral or slightly acidic soil; full sun Plant size: 4″ high x 6-12″ […]

Read More…

My first operating session

An orange-and-black BNSF diesel model leads a freight around a curve in front of a forested hill

I have a confession to make: I’m an ops noob. I’ve been a model railroader for more than 30 years and have worked for Model Railroader magazine for 15. I edited Jerry Dziedzic’s “On Operation” column for years and Andy Sperandeo’s “The Operators” before that. And I know my way around a throttle. But a […]

Read More…