Watch trains running on Marshall Sommer’s HO scale Rhode Haven model railroad, which is featured in the January 2022 issue of Model Railroader magazine. […]
Layout visit: Marshall Sommer’s HO scale Rhode Haven
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Southern Railway 4501: a 2-8-2 steam locomotive legend
Southern Railway 4501. You could write a book about this locomotive, and indeed one has been done. If it were a fable, it would be the story of a commoner becoming royalty. This is a brief look at a once-ordinary, freight-hauling 2-8-2 made into a legendary excursion locomotive. Southern 4501 history Baldwin built No. 4501 […]
DC Metrorail issues lead to NTSB safety alert
WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board has issued a safety alert, asking commuter rail and rail transit systems to check wheelsets for possible out-of-gage situations. Safety Alert 083, issued Wednesday, results from an October derailment on the DC Metrorail system, which revealed problems in which some wheels moved outward from their mounted position on […]
California-inspired garden railroad
A California-inspired garden railroad is what you can see in our Morning Glow Railroad. It was developed after watching numerous videos, reading many Garden Railways magazines, then determining the type of garden railroad I wanted to construct. Its theme is based on the type of natural setting that I enjoyed the most, namely a vacation […]
CN expects to reopen mainline to Vancouver this weekend
NASHVILLE — Canadian National expects to have its severed British Columbia main line back in service by the weekend, which will help ease a logjam of traffic bound to and from Vancouver, Canada’s busiest port. Heavy rains lashed southern British Columbia last month, causing landslides, flooding, and major washouts in the directional running zone where […]
Union Pacific lowers 2021 expectations as intermodal volume slumps
NASHVILLE — Union Pacific has trimmed its volume, productivity, and operating-ratio expectations for the year amid sluggish operations and a sharp decline in international intermodal traffic due to global supply chain problems. UP now says it will see a 4% volume gain this year, down from the previous forecast of 5% growth; productivity gains will total […]
Court upholds California high speed rail building plan
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A lawsuit seeking to halt California’s high speed rail project has again been turned down in a state court, with the 3rd District Court of Appeals in Sacramento ruling the project’s segmented building plan did not violate the state constitution. The Los Angeles Times, which describes the case as the last pending […]
VIA unveils first new corridor trainset
OTTAWA, Ontario — VIA Rail Canada has provided the first detailed look at its new equipment for corridor service, unveiling the first full trainset at the Ottawa station. A total of 32 Siemens-built trainsets will serve the Quebec City-Windsor, Ont., corridor. Testing of the first trainset will begin this month, with the first of the […]
Study sees rail move to battery-electric propulsion as feasible, cost effective
BERKELEY, Calif. — A new study says railroads could save $94 billion over 20 years by reducing air pollution and carbon dioxide emissions — and help avoid health impacts including an estimated 1,000 premature deaths each year — by retrofitting diesel-electric locomotives with battery power. The study from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley […]
Province seeks to amend constitution as a result of tax fight with Canadian Pacific (updated)
REGINA, Saskatchewan — A long-running battle between Canadian Pacific and the province of Saskatchewan is leading to an effort to amend the provincial constitution to remove a disputed tax loophole for the railroad. The Canadian Press reports CP is suing the province for $341 million in taxes it has paid, arguing it is exempt from […]
England to build rail bridge for endangered dormouse
LANCASHIRE, England — Wildlife bridges are sometimes built over major highways at select locations in North America, trying avoid collisions between vehicles and animals that are often fatal to the wildlife and sometimes to drivers, as well. In Canada’s Banff National Park, such bridges have seen significant use by bears, moose, and elk. In England, […]
Canadian government delays grade-crossing requirements
OTTAWA, Ontario — The Canadian government has extended deadlines for grade crossing improvements, while removing the lowest-risk crossings from the improvement requirements. Following up on a proposal made earlier this year [see “Digest: Canadian government proposes delay …,” Trains News Wire, June 21, 2021]. Transport Canada will provide a one-year extension beyond the original deadline […]
