TOLEDO, Ohio — A former CSX Transportation crew member dismissed over a social media post is suing the railroad, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, and an arbitration board, seeking to overturn his dismissal. Kirk E. Knopp, of Fostoria, Ohio, filed suit in April in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, […]
Section: News & Reviews
London Crossrail’s Elizabeth Line set for May 24 opening
LONDON — The underground portion of London’s long-delayed Crossrail project is scheduled to open May 24, agency Transport for London has announced. Initial plans for the route to offer 12 trains per hour between Paddington and Abbey Woods Mondays through Saturdays from 6:30 a.m. to 11 p.m., with continuing work in the off-hours and on […]
News photos: New special Metra paint scheme honors Chicago
CHICAGO — Metra on Wednesday unveiled a special paint scheme to honor the city of Chicago on F40PH-3 No. 104, with the commuter agency saying the locomotive will make its debut May 14-15 to move cars to be displayed at Pullman Railroad Days [see “More features added to Pullman Railroad Days,” Trains News Wire, May […]
Meet the modeler: Keith Kohlmann
What was your first train set (or locomotive)? In the second grade, I started reading Model Railroader in the school library. After a year of heavy lobbying, I got my first Tyco HO train set for Christmas in 1973. It had a powered Santa Fe F7A locomotive with a “dummy” F7B unit painted in the red-and-silver warbonnet […]
Athearn HO scale bay-window caboose
Bay-window caboose Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: $36.99 Era: 1970s to 1990s (era varies depending on paint scheme) Manufacturer: Athearn Trains, 2904 Research Rd., Champaign, IL 61822, 800-338-4639, athearn.com Bay-window caboose features: Separate, factory-installed smokejack and brake wheel End handrails and ladders Clear window glazing Body-mounted McHenry scale couplers Injection-molded plastic body Caboose trucks Available June 2023 Road […]
Athearn HO scale 40-foot flatcar with airplane load
40-foot flatcar with airplane load Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: $46.99 Era: Late 1960s+ Manufacturer: Athearn Trains, 2904 Research Rd., Champaign, IL 61822, 800-338-4639, athearn.com 40-foot flatcar with airplane features: Separate, factory-installed brake wheel Removable plane load (plane has spinning propeller and detachable wings) Machined metal RP-25 contour wheels Body-mounted McHenry scale couplers Injection-molded plastic body Available June […]
Atlas O Master Line 20-foot refrigerated intermodal container
20-foot refrigerated intermodal container Scale: O (1:48) Price: $24.95; eight-pack, $199.60. Era: Present day Manufacturer: Atlas O, 378 Florence Ave., Hillside, NJ 07205, 908-687-0880, shop.atlasrr.com Features: International Organization for Standardization Type Code 22R1 Composite materials sandwich-sides design Picture window refrigeration unit with separate parts Road Names: Cosco (white and blue), China Shipping (white and green), “K” […]
Conrail Business & Research Trains book review
Between the years 1976 and 1999, Conrail business trains operated for three purposes: to enable railroad executives to travel the right-of-way for close track inspection, to look at rail facilities, and to entertain customers over Conrail lines to improve business potential and customer service. This nearly all-color, very well done 416-page, four-pound volume covers the […]
Union Pacific and TuSimple delay launch of autonomous truck service
SAN DIEGO – Union Pacific and autonomous trucking company TuSimple have delayed plans to begin driverless truck moves between the railroad’s Tucson intermodal terminal and the Phoenix area. The companies in February said they’d launch the service this spring. But the service has been pushed to the third quarter because TuSimple and UP have shifted […]
Russia steps up attacks on Ukraine’s rail network, disrupting food exports
As the Russian military adjusts its strategy and goals following the failure of its original invasion of Ukraine that began Feb. 24, it has increased strategic attacks on the network of national rail operator Ukrzaliznytsia (UZ) in the west of the country, largely through missile strikes. The Ukraine war is the first since World War […]
More features added to Pullman Railroad Days
CHICAGO — The “Last Pullman Car,” Amtrak Superliner George M. Pullman, and a locomotive simulator from Norfolk Southern have been added to the upcoming Pullman Railroad Days, to be held May 14-15 at the Pullman National Monument and hosted by the Historic Pullman Foundation, the monument’s non-profit partner. The Superliner, the last car built by […]
Austin suburb votes on severing ties with transit agency
LEANDER, Texas — Voters in Leander will decide Saturday whether to end a 37-year relationship with Austin-area transit agency Capital Metro in a Saturday election, which could halt commuter rail service to the community. Leander is the northernmost stop on the CapMetro Red Line, a 32-mile, nine-station system served by Stadler Rail diesel multiple-unit trainsets. […]
