WILMINGTON, Calif. — Pacific Harbor Line and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineer and Trainmen, Division 214, have ratified a three-year extension to their current labor agreement, extending that contract through Sept. 20, 2027. The extension covers 145 of PHL’s 180 employees. It was ratified July 12 by a record number of eligible BLET members, with […]
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WASHINGTON — Federal regulators are summoning executives from the six Class I freight railroads to a rare public hearing to explain how their companies plan to invest in and grow their business amid concern over recent negative volume trends. In a notice published today (Friday, July 12), the Surface Transportation Board said it also welcomes […]
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CHICAGO — Amtrak’s stretched-thin and aging fleet is encountering significant challenges to reliability across the entire system this week as national network trains remain sold out for many segments. Sunset cancelled With Tropical Storm Beryl causing widespread flooding in the Houston area early in the week, Amtrak truncated the eastbound Sunset Limited at San Antonio, […]
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WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board has postponed the start of a plan by BNSF Railway and Union Pacific to contract out dispatching of Southern California’s Alameda Corridor. In a decision announced Thursday, the board postponed the move — which was to be effective today (Friday, July 12) — “to provide sufficient time for evaluation […]
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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – CSX has become the fourth Class I railroad to join RailPulse, the telematics joint venture that aims to put GPS equipment and sensors on freight cars to monitor their location and health in real time. The announcement, made today, leaves BNSF Railway and Canadian National as the only major systems sitting on […]
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General Electric locomotives One year after Genesee & Wyoming’s June 2023 announcement it was buying second-hand General Electric power from Wabtec to bolster its fleet, the rollout of these locomotives on many of its properties is well underway. The comfort cab-equipped locomotives are part of a vast rearrangement of power on many Genesee & Wyoming […]
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Class I railroads’ volume trends in the second quarter varied considerably, with Norfolk Southern traffic up 5.1% and Canadian Pacific Kansas City down 4.2%, according to the railroads’ Association of American Railroads carload reports. Norfolk Southern’s volume was boosted by 8.2% year-over-year growth in intermodal traffic. Its carload volume, less coal, was up 1.7%. Coal […]
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News & Products for the week of July 8th 2024 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 July 8th […]
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Union Pacific and BNSF Railway shut down their operations in the Houston area Sunday in preparation for Hurricane Beryl, which made landfall today (Monday, July 8) as a Category 1 storm. Beryl, which was downgraded to a tropical storm this morning, came ashore at Matagorda, Texas, about 90 miles southwest of Houston. Beryl is expected […]
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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The long-awaited Albuquerque convention by the Santa Fe Railway Historical & Modeling Society, previously postponed due to COVID-19, called for a visit to the downtown’s Rail Yards as part of the annual gathering. Adding on to the itinerary was the June 26-27 appearance of steam locomotive No. 2926, making its first mainline […]
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The ScaleTrains HO Rivet Counter Trinity reefer recently arrived at the Model Railroader offices. Join Senior Editor Cody Grivno as he provides a brief history of the full-size BNSF Ry. cars, points out the various details on the contemporary freight car, and demonstrates how the sound and light functions work. Then see two of the […]
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The ScaleTrains HO Rivet Counter Trinity reefer recently arrived at the Model Railroader offices. Join Senior Editor Cody Grivno as he provides a brief history of the full-size BNSF Ry. cars, points out the various details on the contemporary freight car, and demonstrates how the sound and light functions work. Then see two of the […]
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