WASHINGTON – Union Pacific has resolved the broader service problems that prompted Amtrak’s complaint about the tardy performance of the Sunset Limited in the 12 months ending on Sept. 30, 2022, the freight railroad told federal regulators this week. UP, which hosts the Sunset Limited for 1,770 miles of its 1,994-mile route between New Orleans […]
WASHINGTON — Class I railroads this week disagreed with Amtrak’s contention that its passenger trains should enjoy absolute and unlimited priority over freight trains. Amtrak, as part of its complaint over Union Pacific’s handling of the Sunset Limited, told the Surface Transportation Board earlier this year that every individual dispatching decision must result in the […]
WASHINGTON — U.S. weekly rail traffic remains ahead of 2023 levels for the week ending Dec. 21, 2024. According to statistics from the Association of American Railroads, overall traffic for the week was 523,912 carloads and intermodal units, up 7.8% from the same week a year ago. That includes 230,857 carloads, up 0.3%, and 293,055 […]
OKLAHOMA CITY — An Oklahoma state legislator has announced plans for a bill to limit train lengths within the state. State Rep. Ty Burns (R-Pawnee) says the legislation, to be introduced at the start of the upcoming legislative session in February, will seek to cap train length at 8,500 feet, KOKI-TV reports. “The infrastructure that […]
ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Railroads on the Gulf Coast and in the East are familiar with hurricane preparedness and plan accordingly for wind, storm surge, and flooding. But they cannot prepare for a hurricane causing an unprecedented, once-in-a-thousand-years event. That’s what happened about 24 hours after Hurricane Helene made landfall on Sept. 26, 2024, as a […]
NEW YORK — The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has not done enough in streamlining its procurement process to make it more efficient, better serve customers, and save money, the New York State Comptroller’s Office says in an audit report issued on Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. In a response to legislation passed in April 2019, the MTA […]
Groundbreaking in Watertown, Tenn., for new turntable, yard WATERTOWN, Tenn. — The city, along with the Nashville Steam Preservation Society, the group restoring Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis 4-8-4 No. 576, and the Tennessee Central Railway Museum, broke ground for the Watertown rail yard and turntable installation in mid December 2024. The new facility will […]
A General Electric 44-ton diesel locomotive is the latest addition to the Rapido Trains HO scale diesel lineup. The center-cab switcher has an injection-molded plastic body; heavy, die-cast metal chassis; and prototype-specific details. Prototype history General Electric produced the 44-ton diesel locomotive from Sept. 1940 to Oct. 1956. During the course of the production run […]
Pennsylvania Railroad T1 technology The Pennsylvania Railroad had a reputation for blazing its own path, setting a standard different from the rest of the railroad community. Such is the case with its T1 class 4-4-4-4 duplex locomotives. In spring 1942, prototypes Nos. 6110 and 6111 were quietly rolled from the Baldwin Locomotive Works. The Pennsy […]
ATLANTA, Ga. — Norfolk Southern has supported more than 5,500 first responders with specialized training and resources this year through its Operation & Awareness Response (OAR) program, which included hands-on events across 20 cities with the railroad’s Safety Train. The OAR program is designed to educate and train first responders on responding to rail-related incidents. […]
N scale Modutrak on Display | Catch up with Host Gerry Leone, as he chats with Keith Kohlman while operating the Modutrack display, an N scale (1:160) layout inspired by the HO scale (1:87.1) Midwest Mod-U-Trak display at Trainfest 2024! Keith reveals insights about the massive modular display that only comes out for big shows! […]
Since 2019, Union Pacific has been in the steam spotlight with its restored 4-8-8-4 Big Boy No. 4014. In 2024, CPKC stole some of 4014’s thunder with its “Final Spike Tour” using Canadian Pacific 4-6-4 No. 2816. From April to July, No. 2816 operated from Canada through the central U.S. and through Mexico to Mexico […]
