WASHINGTON — The Railway Supply Institute, the trade group representing the companies that build and lease freight cars, today asked federal regulators to take action that would prevent the North American boxcar fleet from hurtling over a looming retirement cliff. The problem: Boxcars are being scrapped at a faster rate than they are being built. […]
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Activist investor group would put Norfolk Southern back on PSR path, reduce operating ratio to 57%
CLEVELAND — An activist investor group says its proposed Norfolk Southern management team would improve the railroad’s operations, service, and profitability by jettisoning CEO Alan Shaw’s resilience strategy and adopting the low-cost Precision Scheduled Railroading operating model. In a letter to shareholders today, Ancora Holdings says its plan for NS would cut costs, focus on […]
Baltimore bridge tragedy to affect rail traffic with port access blocked (updated)
BALTIMORE — The tragic collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge today (March 26) after a ship strike has cut off the Port of Baltimore’s busiest terminals from Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean beyond. At least six people remain unaccounted for after the container ship Dali struck the bridge about 1:28 a.m. today, CNN […]
Union Railroad buys land at former steel plant for transload facility
DUQUESNE, Pa. — Pittsburgh’s Union Railroad is buying 13 acres of the former U.S. Steel Duquesne Works to develop a transload facility, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. The railroad purchased the land from the Regional Industrial Development Corp. for $400,000 to develop a facility for truck-to-rail and rail-to-truck transloading, according to the development agency’s president, Don […]
Canadian government to fund rail project at Port of Montreal
MONTREAL — The Canadian government will fund a C$16.75 million project to improve rail access and add storage at the Port of Montreal, Transportation Minister Pablo Rodriguez announced Monday, March 25. The project will include rehabilitation of, and adding a fourth track to, the Pie-IX rail bridge, along with adding a storage area, which Transport […]
MBTA Orange Line work leads to elimination of seven speed restrictions
BOSTON — A four-day shutdown of Massachusetta Bay Transportation Authority’s Orange Line between Jackson Square and North Station resulted in elimination of six speed restrictions, with a seventh removed over the weekend after the conclusion of the March 18-21 suspension of service, the MBTA reports. “I’m proud of the dedicated workforce that worked in a […]
Scratchbuilding a lift-frog turnout
When I first got into model railroading, I tried handlaying my own track and quickly discovered that it wasn’t that hard. One benefit is that buying rail, spikes, and ties in bulk is considerably cheaper than purchasing ready-made track. Handlaying also lets me to duplicate unusual track arrangements found on full-size railroads. In addition, it […]
Plans for private San Francisco-Los Angeles overnight sleeping car service revived
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — The company seeking to start a luxury sleeping car train between downtown San Francisco and Los Angeles Union station says it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Union Pacific “formalizing the parties’ negotiations toward a comprehensive final agreement” to begin operations by 2025. A press release issued by Dreamstar Lines […]
Maya Train experiences low-speed derailment
TIXKOKOB, Mexico — Mexico’s Maya Train experienced its first known derailment today (Monday, March 25), a low-speed incident when the last car of a four-car trainset apparently split a switch entering the Tixkokob station on the route between Campeche and Cancún. The derailment occurred about 9:30 a.m. with the train moving at about 10 kilometers […]
Athearn HO scale GE AC4400CW
Model Railroader was among a handful of outlets to receive a review sample of the Athearn HO scale GE AC4400CW diesel locomotive. Join Senior Editor Cody Grivno as he shares a brief history of Chicago & North Western No. 8801, points out the many prototype-specific details on the six-axle road locomotive, and demonstrates some of […]
Athearn HO scale GE AC4400CW
Model Railroader was among a handful of outlets to receive a review sample of the Athearn HO scale GE AC4400CW diesel locomotive. Join Senior Editor Cody Grivno as he shares a brief history of Chicago & North Western No. 8801, points out the many prototype-specific details on the six-axle road locomotive, and demonstrates some of […]
News & Products for the week of March 25th 2024
News & Products for the week of March 25th 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 March 25th […]