BLET reaches tentative agreement with BNSF-Montana Rail Link

A blue Montana Rail Link train works alongside a river with mountains in the background.

INDEPENDENCE, Ohio — BNSF Railway has reached a tentative agreement with the union representing 500 of regional Montana Rail Link’s 1,200 employees. MRL announced on Jan. 10 that it was terminating its lease with BNSF and that the Class I railroad would resume operations and maintenance of the former Northern Pacific main line [see “Montana […]

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STB extends deadline for environmental comments on CP-KCS merger

Red locomotive leads train past passenger station

WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board has extended the deadline for environmental comments on the proposed Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger. The comment period now will run through Oct. 14 instead of Sept. 26, the STB announced on Tuesday. The STB said no further extensions would be permitted. The board granted the extension to allow […]

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Large scale Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe double-sheathed caboose

Small red caboose with Santa Fe logo on side in front of white background

Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe double-sheathed caboose Scale: Large scale (1:24) Price: $104.99 Manufacturer: PIKO America, LLC, 4610 Alvarado Canyon Rd., Ste. 5, San Diego, CA 92120; piko-america.com Caboose features: Molded sheathing with woodgrain detail Factory-applied brake wheel, brake cylinder, piping, smokejack, running boards, ladders, and stirrup steps Plastic wheelsets Hook-and-loop couplers Minimum recommend radius, 23.6” […]

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HO and N scale 30,000-gallon ethanol tank cars

Drawing of black tank car with red logo

30,000-gallon ethanol tank car Scale: HO (1:87.1) and N (1:160) Price: Single car (HO, $52.99; N, $38.99); three-pack, (HO, $131.99; N, $96.99). Add $5 to $13 for Primed for Grime models. Era: 1999 to present Manufacturer: Athearn Trains, 2904 Research Rd., Champaign, IL 61822; 800-338-4639; athearn.com 30,000-gallon ethanol tank car features: Separate, factory-applied brake wheel, walkway platform, manway, […]

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Owney the Railroad Post Office Dog

Drawing of Owney the Post Office dog on a pile of mail bags

In 1895, a globetrotting mixed-breed mutt named Owney the Railroad Post Office Dog paid a brief call on Milwaukee. As was his custom, the dog arrived aboard a mail car on one train and departed a few hours later by another. His home was anywhere U.S. mail traveled by railroad – and in the 1890s […]

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Brightline, SunRail ‘Sunshine Corridor’ project could cost $6 billion, take 10 years to complete

Railroad tracks lead into glass and concrete building

ORLANDO — A new Florida Department of Transportation document details how a passenger and commuter rail extension west from Brightline’s Orlando International Airport station could be funded and built with the help of federal infrastructure money — and that the project could cost $6 billion. The “Sunshine Corridor” concept, announced in May, calls for public […]

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Union Pacific derailment spills asphalt into creek

Union Pacific logo with Building America slogan

HAMPTON, Iowa — A Union Pacific derailment early Monday morning spilled asphalt into a creek, WOI-TV reports. No injuries were reported from the 44-car derailment, which occurred about 3:30 a.m. on a bridge over Otter Creek, north of Hampton, and sent some cars into the creek. Hazardous materials teams remained on the scene as of […]

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Hudson tunnel timeline pushed back three years

Man speaking with microphone on a train.

NEW YORK — New Northeast Corridor tunnels connecting New Jersey to New York’s Penn Station will not be completed before 2035 — three years later than previously planned — and will cost at least $2 billion more than previously projected, the commission overseeing the project said last week. The New York Times reports that the […]

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Twin Cities light rail project faces $500 million shortfall

Map of light rail project connecting Minneapolis to Eden Prairie, Minn.

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The problem-plagued Southwest extension of the Twin Cities’ light rail Green Line is short $500 million in funding, according to a review of the project from the state’s nonpartisan Office of the Legislative Auditor, and it is unclear where that money will come from. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports the money […]

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