O scale details and accessories Electric substation. Factory-assembled and painted with control building and modeler-installed signs. Additional factory-applied details include insulators, cables, and circuit breaker. Measures 12-1/8” x 7-15/16” x 8-1/8”. $189.99. Woodland Scenics, 573-346-5555, woodlandscenics.com Books Heisler Locomotives Vol. 1: Geared & Fireless Locomotives. Reproductions of Catalog 123 (information on selecting an industrial locomotive […]
Section: News & Reviews
Model railroad locomotive, freight car, detail, and book announcements for March 4, 2021
Product news 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. Here are the products Model Railroader editors have news on for the week of March 4, 2021. HO scale locomotives General Electric Dash 9-44CW diesel locomotive. […]
News Photo: WSDOT Talgo equipment leaves Washington, bound for scrap dealer
The two remaining Amtrak Cascades Talgo Series 6 trainsets owned by the Washington State Department of Transportation, sidelined since the fatal December 2017 derailment of another one of the trainsets in DuPont, Wash., left storage in Washington today, en route to a scrap dealer in Southern California. WSDOT had removed the trainsets from service after […]
FRA issues emergency order requiring train crews to wear masks
WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration has issued an emergency order requiring train crews to wear face masks, effective Monday, March 1. The order, to be published in Monday’s Federal Register, is to bring employees into compliance with an executive order requiring masks to be worn on trains and most other forms of transportation, as […]
BNSF sees 2020 revenue and earnings decline because of pandemic
OMAHA, Neb. — BNSF Railway’s revenue and profits fell in 2020 due to the pandemic-related declines in traffic volume, the railroad’s corporate parent, Berkshire Hathaway, reported on Saturday. Pre-tax earnings declined 6.3%, to $6.8 billion, as revenue fell 11.3%, to $20.2 billion. The railroad’s net income fell 5.8%, to $5.2 billion. BNSF’s operating ratio for […]
Warren Buffett praises BNSF leadership, touts railroading in annual letter
OMAHA, Neb. — Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett praised BNSF Railway management for steering the company through the pandemic and touted the railroad’s role in the U.S. economy in his widely read annual letter to shareholders, which was released on Saturday. “Last year, Carl Ice, its CEO, and his number two, Katie Farmer, did an […]
Digest: Canadian crude-by-rail fell by almost 40% in 2020, regulator says
Friday midday rail news: Canadian crude-by-rail sees major drop in 2020, regulator says Canadian crude-by-rail exports fell by nearly 40% in 2020, according to the Canada Energy Regulator, which regulates the export of crude and petroleum products. The average of 172,013 barrels per day — after an average of 280,272 barrels in 2019 — after […]
Digest: Canadian rail accidents declined in 2020, Transportation Safety Board reports
More Friday morning rail news: Preliminary statistics show decline in Canadian rail accidents in 2020 Preliminary statistics from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada show a decrease in rail accidents and incidents in 2020, numbers the agency believes were likely influenced by the impact of COVID-19 on the transportation. Numbers released as part of a […]
Amtrak seeks to start New Orleans-Mobile service in 2022
MOBILE, ALA. — Amtrak, attempting to move forward a project that has most funding in place, says it has notified host railroads CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern that it plans to start two daily round trips between New Orleans and Mobile, Ala., sometime in 2022. The passenger carrier announced its intentions even though a traffic […]
Digest: Canada’s Auditor General criticizes Transport Canada safety oversight
Friday morning rail news: Auditor General criticizes Transport Canada safety oversight; Transport Minister says agency will address issues Canada’s Auditor General said Thursday that Transport Canada has failed to implement recommendations included in a 2013 audit of its safety practices. The CBC reports the auditor general found the agency has improved its focus on high-risk […]
CSX files Pan Am merger application with federal regulators (updated)
CSX Transportation has told federal regulators that its proposed acquisition of regional Pan Am Railways will improve service, capture business from trucks, and boost railroad competition in New England. CSX’s merger application, posted today on the Surface Transportation Board website, also resolves a thorny issue: Who will operate Pan Am Southern, the joint venture that […]
STB decision may doom CN’s acquisition of CSX’s Massena Line
WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board on Thursday said it would not reconsider the conditions it placed on Canadian National’s proposed acquisition of CSX Transportation’s Massena Line linking the Syracuse, N.Y., area with Montreal. The railroads previously said they would scuttle the deal if the board did not reconsider a condition that would permit CN […]