News & Products for the week of February 11, 2021

Nassau Lionel Operating Engineers O gauge Long Island Rail Road maintenance-of-way cars

O scale structures Richmond Packing Co. Kit has laser-cut tempered hardboard walls; basswood freight dock, doors, windows, and stairs; and peel-and-stick shingles. Building measures 8-5/8” x 11” without dock, 10-1/8” x 12-1/2” with. $149.95 plus shipping. Frank Ellison Tribute Series. Brennan’s Model Railroading, 816-252-4605, brennansmodelrr.com Tools Replacement needle scribers. Contains three each coarse and fine […]

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Digest: Fort Wayne historical society completes caboose rebuild

Caboose car

More Friday morning rail news: Fort Wayne, Ind., group completes rebuild of wooden Wabash caboose The Fort Wayne (Ind.) Railroad Historical Society has completed an extensive rebuild of its century-old Wabash Railroad caboose, one of just two wooden Wabash cabooses in existence. Work on caboose No. 2534 began in 2018 under the direction of project […]

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Digest: Lease agreement paves way for No. 4141 display at Bush museum

Friday morning rail news:

 Lease agreement means UP 4141 will arrive at Bush museum in spring Union Pacific’s presidential commemorative locomotive, SD70ACe No. 4141, will arrive at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum in College Station, Texas, this spring following approval of a lease that will allow the museum to expand. KXXV-TV reports the Texas […]

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News Photos: Goderich runaway cleanup continues

Derailed locomotive and grain hopper

GODERICH, Ontario — Cleanup continues after the Feb. 1 incident in which a Goderich-Exeter Railway train ran away on a 3% grade on a line leading to Goderich Harbour, derailing, hitting two vehicles, and demolishing a shed before coming to a halt [see “Digest: Canadian short line train derails …,” Trains News Wire, Feb. 2, 2021] Remarkably, […]

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Digest: East Broad Top work uncovers decayed dynamite

East Broad Top logo

Friday afternoon rail news: Work at East Broad Top uncovers, removes decayed dynamite Stabilization work on a building at the East Broad Top Railroad took an unexpected turn this week with the discovery of five cases of material labeled as explosives. After work halted, analysis determined the material was probably decayed dynamite, estimated to be […]

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Intermodal surge hits capacity ceiling

Container train in farm fields

The lone railroad traffic bright spot last year was intermodal volume, which went on a tear in the second half of 2020 due to rising e-commerce parcel shipments, a surge in imports, and retailers rushing to restock depleted inventories. But as intermodal traffic surged and remained at fall peak levels into this year, the volume […]

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Video: Athearn Genesis 2.0 EMD SD90MAC-H diesel locomotive

Diesel locomotive

See and hear the SoundTraxx Tsunami2-equipped Electro-Motive Division SD90MAC-H in action as it hauls a freight up the 3 percent grade at Skyridge on the Model Railroader staff’s HO scale layout, the Milwaukee, Racine & Troy. This Genesis 2.0 series locomotive model from Athearn Trains marks the first time an SD90MAC-H phase II has been offered as […]

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Digest: NTSB issues preliminary report into Illinois short line death

NTSB logo

More Thursday morning rail news: NTSB issues preliminary report on fatal Decatur & Eastern Illinois accident The National Transportation Safety Board has released its preliminary report into the death of a Decatur & Eastern Illinois Railroad employee in November [see “Digest: Illinois short line conductor killed in accident,” Trains News Wire, Nov. 12, 2020], setting […]

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U.S. grain sales to China spur record rail traffic

Train in shadows with bridge in distance

While intermodal’s role in boosting North America rail volume has been in the spotlight, grain traffic has also been impressive. Canadian National and Canadian Pacific have set a series of records for Canadian grain tonnage [see “CP, CN continue string of records for grain movement,” Trains News Wire, Jan. 4, 2021], but global trade in U.S. grain, particularly […]

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