ASLRRA honors four railroads for business development

American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association logo

WASHINGTON — The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association is honoring four railroads with its Business Development Award for excellence in growing traffic in partnership with customers and local economic development authorities. The railroads, to be recognized at the annual ASLRRA Convention and Exhibition in Phoenix in November, are Iron Horse Resources’ Santa Teresa […]

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August rail traffic falls from 2020 levels

Weekly table showing U.S. rail traffic by commodity type

WASHINGTON — Carloads were up and intermodal traffic was down in August, compared to the same month in 2020, according to statistics from the Association of American Railroads. The month saw U.S. railroads originiate 934,762 carloads in August, an increase of 36,815, or 4.1%, over 2020. The 1,085,345 containers and trailers moved in the month, […]

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Branch line service

Diesel locomotive with side handrails and a black roof

Branch line service The Milwaukee Road ordered the lightweight EMD SDL39 for use on its light-rail branch lines. The railroad bought five of the locomotives in 1969 and followed with an order for another five in 1972. The 2,300-hp unit is equipped with a 12-cylinder 645E3 prime mover and 1,200-gallon fuel tank. EMD photo […]

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Advanced automatic reversing controllers

The PSX-ARFB

In the April 2021 issue of Model Railroader, I wrote about DCC reversing sections. I briefly touched on some automatic reversing section controllers (ARSC) that are available. This month I will focus on ARSCs that do more than just the basic reversing functions. Have no fear, because all ARSCs still work with as few as […]

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Canadian Pacific sets KCS merger deadline, applauds STB decision

Logos for Canadian National, Canadian Pacific, and Kansas City Southern

CALGARY, Alberta – Canadian Pacific CEO Keith Creel says Tuesday’s Surface Transportation Board decision that rules out a Canadian National-Kansas City Southern merger proves what he’s been saying all along. “The ruling … confirms what we’ve always believed to be true. And I’ll use their words: A CP-KCS combination is substantially different, substantially different. Those are […]

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Kansas City Southern to adjourn planned meeting on CN offer

Kansas City Southern logo

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Southern says it will adjourn its scheduled stockholders meeting, which had been set for Friday to consider Canadian National’s merger agreement, as a result of Tuesday’s Surface Transportation Board decision to deny a voting trust while the CN-KCS plan was undergoing regulatory scrutiny. That meeting is set for 9 […]

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Preview: Pullman National Monument Visitor Center opens

Multi-story brick building with center clock tower

CHICAGO — Mirroring a song from the hit musical “Hamilton,” the formal opening of the Pullman National Monument Visitors Center on Chicago’s South Side will give participants a sense of “the room where it happened.” The “room,” in this case, is the long-shuttered Clock Tower Administration Building and grounds that were the birthplace of assembly-line […]

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Sound Transit introduces new names, color coding for rail lines

Map of Seattle-area transit routes

SEATTLE — Sound Transit is renaming and color-coding its rail transit network, reflecting the continued growth of a system that will eventually grow to include five light-rail routes and two commuter-rail lines, as well as three bus rapid transit lines. On its website, the agency says the change reflects research showing letters and numbers are […]

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Blue Ridge conqueror

Large smoking steam locomotive climbs upgrade with train on curve

Blue Ridge conqueror Norfolk & Western 2-8-8-2 No. 2174 climbs Blue Ridge Mountain east of Roanoke, Va., on Sept. 11, 1958. The railroad had 227 locomotives of the wheel arrangement in 10 classes. Ken Murry photo […]

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