J.B. Hunt and BNSF Railway today launched faster, more reliable premium domestic intermodal service that they say will eventually convert millions of truckloads to rail. The Quantum service — which revives a name that Santa Fe and J.B. Hunt used when they began their TOFC alliance in 1989 — shaves as much as a day […]
News & Products for the week of November 6th 2023 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 November 6th […]
Railway Post Offices Mail moves by train In the 1830s, shortly after the establishment of the first railroads in the U.S., the Post Office Department began to ship mail by rail. The year 1838 saw some sorting of mail en route between Washington and Philadelphia, but the first Railway Post Office car is generally thought […]
Photo charters (not excursions) are an art form From coal to oil to electric, train photo charters are gaining momentum — there’s no question about it. There is also very little argument as to why steam locomotives are typically a fan favorite. The smell of coal burning is unmatched. The loud roars surfacing from a […]
Locomotives and rolling stock Lionel has announced a 2-8-8-8-2 Triplex locomotive as part of its VisionLine series. Features include operation in Legacy, TMCC, or conventional mode; Bluetooth control; Lionel Voice Control; Odyssey II Speed Control; rear ElectroCoupler, Legacy Railsounds, tender smoke unit, and much more. The engines will be available in 11 road names (Erie […]
News & Products for the week of October 30th 2023 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 October 30th […]
When Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw outlined the railroad’s long-term growth strategy in December, he couldn’t have been more clear: Keeping train crews on the payroll during freight downturns would hurt the operating ratio over the short term. But not furloughing crews would pay off over the long term by enabling NS to maintain service […]
Locomotive schemes After publishing a list of paint schemes last month called “Five of the worst locomotive paint schemes,” I was asked what schemes from the 1980s to today I find attractive. This is my list, and it’s in no particular order. Some I was fortunate to experience in-person during their prime, while others I […]
For more than a decade, British Columbia ports have won market share from U.S. West Coast ports for containers bound to Chicago and the Midwest — but that long-term trend has reversed in a matter of months due to the two-week dockworkers strike at Vancouver and Prince Rupert. The July strike prompted U.S. importers to […]
WASHINGTON — Norfolk Southern has asked federal regulators to suspend review of the Canadian Pacific Kansas City and CSX Transportation proposal to create a new through route linking the Southeast and Mexico via Myrtlewood, Ala. Earlier this month CPKC and CSX filed separate applications seeking Surface Transportation Board approval to acquire and operate Genesee & […]
Always something different at LA’s Taylor Yard A wise man once said, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” It’s a nice thought. But he never met a train fan. For decades, whenever I had a few free minutes, I’d drive down to Southern Pacific’s […]
MONTREAL — Canadian National’s third-quarter profits tumbled on lower freight volume, the railway reported today, but most business segments are bouncing back. “I believe we’ve seen the bottom on volumes,” CEO Tracy Robinson told investors and analysts on the railway’s earnings call this afternoon. CN’s third-quarter operating income sank 21%, to $1.5 billion, as revenue […]
