The Lionel Aberdeen, Carolina & Western F9 locomotive set

Lionel Aberdeen Carolina Western F9 locomotive

The Lionel Aberdeen, Carolina & Western F9 A-B locomotive set is now out. The railroad – reporting mark ACWR – is a short line that, until January of last year, many of us in the O gauge hobby had never heard of. “The Carolina Route” runs between Charlotte and Raleigh, N.C. It hauls goods from […]

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Athearn HO scale EMD GP7

Screen capture of GP7 Product Review video

A new run of the Athearn HO scale Electro-Motive Division (EMD) GP7 is arriving in hobby shops. The Genesis-series diesel locomotive features railroad- and road-number-specific details. Join Model Railroader senior editor Cody Grivno as he hosts this video review of the four-axle road switcher. Paint schemes offered in this run of the GP7 include Pennsylvania […]

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BNSF, contractors face BIG waiting game

Rendering of large intermodal terminal

BOCA RATON, Fla. — Craig Rasmussen, BNSF Railway assistant vice president, engineering services and structures, had plenty of big projects to review during his presentation today (Friday, Jan. 6) at the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association Conference. But they all pale in comparison to the BIG project still to come — the Barstow International […]

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FRA issues safety bulletin after fatal accident on Norfolk Southern

Logo for Federal Railroad Administration

WASHINGTON – In the wake of a fatal accident on Norfolk Southern last month, the Federal Railroad Administration has issued a safety bulletin urging railroaders to conduct pre-departure inspections to ensure that no objects are protruding from freight cars. An NS conductor trainee was killed on Dec. 13 in Bessemer, Ala., when a metal object […]

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More Union Pacific steam locomotives undergoing restoration

EVANSTON, Wyo. — While restoration of Union Pacific Challenger No. 3985 and 2-10-2 No. 5511 in Silvis, Ill., has grabbed headlines, there are at least two other Union Pacific steam locomotives currently undergoing return to operating condition. One that has really flown under the radar is UP S-4 Class 0-6-0 No. 4420 at the UP […]

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Athearn HO scale EMD GP7

Screen capture of GP7 Product Review video

A new run of the Athearn HO scale Electro-Motive Division (EMD) GP7 is arriving in hobby shops. The Genesis-series diesel locomotive features railroad- and road-number-specific details. Join Model Railroader senior editor Cody Grivno as he hosts this video review of the four-axle road switcher. Paint schemes offered in this run of the GP7 include Pennsylvania […]

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Work underway for new Amtrak/SEPTA station in Pennsylvania

Amtrak logo.

COATESVILLE, Pa. – Work is underway on a new $65 million Amtrak/SEPTA station in Coatesville, the West Chester Daily News reports. Expected completion is fall 2025. The job includes design, station and streetscape construction, and Amtrak track work at Fleetwood Street, just east of the existing Pennsylvania Railroad station building. According to a Pennsylvania Department […]

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Alco RS3-M “Chop Nose” diesel locomotive from Bowser

Alco RS3-M chop nose: an image of a blue model locomotive

Alco RS3-M “Chop Nose” diesel locomotive from Bowser Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: DC locomotive, $249.95; DCC locomotive with LokSound V5, $349.95 Era: 1975+ Manufacturer: Bowser Manufacturing Co. Inc., 1302 Jordan Ave., Montoursville, PA 17754; 570-368-2379; bowser-trains.com Alco RS3-M “Chop Nose” diesel locomotive features: Prototypically-accurate long hood height Prototypical dynamic brake location Separate, factory-applied air houses, windshield […]

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Track buckled under train in 2021 New Brunswick derailment, TSB says

View of derailed cars perpendicular to track

GATINEAU, Quebec — Track that buckled under a train as it was passing — because of “compressive thermal stress” reflecting high temperatures for several days — led to the derailment of a Canadian National train at Pangburn Station, New Brunswick, near Moncton, on Aug. 21, 2021, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada said in an […]

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Operator in collision of MBTA light-rail trains may have fallen asleep

Overhead view of accident scene involving light rail vehicles

WASHINGTON — An operator who “exceeded maximum authorized speed due to his loss of situational awareness” was the probable cause of a July 2021 collision between two Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority light rail vehicles, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a report released Thursday, Jan. 5. The operator, who told authorities that he may […]

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Legislative committee suggests limiting MBTA to subway, bus operations

MBTA purple and silver commuter locomotive. Governor reacts following more close calls on MBTA

BOSTON — A state legislative committee has proposed shrinking the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority as one way to address the agency’s widespread safety issues. Boston.com reports the Massachusett’s legislature’s Joint Committee on Transportation has suggested in a report issued earlier this week that the MBTA be relieved of its commuter rail and ferry operations, as […]

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