Hosting a virtual operating session is change. During a thoughtful dinner conversation, a friend quipped: “Count on two things. People always complain about the way things are and they always complain about change.” But our hobby numbers remarkably resourceful people who do change. When COVID-19 protocols had people hunkering down, operating sessions began to reappear, […]
The General Electric passenger U-boats filled a niche in the 1960’s locomotive market. Santa Fe, like many Class I railroads at the time, was still proud of its passenger service. But its roster of suitable diesel locomotives was getting old and any thought of Amtrak was still years away. Keeping its aging fleet of silver […]
Amtrak America’s Railroad records the many trials of keeping America’s railroad passenger service on track, and there were and still remain many. The chapters offer coverage of “What We Had,” “Creating a New National Network,” “Where Do We Go From Here?” and “The Road to the Future.” The authors have dug deep to record input […]
Union Pacific’s Super Bowl special, a 29-car train using its business train equipment, headed west on Saturday from Council Bluffs and Omaha for Los Angeles, the site of Super Bowl LVI between Cincinnati and the Los Angeles Rams. The game is set for Sunday, Feb. 13. […]
WASHINGTON— More than a dozen rail shippers and trade associations from across North America have written to federal regulators to express concern about how proposed Amtrak service on the Gulf Coast could harm freight service between Mobile, Ala., and New Orleans. Most of the submissions are form letters that urge the Surface Transportation Board to […]
I like to spend my Saturday mornings going to garage sales. Occasionally I find something I can use for my large-scale railroad. At one sale, I found a damaged Christmas Workshop sold by USA Trains. I paid the dollar asking price and brought my prize home. I had recently kitbashed a yardmaster’s office from […]
WILLIAMS, Ariz. — The Arizona State Railroad Museum Foundation in Williams, Ariz., has acquired the sole U.S. example of the SF30C rebuild program from Santa Fe’s Cleburne (Texas) Shops. No. 9501 was built as a U36C by General Electric in March 1973 as construction No. 3990 and Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe No. 8728. It […]
TRENTON, N.J. — After assaults on transit employees more than tripled in each of the last two years, New Jersey has enacted a law that increases penalties for such attacks. New Jersey 101.5 FM reports the Motorbus and Passenger Rail Service Employee Violence Prevention Act will make attacks on NJ Transit workers at least third-degree […]
WASHINGTON — An Amtrak regulatory filing supporting Canadian Pacific’s bid to merge with Kansas City Southern provides a roadmap of what the two parties say is needed for passenger service to begin on new routes, or for frequencies to be increased where Amtrak trains already run. Operating and infrastructure agreements between Amtrak and its hosts […]
LEBANON, Ohio — The city of Lebanon is preparing to approve a new eight-year agreement with the nonprofit Lebanon, Mason & Monroe Railroad, which operates a tourist railroad on city-owned tracks in the community. The Hamilton Journal-News reports the current agreement expires next year. The new contract will address replacement of two of the five […]
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah’s legislature is considering a bill which would move oversight of major transit projects from the local Utah Transit Authority to the state Department of Transportation. The Salt Lake Tribune reports the bill, sponsored by Rep. Kay Christofferson (R-Lehi), would also give the state the ability to invest more into UTA […]
Product news Model railroad operators and builders can get the latest information about model railroad products like 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 February 10, 2022. HO scale locomotives […]
