Union Pacific puts stop to new embargoes after STB hearings

Freight train passing grain elevator

OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific has paused its use of new embargoes to limit congestion. The move, announced today (Friday, Dec. 16), comes after two days of Surface Transportation Board hearings where shippers, rail labor, and regulators were critical of the railroad’s increasing reliance on embargoes since 2018, the year it adopted a Precision Scheduled […]

Read More…

Walthers HO scale asphalt parking lot

Asphalt parking lot: a model asphalt parking lot against a white background

Walthers HO scale asphalt parking lot Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: $19.98 Manufacturer: Wm. K. Walthers Inc., 5601 W. Florist Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53218; 414-527-0770; walthers.com Walthers asphalt parking lot features: New paving style Molded in textured dark gray styrene with stress crack details Assemble like sectional track to build a detailed parking lot big or small […]

Read More…

Grant seeks almost $179 million for Amtrak Gulf Coast route improvements

aerial view of land along railroad tracks near water

RIDGELAND, Miss. — A federal grant seeks almost $179 million to fund improvements for Amtrak Gulf Coast service between New Orleans and Mobile, Ala., while CSX Transportation will pay almost $10 million toward the matching funds for those improvements, according to a news report. The non-profit news site Mississippi Today reports the Alabama State Port […]

Read More…

Polar Express layout tips

scene on O gauge Polar Express layout

Polar Express layout tips: We at CTT had a lot of fun building our recent Polar Express layout. Despite building several project layouts over the years, I learned new techiques and ideas during the five days we spent working on this project. Perhaps one of these tips will inspire you too. Happy holidays! Polar Express […]

Read More…

Montana’s Isaak Walton Inn is sold

Passenger train passes inn building

ESSEX, Mont. — The Izaak Walton Inn, the trackside property along BNSF main line adjacent to Glacier National Park that is a longtime railfan destination, is under new ownership. The Daily Inter Lake reports that Brian Kelly, who has owned the property since 2006, has sold it to Loge Camps, a hotel marketed toward outdoors […]

Read More…

BNSF, J.B. Hunt participate in wreath-laying event in Southern California

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — BNSF Railway and multimodal transportation company J.B. Hunt are transporting more than 6,400 wreaths to Riverside National Cemetery as part of their annual participation in the Wreaths Across America program. Today (Friday, Dec. 16), at 7 a.m. PST, a J.B. Hunt truck accompanied by a Patriot Guard motorcycle escort will move the […]

Read More…

Class I railroads split on taking conductors out of the locomotive cab

Intermodal train passes between two stopped trains

The big six Class I railroads are not of one mind regarding taking conductors out of the locomotive cab and redeploying them to pickup trucks. Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern told the Federal Railroad Administration this week that they are negotiating with unions about testing the concept, which would involve having conductors assist trains in […]

Read More…

Judge rules Canadian Pacific is not liable in Lac-Mégantic disaster

Fire-damaged town and derailed train

MONTREAL — A Quebec judge has found that Canadian Pacific is not liable in the 2013 runaway-train disaster that killed 47 people in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec. The Canadian Press reports that Justice Martin Bureau ruled Wednesday that the actions of which Canadian Pacific was accused were not the “direct, immediate and logical cause” of the July […]

Read More…

FTA grants to help upgrade five NJ Transit stations

NJ Transit logo

WASHINGTON — NJ Transit will receive more than $34 million in federal funding to upgrade stations on three routes to meet accessibility standards, U.S. Sens. Bob Menendez and Cory Booker announced this week. Grants awarded under the Federal Transit Administration’s All Stations Accessibility Program are: — $18,187,378 to the Anderson Street station in Hackensack and […]

Read More…

MBTA board approves land purchase for new commuter rail yard

Diagram of rail yard

BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has received the go-ahead to buy 24 acres of land at Boston’s Widett Circle for a commuter rail layover facility, which would ease capacity issues at existing yards and at nearby South Station. The Boston Herald reports the MBTA Board of Directors approved the purchase Thursday, allowing the […]

Read More…

VIA creates High Frequency Rail subsidiary, names first board members

VIA Rail Canada logo

MONTREAL — VIA Rail Canada on Thursday announced creation of a new wholly owned subsidiary, VIA HFR, to manage development of the High Frequency Rail project for service between Toronto and Quebec City, and to act as a dedicated project office. VIA has appointed the three founding members of the VIA HFR board: Robert Prichard, who […]

Read More…

Metra to replace three Electric Line stations on South Side

Metra Electric train arriving at station

CHICAGO — Metra’s board of directors on Wednesday approved a $33.9 million contract to rebuild stations on the Metra Electric Line on Chicago’s South Side, making the stations accessible and compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The rebuilds of the 79th, 87th, and 103rd Street stations is part of a larger effort, the Metra […]

Read More…