INDEPENDENCE, Ohio — The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen has decisively ratified a new contract with the Long Island Rail Road, with 84.97% of votes cast in favor of the agreement. Almost 74% of those eligible voted on the contract, the union said in announcing the agreement on Wednesday, Dec. 7. The four-year agreement […]
ATLANTA — The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority has shut down its 3-mile-long downtown streetcar line after inspections found wheel degradation that could pose a safety risk, WSB-TV reports. Reporter Newspapers, citing a paywalled Atlanta Journal-Constitution report, says repairs are expected to cost $7.4 million and are expected to be completed by the end of […]
TACOMA, Wash. — Opening of the Hilltop Extension of Sound Transit’s Tacoma light rail line will be delayed for a second time, the agency said Thursday, pushing opening of the 2.4-mile addition close to a year behind schedule. The Urbanist website says the project had originally been scheduled to open in May 2022, but had […]
HARTFORD, Conn. — CTrail and Amtrak service on the Hartford Line will see schedule changes as of Monday, Dec. 12, with completion of second-stage work on the line’s rail replacement project, the Connecticut Department of Transportation has announced. Work in Meriden, and between Berlin and Hartford, had led to schedule adjustments of up to 35 […]
Pennsylvania Railroad GG1 4907 leads a southbound train at Aberdeen, Md., in about 1949. The six-car consist contains four modernized P70 coaches, a diner, and a parlor car. Robert A. Hadley photo […]
WASHINGTON — Union Pacific is in the Surface Transportation Board’s doghouse. In a letter to UP CEO Lance Fritz today (Thursday, Dec. 8), STB Chairman Martin J. Oberman said the railroad’s response to the board’s request for information about how and when it issues embargoes fell well short of what regulators were expecting. The STB […]
CSX Transportation and Union Pacific have relaxed their attendance policies in response to labor concerns. “Today we announced changes to the company’s attendance policy in order to provide CSX employees more flexibility and to respond to concerns expressed by craft employees and labor organizations. The new policy is applicable to all craft employees and is […]
The American Flyer Legacy 2-8-8-2 by Lionel was first cataloged in S gauge in 2012. The current offering appeared in the 2022 catalog. This time around the train maker is offering locomotives decorated for Norfolk & Western, Santa Fe, Clinchfield, Baltimore & Ohio, Virginian, Denver & Rio Grande Western, Union Pacific, Pennsylvania, and Northern Pacific. […]
John Allen’s Locomotive Weathering Secrets: Digging through back issues of Model Railroader the other day, I came across a short article about John Allen’s techniques for weathering locomotives. The January 1964 article features the work of several modelers, including Bill McClanahan and John Allen, and provides some tips on their practices for painting and weathering […]
WASHINGTON — Federal regulators will issue a decision by March 8 on Montana Rail Link’s request for permission to discontinue service over 656.47 miles of track in Montana and Idaho as part of the early termination of its lease with BNSF Railway. In a decision released today, the Surface Transportation Board accepted MRL’s petition, set […]
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — The Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Wednesday marked completion of the Clifton Maintenance Shop on Staten Island, the rebuild of a facility extensively damaged by Hurricane Sandy that has been upgraded to withstand Category 2 hurricane winds and a water surge of up to 3 feet. The 93,220-square-foot facility includes Staten Island […]
RALEIGH, N.C. — A dozen North Carolina short lines will receive approximately $12 million for infrastructure improvements under the state’s Freight Rail and Rail Crossing Safety Improvement Program, the N.C. Department of Transportation announced Wednesday, Dec. 7. The recipients match the state funds, leading to approximately $24 million in work to support improvements to 52 […]
