PRICHARD, W.Va. — R.J. Corman Railroad Group has leased a former Norfolk Southern intermodal facility in Pritchard — the state’s only intermodal terminal when it was closed after four disappointing years — and originally plans to use it as a car repair site. However, long-term goals could see the facility, built for $32 million, returned […]
Type of Train: Freight
Broken rail caused March BNSF derailment in Minnesota, NTSB says
WASHINGTON — A broken rail caused the derailment and subsequent fire involving a BNSF Railway train in Raymond, Minn., according to a National Transportation Safety Board memo in the investigation docket of the March 30, 2023, incident released Monday. Twenty-three cars derailed in the incident, 10 of which were carrying ethanol; material was released from […]
Union calls on FRA to impose 7,500-foot train-length limit
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio — The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen has called on the Federal Railroad Administraton to issue an emergency order setting a 7,500-foot maximum length for trains on Class I railroads, the union announced today (Monday, Oct. 16). The BLET said in a press release that the union’s national president, Eddie Hall, had […]
News & Products for the week of October 16th 2023
News & Products for the week of October 16th 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 16th […]
Analysis: Regulatory overkill stunts potential of proposed Utah rail project
To see why it is so difficult to build anything these days, consider the sad case of the proposed Savage Tooele Railroad. Savage wants to revive Union Pacific’s abandoned 6-mile Warner Branch in Tooele County, Utah, restore a quarter mile of ripped-up track, and build 5 miles of new track within the Lakeview Business Park […]
New Jersey short line holds golden spike ceremony
FARMINGDALE, N.J. — The Delaware & Raritan River Railroad, a Chesapeake & Delaware subsidiary, celebrated the completion of its F&S Connection with a golden spike ceremony in Farmingdale on Oct. 13. The $12 million project extended D&RR’s Freehold Branch by 5 miles from Freehold to Farmingdale, where it joins D&RR’s Southern Branch. Interchange with Conrail, […]
One killed in coal-train derailment that closed I-25 (continuing updates)
PUEBLO, Colo. — The driver of a semi truck was killed when a bridge collapsed Sunday as a result of a BNSF coal-train derailment that has closed Interstate 25, Colorado’s main north-south highway, near Pueblo. An image from a Colorado State Patrol post on the social media site X, formerly Twitter, shows the train derailed […]
Scratchbuild an unloading platform
When you look at any model railroad, it’s the details that grab your attention—the people at the station, barrels by the wayside, or maybe a weathered locomotive or car. A recent trip to Sand Patch, Pa., inspired this small but important platform used by the maintenance-of-way department to unload materials for work along the line. […]
NTSB chair criticizes FRA’s final rule requiring video cameras on passenger locomotives
WASHINGTON – The Federal Railroad Administration today published its final rule mandating inward- and outward-facing cameras in passenger locomotives, a move that immediately brought criticism from the chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, who said the rule doesn’t go far enough. The FRA rule, which goes into effect on Nov. 13, will require the […]
Kansas requirement for two-person crews takes effect
TOPEKA, Kan. — The state of Kansas on Wednesday enacted rules requiring two-person crew for freight trains, but the new administrative action could be challenged in court. Gov. Laura Kelly said in a press release that the new requirement “will protect workers from the effects of fatigue, prevent train derailments, and reduce risks in the […]
Weekly U.S. rail traffic again shows increase
WASHINGTON — Weekly U.S. rail traffic continued its recent upward trend, with traffic for the week ending Oct. 7 showing a 3% increase over the same week in 2022, according to statistics from the Association of American Railroads. It was the fourth straight week traffic has been ahead of weekly figures of a year ago. […]
Norfolk Southern lifts day-of-week restrictions on Midwest-West Coast international intermodal service
ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern this week ended restrictions on international intermodal service linking five of its Midwestern terminals with West Coast ports. “We are instituting this customer-centric, operations-driven solution for shipments originating at Appliance Park [Louisville, Ky.], Cincinnati, Columbus, Cleveland, and Detroit, and we look forward to the positive impact these adjustments will have on […]