Digest: Brightline, Florida DOT resume negotiations on Orlando-Tampa route

Brightline logo

Still more Tuesday morning rail news:

 Brightline, FDOT resume negotiations on Orlando-Tampa route Brightline has resumed negotiations with the Florida Department of Transportation on a route for Tampa-Orlando service, the Tampa Bay Business Journal reports in a paywalled article, which says negotiations had halted in March 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic. The railroad has proposed building […]

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Digest: Fire damages BNSF Mississippi River bridge

Fire and smoke billowing in the distance

Additional Tuesday morning rail news: Fire damages BNSF bridge in Bemidji, Minn. A BNSF Railway bridge across the Mississippi River in Bemidji, Minn., suffered “moderate damage” in a Monday afternoon fire, the Bemidji Pioneer reports. The fire was reported about 4 p.m., with Bemidji firefighters working about two hours to extinguish the blaze. The cause […]

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Class I operating ratios reach another new low despite pandemic

Train passing under a bridge in the winter

Canadian Pacific won the Class I railroad operating ratio crown for 2020, the first year that three of the big seven systems reported operating ratios below 60%. CP’s operating ratio, the closely watched measure of railroad efficiency, improved 2.8 points compared to 2019. Following closely behind CP were Union Pacific, at 58.5%, and CSX Transportation, […]

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Digest: Metrolink receives funding for grade crossing improvements

Metrolink logo

Additional Monday morning rail news: Metrolink receives $13.6 million for grade crossing projects Metrolink has been awarded $13.6 million in Federal Highway Administration funds for grade crossing improvements along its Antelope Valley line in the cities of Lancaster and Palmdale, Calif. The commuter railroad will work with Union Pacific and the two cities to design […]

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Digest: Endangered-species listings forces update to California high speed rail plan

California High Speed Rail Authority logo

Monday morning rail news: Endangered-species listings force California high speed rail to revise environmental report Listing of the Southern California and Central Coast mountain line and monarch butterfly as candidates for endangered species lists have added to the complications faced by the California High-Speed Rail Authority in planning the Bakersfield-Palmdale section of its route. The […]

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News & Products for the week of March 4, 2021

Track cleaner car

Large scale locomotives  Track cleaning locomotive. Union Pacific. Model of track laying machine with two cleaning wheels. Wheelsets and cleaning wheels are each driven by ball bearing Bühler motor. Includes mfx/Digital Command Control decoder with light and sound functions. Cleaning function and running sounds will also work in analog operation. $709.99. Second quarter 2021. LGB […]

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Toy train locomotive, freight car, detail, and book announcements for March 4, 2021

Electrical station

O scale details and accessories  Electric substation. Factory-assembled and painted with control building and modeler-installed signs. Additional factory-applied details include insulators, cables, and circuit breaker. Measures 12-1/8” x 7-15/16” x 8-1/8”. $189.99. Woodland Scenics, 573-346-5555, woodlandscenics.com Books Heisler Locomotives Vol. 1: Geared & Fireless Locomotives. Reproductions of Catalog 123 (information on selecting an industrial locomotive […]

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