In every issue News p. 4 The Surface Transportation Board takes a hard look at the state of railroad service Preservation p. 44 Major parts of Union Pacific’s heritage fleet find new home Train-Watching p. 46 Hot spot: UP and BNSF trains battle California’s rugged Tehachapi Mountains […]
PEORIA, Ill. — Officials from Peoria and nearby communities have announced results of a feasibility study for a Chicago-Peoria passenger rail corridor over former Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific tracks that last saw passenger trains in 1978. The clear intent of last week’s announcement is to compete for $1.8 billion in the Federal Railroad Administration’s […]
Amtrak Hiawatha Chicago day trip: Chicago is indisputably the heart of American railroading. Represented by six Class I railroads, Amtrak, Metra, the South Shore Line, Chicago Transit Authority, and a long-list of short line and regional railroads, the city offers a magnitude of rail focal points and it’s little surprise that access to Chicago’s greatest […]
Pullman-Standard/Trinity Backpacker 5-unit articulated well car Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: $144.99 Era: 2000s to present Manufacturer: ScaleTrains, 7598 Highway 411, Benton, TN 37307; 844-987-2467; scaletrains.com Pullman-Standard/Trinity Backpacker 5-unit articulated well car set features: Die-cast metal body Photo-etched stainless-steel see-through walkways Wire grab irons on side and end sills Celcon corner uprights and vertical grabs Detailed […]
Amazon has begun soliciting business from shippers interested in using space in the company’s fleet of 53-foot intermodal containers. The move, touted in a YouTube video posted this month, puts Amazon in direct competition with intermodal providers such as J.B. Hunt, Hub Group, and the intermodal marketing companies that fill rail-owned containers. “With intermodal for […]
WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board says grade-crossing design specifications and railcar crashworthiness will be among the factors it continues to examine as it investigates the fatal grade-crossing collision and derailment involving Amtrak’s Southwest Chief. The NTSB released its preliminary report Thursday on the June 27 accident near Mendon, Mo. The preliminary report outlines […]
68-foot flatcars Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: $32.95 (undecorated, $29.95) Era: Late 1970s to present (varies depending on paint scheme) Manufacturer: Atlas Model Railroad Co., 378 Florence Ave., Hillside, NJ 07205, 908-687-0880, shop.atlasrr.com 68-foot flatcars features: Side stake pockets Simulated tie loops, pull plate, and lift ring detail Fish-belly center sill Pull plates and lift rings Accumate couplers Release date: […]
KEYTESVILLE, Mo. — A second wrongful death suit has been filed over the June 27 derailment of Amtrak’s Southwest Chief, this one taking aim at the company whose truck was hit at a grade crossing, triggering the derailment. The Kansas City Star reports the family of Bihn Phan, 82, of Kansas City, has filed suit […]
American Car & Foundry 50-foot Precision Design boxcar Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: $42.95 (undecorated, $34.95) Era: 1972 to present (varies depending on paint scheme) Manufacturer: Atlas Model Railroad Co., 378 Florence Ave., Hillside, NJ 07205, 908-687-0880, shop.atlasrr.com American Car & Foundry 50-foot Precision Design boxcar features: 70-ton roller-bearing trucks Accumate couplers Die-cast metal underframe Positionable doors Separate brake system […]
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Southern de Mexico’s exclusive operating concession for its routes in Mexico have been extended by 10 years as part of an agreement with the Mexican government to invest in a new rail bypass route. The agreement with the Mexican Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation (SICT) extends the concession […]
60-foot Pullman-Standard flatcar Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: $34.98 Era: mid-1960s to present Manufacturer: Wm. K. Walthers Inc., 5601 W. Florist Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53218, 414-527-0770, walthers.com 60-foot Pullman-Standard flatcar features: Decks match different prototype configurations Board pattern with wood grain and bolt details Brake wheel cutout as appropriate 70-ton roller bearing trucks 33” turned-metal wheelsets […]
National Steel Car 73-foot center-beam bulkhead flatcars Scales: HO (1:87.1) and N (1:160) Price: HO scale – single car, $59.95; six-pack, $359.70. N scale – single car, $44.95; six-pack, $269.70 Era: 1987 to present Manufacturer: Rapido Trains Inc., 500 Alden Road, Unit 21, Markham, Ontario L3R 5H5 Canada, 905-474-3314, rapidotrains.com NSC HO scale 73-foot center-beam bulkhead […]
