LAKEVILLE, N.Y. — The Livonia, Avon & Lakeville Railroad Corp. has completed acquisition of a controlling interest in the Ontario Midland Railroad Corp., operator of 52 miles of track in New York’s Wayne and Monroe counties. The LA&L now owns 55% of Ontario Midland stock, giving it ownership or control of four railroads, the others […]
The prospect of a disruptive U.S. freight railroad strike was averted thanks to the tentative deal reached overnight between the Class I railroads and the labor unions that represent engineers and conductors, but three key questions remain unanswered. And all of them suggest that railroads, their workers, shippers, and the U.S. economy are not out […]
Pullman-Standard 60-foot double-door auto parts boxcar Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: $34.98 ($29.98 undecorated) Era: 1960s to 2000s Manufacturer: Wm. K. Walthers Inc., 5601 W. Florist Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53218; 414-527-0770; walthers.com 60-foot Pullman-Standard double door auto parts boxcar features: Updated tooling with new car sides Based on cars with 10- and 6-foot doors 70-ton trucks […]
WASHINGTON – Federal regulators on Tuesday agreed to toss out some comments that BNSF Railway and Canadian National had filed in response to the proposed Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger. CP had asked the Surface Transportation Board to strike evidence that BNSF, CN, and CSX Transportation submitted separately on July 12, the deadline for final responses […]
CHICAGO —Metra expects it will be unable to operate on at least some of its 11 Chicago-area commuter rail lines in the event of a work stoppage on Class I freight rail lines, the agency said in a statement today (Tuesday, Sept. 13). Commuter operators elsewhere are also beginning to assess their situations in light […]
WASHINGTON – The National Industrial Transportation League, the largest and oldest group of rail shippers, has asked congressional leaders to prevent a railroad strike or lockout that could begin as early as 12:01 a.m. on Friday. Meanwhile, the Class I railroads today reached a tentative agreement with the National Conference of Firemen & Oilers, SEIU, […]
Why I love the Electro-Motive Division SD40-2 Many modelers have a locomotive that they are fond of, probably one of their first models that they received as a kid. My first engine was an O gauge F7, a far cry from the locomotive that I love, the Electro-Motive Division SD40-2. In fact, nine years later […]
WASHINGTON — The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association has joined the growing list of groups calling for Congress to intervene in the Class I rail labor dispute. Meanwhile, the Fertilizer Institute, which already had asked Congress to intervene, renewed its call after railroads announced they would begin embargoing hazardous or security-sensitive material, which […]
WASHINGTON — A report released today (Thursday, Sept. 8) by the railroads’ trade group, the Association of American Railroads, says a nationwide interruption of rail service could cost more than $2 billion per day. The AAR says the report is based on historical Federal Railroad Administration data — specifically updating a 1992 study to quantify […]
LAKEVILLE, N.Y. — Livonia, Avon & Lakeville Railroads, which operates three lines in western New York and Pennsylvania, has named Robert Babcock as its president and CEO, effective Sept. 26, 2022. Babcock was most recently general manager, vice president, and senior vice president at the Indiana Rail Road, where he was responsible for train operations, […]
ALEXANDER, W.Va. — West Virginia’s Beech Mountain Railroad, operated by United Coal subsidiary Carter-Roag Coal Co., is still hauling Sewell coal, despite the loss of the usual destination for its coal because of the war in Ukraine. United Coal supplies the mammoth Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, Ukraine, but the plant was devastated by Russian […]
WASHINGTON — Five of the seven Class I railroads operating in the U.S. were revenue adequate in 2021, the Surface Transportation Board said on Tuesday. Being revenue adequate means a railroads achieved a rate of return equal to or greater than the board’s calculation of the average cost of capital to the freight rail industry. […]
