WASHINGTON — The latest round of filings in the Amtrak Gulf Coast dispute essentially find the parties stating their old arguments in new ways. Amtrak again argues CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern fail to show two daily passenger round trips between New Orleans and Mobile, Ala., will cause unreasonable impairment to freight service, while the […]
Two-bay hopper with exterior posts Scale: Large scale (1:24) Price: $76.99 Manufacturer: PIKO America LLC, 4610 Alvarado Canyon Rd., Ste. 5, San Diego, CA 92120; piko-america.com Hopper features: Simulated coal load Molded handrails and stirrup steps Plastic wheelsets Hook-and-loop couplers Minimum recommended radius, 23.6” Release date: October 2022 Paint scheme: CSX (black and yellow). One road […]
AUBURN, Maine — An Aug. 25 hearing before a Maine Department of Transportation advisory council heard conflicting proposals to use 25 miles of idle state-owned tracks for a Portland-Auburn commuter rail system, or to remove those tracks to create a trail. Meanwhile, a Canadian-based organization, the Night Trains Foundation, has suggested yet another use: as […]
STAUNTON, Va. — Hauling freight isn’t the Buckingham Branch Railroad’s only forte, as the Virginia short line’s newly launched tourist train has shown. The Virginia Scenic Railway has sold out all of its seats through Thanksgiving after launching its tourist operation a month ago. The Staunton-based railroad recently shared on social media that both of […]
Earlier this month, Trains drove alongside BNSF Railway’s Southern Transcon from Barstow, Calif., to Belen, N.M., to see how North America’s busiest freight railroad and intermodal corridor is faring amid the crew shortages that have affected operations. BNSF’s California and Southwest divisions have been among the hardest hit in the country as the big four […]
WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board has granted a request by the parties in the Amtrak Gulf Coast dispute to extend board-sponsored mediation for an additional 30 days. Amtrak, CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern, and the Alabama State Port Authority and Terminal Railway Alabama State Docks had filed the request on Aug. 24, saying they agreed […]
WASHINGTON — The parties in the dispute over Amtrak’s effort to launch Gulf Coast service have asked the Surface Transportation Board to extend the period for board-sponsored mediation by 30 days. In a joint motion filed Wednesday, Aug. 24, by CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern, Amtrak, and the Alabama State Port Authority, the parties say “an […]
General Electric ET44 diesel locomotive Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: Direct-current model with 21-pin NEM connector, $174.99; with dual-mode ESU LokSound 5 sound decoder, $269.99 Era: 2014-present (depending on paint scheme) Manufacturer: ScaleTrains, 7598 Highway 411, Benton, TN 37307; 844-987-2467; scaletrains.com Features: Road-number-specific details Factory-installed details including wire grab irons, m.u. clusters, uncoupling levers, windshield wipers, and […]
Romance aboard Amtrak’s Capitol Limited: A bit of background is in order to set the stage for this romance aboard Amtrak’s Capitol Limited. For 27 years, my wife, Julie, worked as a children’s librarian. I met her in the library. Yes, you could say I went there to check her out. That was early in […]
Transfer caboose Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: To be announced Era: Varies depending on paint scheme Manufacturer: Bachmann Trains, 1400 E. Erie Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19124; 215-533-1600; bachmanntrains.com Features: New and existing tooling E-Z Mate Mark II couplers Blackened metal RP-25 contour wheels Release date: 2023 Paint scheme: CSX (gray, blue, and yellow), Missouri Pacific (red […]
General Electric AC4400CW Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: Direct-current model with 21-pin NEM connector, $204.99; with dual-mode ESU LokSound 5 sound decoder, $299.99 Era: 1995 to present (varies depending on paint scheme) Manufacturer: ScaleTrains, 7598 Highway 411, Benton, TN 37307; 844-987-2467; scaletrains.com Features: Road-number-specific details Factory-installed wire grab irons, m.u. clusters, uncoupling levers, windshield wipers, and more […]
WASHINGTON – Rank-and-file members of rail labor are critical of a paragraph in the Presidential Emergency Board report that says railroads believe their workers have not contributed in any way to the industry’s record profits. The Presidential Emergency Board, whose duty was to help settle the contract impasse between unionized workers and the U.S. railroads, […]
