PITTSBURGH — Service on the big four U.S. Class I railroads is improving slowly but remains uneven amid ongoing and sporadic crew shortages, shippers said this week at the North East Association of Rail Shippers conference. One thing that’s helped improve service is the resumption of hump operations at several yards over the past few […]
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STRASBURG, Pa. – Jim Hager brings a host of skills and experience to his new job as general manager of the 190-year-old Strasburg Rail Road, America’s oldest short line and now one of the country’s busiest and longest-running steam tourist railroads. A New Jersey native, he started hanging around the Black River & Western, another […]
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PITTSBURGH – Shippers, railroaders, and analysts welcomed CSX Transportation’s decision to hire its next CEO from outside the industry. The railroad announced last week that former Ford President Joe Hinrichs would replace the retiring CEO Jim Foote on Sept. 26. Hinrichs brings experience as a rail shipper who once ran logistics for Ford. The auto […]
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Alco locomotives on NY shortline railroads Alco locomotives on NY shortline railroads: A drive along twisting mountain byways through freshly fallen snow, ears straining for the slightest hint of the groan from the horn atop an ALCO RS-3, camera at the ready for the first sign of a brightly colored locomotive is how my trip […]
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PITTSBURGH — Railroads need to collaborate and take a long-term view if they are to make the most of their traffic growth opportunities, Michael Miller, president of Genesee & Wyoming’s North American operations, told a shipper conference on Wednesday. “We as an industry have always looked at it as ‘What’s in it for me? What’s […]
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CHICAGO — Chicago’s CREATE Program will receive $70 million in federal funding for a $170 million project to modernize a 2-mile stretch of Union Pacific track on the city’s west side, the partners in the Chicago Region Environment and Transportation Efficiency Program have announced. The Westside Gateway or Ogden Junction project, project WA1 on CREATE’s […]
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An ad-hoc rail workers’ group is calling for informational picketing on Wednesday to address what it calls “the staffing shortages and lack of a decent quality of life” for employees as railroads, employees, and customers wait to see if unions will ratify tentative agreements that averted a strike last week. Meanwhile, the International Association of […]
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WASHINGTON — The trade group representing coal mining operators has asked federal regulators to take action regarding erratic rail service, particularly in the east on CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern. Mines have had to curtail production due to poor rail service that’s only getting worse even as demand for coal rises, the National Mining Association […]
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40-foot Ortner 100-ton aggregate hopper Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: $44.98 Era: 1970s to present (varies depending on paint scheme) Manufacturer: Wm. K. Walthers Inc., 5601 W. Florist Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53218; 414-527-0770; walthers.com 40-foot Ortner 100-ton aggregate hopper features: Air-equipped door details as appropriate Factory-installed wire grab irons and end railings Removable load Detailed brake […]
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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — CSX Transportation expected train crew availability to improve at its Selkirk, N.Y., hub after Labor Day as the summer vacation season wound down. But it appears crew shortages at Selkirk and elsewhere on the former Water Level Route across New York are getting worse, not better. In system notices sent last week, […]
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Union Pacific is booting Canadian Pacific out of the EMP domestic container pool. EMP, which rosters a 44,000-unit fleet of green 53-foot containers, is an interline intermodal partnership between UP and Norfolk Southern. CP, Canadian National, Kansas City Southern, and Florida East Coast also participate in EMP, which allows intermodal marketing companies to book loads […]
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CHICAGO — Class I railroads reached tentative agreements with unions in the early-morning hours of Thursday, Sept. 15, putting to rest uncertainties about the prospect of a widespread work stoppage that could have begun as soon as today (Friday, Sept. 16). In the days leading to Thursday’s tentative agreements, Class I railroads started curtailing certain […]
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