Digest: Seattle monorail shut down for renovation

Seattle Monorail logo

Seattle monorail shut down through April 30 Seattle’s monorail has shut down for the remainder of April as part of a renovation to prepare for the arrival of the city’s new National Hockey League team, the Kraken, which will debut this fall. KNKX Radio reports the work on the 1-mile line, connecting downtown’s Westlake Center […]

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Digest: Fire causes estimated $3 million damage to BNSF building

BNSF Railway logo

Scottsbluff, Neb., BNSF building sustains $3 million damage in fire A fire in the terminal building at BNSF’s facility in Alliance, Neb., is reported to have caused about $3 million in damage. The Scottsbluff Star-Herald reports the Alliance Volunteer Fire Department responded to the building Sunday about 12:20 p.m., had the fire “somewhat controlled” around […]

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Digest: Biden to nominate Fernandez as head of FTA

Federal Transit Administration logo

Biden to nominate Fernandez as head of Federal Transit Administration President Joe Biden will nominate Nuria Fernandez as administrator of the Federal Transit Administration, according to a White House press release. Fernandez was appointed as the FTA’s deputy administrator and senior official on Jan. 20, allowing her to begin work at the agency while awaiting […]

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Forgotten ‘Four Aces’

Steam locomotive smoking with passenger train on curve

Forgotten ‘Four Aces’ Northern Pacific 4-8-4 No. 2626, originally the Timken “Four Aces” roller-bearing demonstrator, leads a Seattle-Cle Elum, Wash., fan trip through Kanaskat, Wash., in August 1957. Despite efforts to preserve the locomotive, it was scrapped a year later. Photo by Albert Farrow […]

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VIA to extend once-weekly ‘Canadian’ to Toronto in May

Passenger train on bridge

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Beginning Monday, May 17, VIA Rail Canada will begin operating its flagship train, the Canadian, across its full route from Vancouver to Toronto. The train has been operating between Vancouver and Winnipeg, Manitoba. The first westbound trip from the Ontario city is set for Sunday, May 23. Service will continue to operate […]

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News photo: New Siemens cars depart for testing

New passenger cars

Three Siemens Venture coaches and two Charger locomotives depart Chicago on Monday, April 12, for Effingham, Ill. The cars will test through through Thursday of this week, evaluating the new equipment’s ability to effectively shunt electric current between rails on Canadian National’s former Illinois Central trackage. Since 2006, the railroad has imposed a minimum axle […]

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Justice Department questions structure of CP-KCS merger plans (updated)

Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern engines on freight train

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department on Monday questioned Canadian Pacific’s plans to put Kansas City Southern into an independent voting trust while the railroads’ proposed merger is under regulatory review. But the railroads, in a separate filing to the Surface Transportation Board on Monday evening, defended their merger, the voting trust, and their request to […]

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The big question: Will CP+KCS prompt more railroad mergers?

Man with shaved head wearing eyeglasses and blue open-collared shirt.

Will Canadian Pacific’s proposed acquisition of Kansas City Southern be the spark that ignites the final round of railroad consolidation in North America? It’s a question that’s been coming up since CP and KCS announced their blockbuster $29 billion deal on March 21. Most analysts agree that CP+KCS won’t lead to the creation of two […]

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Ask MR: When were pallets and forklifts in wide use?

A forklift operator lifts a pallet load of boxes from a high shelf in an HO scale warehouse

Q: I model some small industries and businesses in the early 1950s. Were pallets and forklifts in common use at that time? – Chris Gabel, Loveland, Colo. A: As you alluded to, the development of the pallet went hand-in-hand with the development of the hand-operated pallet jack and its motorized version, the forklift. Prior to […]

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