East Troy Industrial Park, Ep. 6 | Installing subroadbed

David keeps the hammer down and drill humming, as he works to install the joists and subroadbed sections across the entire HO scale East Troy Industrial Park (ETIP) model railroad. Watch, learn, and discover clever insights to adding the critical components used to create realistic trackwork and scenery set at various elevations. Be sure to […]

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CPKC container dwell still an issue at Canada’s largest port

Aerial view of island container terminal

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Container dwell times at the Port of Vancouver, Canada’s busiest intermodal hub, continue to be a significant issue since the start of the year. Canadian Pacific Kansas City has been particularly affected, with over 89,000 feet of containers sitting at Deltaport for more than seven days, according to port data. This […]

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Weekly U.S. rail traffic remains ahead of 2024 levels

Weekly table showing U.S. carload rail traffic by commodity type, plus overall intermodal volume

WASHINGTON — For a fourth straight week, U.S. rail traffic has recorded an increase of more than 5% over the same week a year earlier. Statistics from the Association of American Railroads for the week ending March 22 show total traffic was 496,214 carloads and intermodal units, a 5.5% increase over the same week in […]

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CSX announces tentative agreement with boilermakers union

Logo of International Brotherhood of Boilermakers

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — CSX on Tuesday evening (March 25) announced it had reached a tentative five-year labor agreement with the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, its second such deal of the day. The union — formally the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers & Helpers — represents 59 CSX employees. “The agreement with […]

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Norfolk Southern working on projects representing $9 billion in investments, executive says

Man gesturing while speaking

Norfolk Southern is working on more than 450 projects, representing $9 billion in investments, as part of the railroad’s role in industrial development, says Stefan Loeb, the railroad’s vice president of business development and first- and final-mile markets.Loeb was appearing on the FreightWaves podcast “Bring It Home,” which addresses American reindustrialization. Norfolk Southern is working […]

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BNSF touts $4.2 billion of customer investments along its lines in 2024

FORT WORTH, Texas – BNSF Railway says its customers invested more than $4.2 billion along its lines in 2024. Significant investments were made from customers including CJ Logistics America, Hudson Asphalt Terminal, and Bakersfield Renewable Fuels. As a result of these and other customer investments, BNSF projects supported the creation of more than 1,000 new […]

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IBEW ratifies contract with rail carriers

Logo of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, which includes lighting bolts held by a fist

WASHINGTON — The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers has ratified a five-year agreement with the National Carriers Conference Committee, bargaining group for Class I and other railroads. The union represents about 3,500 freight rail workers nationwide. “This agreement reaffirms our commitment to securing strong contracts that provide economic stability for our members and their families,” […]

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Rail earns relatively high marks on latest infrastructure report card

Rail line dangling along river bank

The latest Infrastructure Report Card from the American Society of Civil Engineers gives rail a B- grade, which was above the C average given to American infrastructure overall. The report recommends that railroads continue to harden their physical plants to better resist increasingly frequent, longer duration, and more powerful natural disasters. “Rail lines face considerable […]

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CSX, signalmen reach tentative contract agreement

Logo of the Brotherhood of Railway Signalmen

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — CSX announced it has reached a five-year tentative contract agreement with the Brotherhood of Railway Signalmen, which represents 1,215 workers at the railroad. In addition to wage increases, the agreement includes health and welfare benefits, vacation improvements, and improvements to seven local work rules, the union said on its website. The agreement […]

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News & Products for the week of March 24th 2025

The cab of a model locomotive in black, gray, yellow and red

News & Products for the week of March 24th 2025   Model railroad operators and builders can get the latest information about locomotives, freight cars, passenger cars, tools, track, and more by reading Model Railroader’s frequent product updates. The following are the products Model Railroader editors have news on for the week of March 24th, […]

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