News & Products for the week of June 30th 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 June 30th, […]
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BNSF fails to convince regulators it should be able to serve two UP locations
WASHINGTON — BNSF Railway’s efforts to serve two shippers located on Union Pacific trackage were dealt a setback today when federal regulators said they were not persuaded that BNSF had the right to reach the customers as part of conditions granted during the UP-Southern Pacific merger. The separate decisions from the Surface Transportation Board, however, […]
Amtrak introduces time restriction on Metropolitan Lounge use
WASHINGTON — Beginning Tuesday, July 1, Amtrak is revising rules on how passengers are permitted to utilize first-class Metropolitan Lounges at its major stations. The principal change is that passengers now entitled to access can no longer enter Metropolitan Lounges after arriving unless they are booked in Acela First Class or a sleeping car on […]
Naugatuck Railroad FL9 sustains ‘significant damage’ in derailment
THOMASTON, Conn. — No injuries resulted when the Naugatuck Railroad’s restored New Haven FL9 locomotive, No. 2019, derailed during a Sunday, June 29, excursion — an incident captured on video and circulating on social media. The locomotive sustained “significant damage,” the Railroad Museum of New England said in a statement. Thirty-five passengers were on board […]
Parallel Systems and G&W see huge potential for autonomous container cars
Parallel Systems is only in the early innings of testing its self-propelled, autonomous flatcars on Genesee & Wyoming short lines in Georgia and already CEO Matt Soule says he’s likely to have a problem on his hands. “Parallel is going to have a manufacturing backlog problem,” the Parallel Systems founder predicted on a webcast last […]
Three suffer minor injuries in Wisconsin & Southern derailment (updated)
HARTFORD, Wis. — Three crew members were injured when a Wisconsin & Southern Railroad train derailed today (June 30, 2025) in the town of Hartford, near Independence Ave. The derailment occurred about 9:30 a.m. Hartford Fire Chief Tony Burgard told a press conference that the three people had walked to a nearby road and were […]
Santa Fe No. 2926 to participate in Downtown Albuquerque’s Railroad Days
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Santa Fe No. 2926’s yearly visit to Albuquerque’s downtown Rail Yards — a former ATSF facility with sections redeveloped as a multi-use venue and future home for the 4-8-4 — is scheduled for Sept. 27 and 28, as part of New Mexico Railroad Days. It will mark the third straight year the […]
Classic Toy Trains Photo of the Day: Ed Berry’s O gauge layout
Ed Berry is just one of the many current layout builders who use a section or two of the O gauge layout they have recently finished as a way to display some of the die-cast metal vehicles they collect. On his three-rail display in Kinston, N.C., he specializes in miniature Corvettes, and so has arranged […]
Model Railroader Photo of the Day: Coal trains at Blackwater Canyon
Coal is big business on the Allegheny & Lackawanna Southern. Contributing editor Lionel Strang photographed a pair of Alco C-424s bringing a loaded coal train up the 4 percent grade at Blackwater Canyon on his HO scale model railroad. Model Railroader‘s Photo of the Day features images from our archives, celebrating decades of model railroad […]
InnoTrans to expand to Singapore
SINGAPORE — InnoTrans, the massive rail trade fair held in Berlin every other year, has announced it will launch an Asian edition in 2027. The new event will be held in the off years of the Berlin event. “InnoTrans Asia is an important addition to the world’s leading trade fair in Berlin and enriches our […]
Port of LA agreement seeks to generate more export traffic from California’s Central Valley
LOS ANGELES — The Port of Los Angeles has signed a Memorandum of Agreement to generate more export traffic for the port from California’s Central Valley through an agreement with the city of Shafter and the developer of a logistics hub there. Central to the agreement is the Wonderful Logistics Center, a 3,400-acre development in […]
Pittsburgh transit agency approves budget with 35% cut in service
PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Regional Transit has adopted a fiscal 2026 budget calling for a 35% reduction in service, layoffs of 38% of staff, a 25-cent fare increase to $3, and the elimination of service after 11 p.m. The action on Friday, June 27, came as the PRT board faced a June 30 deadline to adopt […]
