NEW YORK — Track construction and maintenance firm RailWorks Corp. is acquiring NARSTCO, which manufactures steel ties and turnout sets. NARSTCO, baed in Midlothian, Texas, makes ties from recycled steel, which eliminates the need for creosote, spikes, gauging, anchors, and tie plates. The firm, founded in 1996, has approximately 90 employees. It will continue to […]
Section: News & Reviews
NS wins challenge of Indiana blocked-crossing law
INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Supreme Court ruled for Norfolk Southern on Monday in its challenge of the state’s blocked-crossing law, finding that Allen County could not fine the railroad for blocking public roads. The Fort Wayne (Ind.) Journal Gazette reports that the court, in a 5-0 ruling, said the 1972 state law, which barred railroads […]
Report: Ford paid $90 million for Michigan Central Station NEWSWIRE
The Michigan Central Station in 1940. TRAINS collection DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. paid $90 million for the derelict Michigan Central Depot, which it will turn into a campus for development of new technologies, according to a report in the Automotive News. The figure comes from government records. It means the company paid $150 per […]
New model trains for the week of September 27, 2018
Wm. K. Walthers Inc. HO scale Electro-Motive Division SD60M diesel locomotive HO scale locomotives Electro-Motive Division SD60M diesel locomotive. Burlington Northern, BNSF Ry. (Heritage III), Canadian Pacific, Norfolk Southern, Soo Line, and Union Pacific. Four road numbers (two each in direct current and Digital Command Control). Three-piece cab windshield, open grating on steps, and light-emitting-diode […]
BNSF challenges Kansas law on blocked crossings NEWSWIRE
WICHITA, Kan. — BNSF Railway is challenging a Kansas law limiting how long trains can block intersections, saying only the federal government, not the states, has the authority to regulation the issue. A three-judge panel of the Kansas Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in the case last week in a special session at Wichita […]
Former Harrison colleagues skeptical of UP operating plans NEWSWIRE
Covered hoppers roll down the eastbound hump at Union Pacific’s Bailey Yard in North Platte, Neb., in June 2018 as yard power idles in the foreground. Unlike other railroads that have adopted “Precision Scheduled Railroading,” UP does not plan to idle any hump yards. Bill Stephens OMAHA, Neb. – People who worked closely with E. […]
Union Pacific bridge collapses, train derails in Iowa NEWSWIRE
ALTON, Iowa – Nearly 40 cars derailed and spilled into a river in northwestern Iowa Sunday morning after a bridge collapsed underneath a Union Pacific freight train near Alton. Union Pacific spokesman Justin E. Jacobs tells Trains News Wire there were 95 cars on the train and about 37 cars derailed. “An undetermined number of […]
Strasburg Rail Road acquires second diesel NEWSWIRE
STRASBURG, Pa. — The Strasburg Rail Road has acquired another diesel locomotive to bolster its burgeoning freight business. This one is an ex-ATSF SSB-1200, rebuilt from a 1953 EMD SW9. The unit was last in use at the Celanese plant at Narrows, Va. Currently identified as SRC No. 1235, the locomotive arrived in Lancaster on […]
O. Winston Link exhibit features rare images NEWSWIRE
“Southern Pacific Local Freight crosses Intracoastal Waterway in Houma, Louisiana, 1951,” from the “Unseen Link” exhibit. Courtesy O. Winston Link Museum ROANOKE, Va. — The O. Winston Link Museum is now featuring an exhibit of rarely seen images by the famed rail photographer. “Unseen Link,” which opened on Sept. 14 and runs through Nov. 6, […]
Washed out culvert led to fatal derailment on Hudson Bay Railway NEWSWIRE
Aerial view of Saturday’s fatal derailment. Transportation Safety Board of Canada THOMPSON, Manitoba – An official with the Transportation Safety Board of Canada says a washed out culvert led to a fatal derailment on the Hudson Bay Railway on Sept. 15. A 38-year-old man died Saturday evening when an HBR train derailed on a bridge […]
BNSF engineers saved by PTC will still face investigation NEWSWIRE
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – BNSF Railway engineers who are prevented by positive train control from passing a stop signal or exceeding a speed limit may face an investigation and discipline similar to if the system had not prevented an incident. Aaron Ratledge, BNSF’s general director of operating practices, explained the practice during a seminar at the […]
GE announces new diesel engine design, international locomotive orders at InnoTrans NEWSWIRE
The 10-cylinder version of the new lighter-weight GE Transportation “high speed” engine, unveiled at InnoTrans. GE Transportation BERLIN — GE Transportation announced the launch of a new series of lighter-weight high speed diesel engines, developed in particular for export markets like Asia, Africa, South America, Australia, and New Zealand, where track gauge or the quality […]
