MARCO ISLAND, Fla. – Catching up on some notable moments from the first three days of the National Railroad Contractor and Maintenance Association Conference: PRECISION SCHEDULED RAILROADING AND CAPITAL PROJECTS: Tuesday’s panel discussion on Precision Scheduled Railroading, featuring three current or former Canadian National executives and Howard Green, author of the biography of former CEO […]
Section: News & Reviews
Indiana locomotive shop turns out re-built SD40 in Southern/C&O-inspired paint NEWSWIRE
Indiana Boxcar’s Olin Locomotive Works is nearing completion on a rebuild of former Louisville & Nashville Railroad SD40 No. 1245, built in 1970. The unit belongs to the Chesapeake & Indiana. Steve Smedley OLIN, Ind. — Olin Locomotive Works is close to completing the rebuild of one of three six-axle EMD’s purchased in a sealed […]
Jim Vena: Union Pacific’s $9 billion-man NEWSWIRE
Jim Vena, Union Pacific Chief Operating Officer Canadian National OMAHA, Neb. — Jim Vena is Union Pacific’s $9 billion man. No, that’s not how much Vena will earn as the railroad’s new chief operating officer. Under the terms of his contract, he’ll earn a base salary of $600,000 and will be eligible for an annual […]
Western Maryland Scenic 1309 to test soon, debut in July NEWSWIRE
Western Maryland Scenic 2-6-6-2 No. 1309 in the shop last September at Ridgeley, W.Va. Trains: Jim Wrinn CUMBERLAND, Md. — Western Maryland Scenic Railroad Executive Director John Garner in a video update posted Wednesday said the railroad’s restoration of Chesapeake & Ohio 2-6-6-2 No. 1309 is proceeding at a pace now that the line will […]
Work preparing Nashville 4-8-4 to move speeds along NEWSWIRE
Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway No. 576 is seen here minutes after it was moved out of its shed Wednesday morning, Jan. 9. Ralcon Wagner NASHVILLE — After months of anticipation, railroad historians and steam preservationists watched as Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway 4-8-4 No. 576 was carefully moved onto a temporary track […]
BNSF focuses on regulatory challenges with NRC presentation
MARCO ISLAND, Florida – BNSF Railway’s capital plans for 2019 include a cluster of major bridge projects in Washington state, and pairs of bridges near Quenemo, Kan., and on the Hannibal subdivision in Missouri. Not included is a bridge over the Missouri River at Bismarck, N.D., and therein lies a tale that serves an an […]
Class I’s mum on BNSF chairman’s criticism of Precision Scheduled Railroading NEWSWIRE
Matt Rose, BNSF Railway Executive Chairman TRAINS: David Lassen The criticism BNSF Railway Executive Chairman Matt Rose leveled at the other Class I railroads regarding their Precision Scheduled Railroading operating plans has been greeted by silence. None of the other five big systems — each of which is running or shifting to an operating plan […]
CN provides first look at capital plans, new inspection technology
MARCO ISLAND, Fla. – Canadian National’s “very ambitious capital program” for 2019 include up to 105 miles of new double track, said Jim McLeod, the railroad’s chief engineer for structures, design, and construction, in a Tuesday presentation at the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association Conference. Up to 75 miles of the new double track […]
Port authority in NYC opens revamped yard and container terminal NEWSWIRE
The former Greenville Yard is shown in yellow just north of Staten Island. Port Authority of New York and New Jersey website NEW YORK — The former Pennsylvania Railroad’s Greenville (Bayonne) yard is no more. As of Monday, the storied yard became Global Container Transport Bayonne ExpressRail Port Jersey. The name change crowns a $149-million […]
Union Pacific taps former Canadian National exec to lead operations NEWSWIRE
Jim Vena, Union Pacific chief operating officer Canadian National OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific has named former Canadian National executive Jim Vena as its chief operating officer, effectively putting a protege of E. Hunter Harrison in charge of its transition to Precision Scheduled Railroading. Vena, 60, served as CN’s chief operating officer from February 2013 […]
New model trains for the week of January 10, 2019
HO scale locomotives Electro-Motive Diesel SD70AH diesel locomotive. Union Pacific. Two road numbers. Models based on Tier 4 credit units built in 2016. Features Positive Train Control antenna array, light-emitting-diode headlights and ditch lights, and late handrails. Direct-current model with 21-pin NEM plug for Digital Command Control decoder, $239.98; with dual-mode SoundTraxx Tsunami 2 sound […]
A sea of sameness for Class I railroad traffic growth in 2018 NEWSWIRE
How did your favorite railroad fare in traffic growth last year? Probably about the same as every other railroad. Five of the big six Class I systems ran neck-and-neck and ended 2018 with 4-percent traffic growth, according to a review of the railroads’ Association of American Railroads weekly carload reports for the final week of […]
