Norfolk Southern to restore its popular heritage locomotive fleet

Yellow and black diesel

Norfolk Southern’s heritage locomotive fleet will get a refresh in the coming years, the railroad announced when it shared a video of a shiny Virginian SD70ACe No. 1069 rolling out of the paint shop at Juniata, Pa. “Drumroll pleaseeee….. the Virginian restoration is complete! It took 10 carmen 550+ hours to restore and repaint NS1069. […]

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Broken wheel blamed for derailment in Gotthard tunnel (updated)

Damaged railcar and doors in tunnel

A broken wheel is the likely cause of last week’s derailment in the Gotthard Base Tunnel, public broadcaster SRF reported Sunday, citing information from the Swiss Transportation Safety Investigation Board (STSB). A Google translation of the SRF report says automatic equipment showed the train was “sound” as it entered the 35.5-mile tunnel from the south […]

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The Lionel Brass Hybrid Challenger

Lionel Brass Hybrid Challenger front detail

The Lionel Brass Hybrid Challenger is the latest offering in this program for the train maker. First announced in the 2022 Vol. 2 catalog, it’s all-new tooling. This Legacy model is based on Union Pacific’s CSA-2-class 4-6-6-4s, which were the railroad’s earlier, lighter versions. When built in 1937, they were numbered into the 3900 series […]

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Class I railroads have yet to join Close Call Reporting System

Logo for Federal Railroad Administration

WASHINGTON — In the wake of the East Palestine derailment, U.S. Class I railroads pledged to join the Federal Railroad Administration’s Confidential Close Call Reporting System, which allows employees to report near accidents and other safety violations. But the New York Times reports that five months later, the railroads have not yet done so and […]

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Derailment closes Switzerland’s Gotthard Base Tunnel (updated)

Passenger train exits tunnel and rounds curve

Rail operations in Switzerland have been disrupted by a derailment in the Gotthard Base Tunnel, the world’s longest rail tunnel. The English-language Swiss news site TheLocal.ch reports the derailment involving a freight occurred about noon Thursday at the Faido multifunction station, one of two locations within the 35.5-mile-long tunnel including emergency-stop facilities and ventilation equipment. […]

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Federal judge orders BNSF and coal producer to arbitrate dispute

Full and empty coal trains stopped on adjacent tracks

Navajo Transitional Energy Co.’s lawsuit against BNSF Railway, which seeks damages for the railway’s alleged failure to reach coal volume commitments, must head to arbitration, a federal judge ruled this week. NTEC filed suit against BNSF in December, claiming that the railroad’s preferential treatment of other mines cost it more than $150 million in revenue […]

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Weekly decline in U.S. rail traffic appears constant

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

WASHINGTON — Weekly U.S. rail traffic remained at similar levels to those established in recent weeks, with volume for the week ending Aug. 5 down 3.2% from the same week in 2022. It was the sixth time in the last seven weeks that the weekly figure has shown a decline of between 2.4 and 3.2% […]

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