INDEPENDENCE, Ohio — Members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen have ratified a five-year national freight rail contract, the union announced. The contract covers more than 12,000 union members at 10 railroads, including BNSF Railway, Norfolk Southern, and Canadian National’s U.S. operations. Voting concluded today (Dec. 30); vote details were not released. “This […]
OMAHA, Neb. — A Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger will lead to higher daily train counts on some key corridors as the railroads tie their networks together, eliminate interchanges, and take shortcuts to avoid Chicago and other gateways. The railroads’ merger application, filed with the Surface Transportation Board on Dec. 19, details projected traffic increases on […]
MEXICO CITY — A government investigation into the cause of Sunday’s fatal derailment of Mexico’s Interoceanic Train has begun, with President Claudia Sheinbaum ordering the federal Attorney General’s Office to lead that inquiry, according to the news site Quinto Poder (Fifth Estate). Thirteen people were killed when the train derailed Sunday morning near Nizanda in […]
On the fourth day around Christmas, David Popp shares professional tips for building a vehicle maintenance facility. He moves beyond basic instructions to demonstrate plastic part preparation, from using flush-cutting pliers to sanding away stubborn ejector pin marks. Learn how to ensure rock-solid wall alignment using a framing square and solvent-based adhesives—while protecting yourself with […]
Nine years after Amtrak inked a $2.45 billion contract with Alstom, builder of France’s TGV, to build 28 trainsets in the U.S., the new equipment debuted on Aug. 27 with a media trip from Washington Union Station to Boston’s South Station. Beginning the next day, the five Next Generation trainsets that had been accepted began […]
NICHOLASVILLE, Ky. — Raymond Goss, president of the R.J. Corman Railroad Co., will retire effective Jan. 30, 2026, the company has announced. He will depart following five decades in the rail industry and seven years leading R.J. Corman short line and switching operations. “Ray has been an exceptional leader whose steady hand and deep industry […]
WASHINGTON — Union Pacific is disputing Metra’s claim that it “misused confidential communications” in a recent Surface Transportation Board filing in the ongoing fight over the commuter operator’s access to UP’s lines. In a Dec. 24 filing posted to the STB website today (Dec. 29), UP says the material it cited was permissible because it […]
Please enjoy this selection of holiday-themed photos of toy trains from Lionel and American Flyer in O gauge, S gauge, and Standard gauge. If you have a photo you’d like considered for a future gallery, contact editor@classictoytrains.com See even more holiday photos! […]
WICHITA, Kan. — The Great Plains Transportation Museum is nearing its goal of raising $50,000 for additional restoration work on Santa Fe FP45 No. 93, thanks to a series of large direct donations to the museum that followed the announcement of a GoFundMe program. The direct donations from the museum included large donations ranging from […]
NIZANDA, Mexico — At least 13 people have been killed in a Sunday derailment of Mexico’s Interoceanic train, the two-year-old service across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec launched with a mix of secondhand U.S. and British equipment. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, in a social media post quoting the secretary of the navy, said that 98 people […]
On the third day of the Trains.com seasonal mini-series, David Popp resuscitates a shed that has been roofless for two years. Using self-adhesive diamond-tab shingles, David demonstrates how to transform cardstock structures with ease. Follow along as David shares expert shortcuts, including using a spacing guide for perfect rows and splicing leftover scraps for seamless […]
OMAHA, Neb. — While the end-to-end nature of Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger limits the amount of redundant trackage or facilities, the railroads do have some duplication of facilities at their current interchange gateways. The merger application submitted to the Surface Transportation Board on Dec. 19 calls for two intermodal terminals and two auto processing facilities […]
