Gerry Leone is goin’ to town… More precisely, the Smithtown site on his HO scale Bona Vista layout efforts to transform a drainage ditch into a scenic river! Watch as he uses clever caliper tricks to make precision-cut abutments, and then shim them for perfect track alignment. You’ll learn how to upgrade plain plastic with […]
BURGESS, Mo. — No injuries were reported after a CPKC grain train was involved in a low-speed collision with a stationary train near the Kansas/Missouri state line on Friday morning (Jan. 30) Missouri State Rep. Ann Kelley wrote in a Facebook post that the collision occurred about 8:30 a.m. Friday in a rural area north […]
HOMEWOOD, Ill. — The village of Homewood, Ill., will spend more than $64,000 to renovate the railfan viewing platform it opened in 2007. At a Jan. 27, 2026, meeting, the village board of trustees approved a $64,456.05 contract with BEAR Construction Co. of Rolling Meadows, Ill. The village had previously budgeted up to $76,000 for […]
Consolidation 2836 steams across a country road at Junction, Ill., with the every-other-day freight between Flora and Shawneetown in September 1954. Philip R. Hastings photo […]
TROY, Mich. — Michigan State University’s Eli Broad College of Business will host “Rails to the Future: 200 Year of Progress, Building What’s Next,” a conference featuring key rail industry officials May 11-13 at the MSU Management Education Center in Troy. Keynote speakers will include Federal Railroad Adminstration Administrator David Fink; Surface Transportation Board […]
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ann Arbor Railroad will receive $120,000 and manufacturer AluChem will receive $75,000 for rail rehabilitation projects approved at the most recent meeting of the Ohio Rail Development Commission. The commission announced the grants, approved at a Jan. 22 meeting, on Tuesday, Jan. 27. The Ann Arbor funding will go toward a […]
Rock Island class R-67 Northern 5114 has just passed Joliet (Ill.) Union Station and crossed the GM&O/ATSF diamond as it steams toward Chicago with an eastbound freight in fall 1951. Wallace W. Abbey photo […]
As a major storm moved across the Midwest and East last week, railroads told customers they would alter train operations because of the conditions. RailState, the company that monitors operations through trackside sensors, has produced data showing what those changes looked like in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Indiana. RailState compared the storm period, Jan. 24-26, to […]
BERKELEY, Ill. — Seven suburban communities along Union Pacific’s east-west main line are organizing to pursue representation in the UP-Norfolk Southern merger proceedings. A memorandum to the president and board of the Village of Berkeley in Cook County says the community was contacted by the other six communities — Elmhurst, Lombard, Glen Ellyn, Wheaton, and […]
CHESTERTON, Ind. — The Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District has named David Dech, executive director of the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority, as its next president. Dech will succeed Michael Noland on March 16 as president of the agency overseeing South Shore Line commuter rail service. Noland announced his plans to retire in November [see […]
NEW YORK — Amtrak expects to see winter-storm impacts through, and possibly including, Thursday, Jan. 29, the company says in an advisory early today (Tuesday, Jan. 27). It does not offer details on cancellations or other service changes today. It recommends visiting the Amtrak website or app, or its NEC Alerts and Amtrak Alerts feeds […]
Back for more on the East Troy! This episode drills into the details that help bring a layout to life. Watch as the Trains.com crew populates the roads with weathered vehicles and hand-painted signs. They also enhance the depot using prototype-inspired heralds and a unique historical marker crafted from railroad track. Finally, you’ll see how […]
