News & Products for the week of October 16th 2023 Model railroad operators and builders can get the latest information about locomotives, freight cars, passenger cars, tools, track, and more by reading Model Railroader’s frequent product updates. The following are the products Model Railroader editors have news on for the week of October 16th […]
Type of Train: Freight
Analysis: Regulatory overkill stunts potential of proposed Utah rail project
To see why it is so difficult to build anything these days, consider the sad case of the proposed Savage Tooele Railroad. Savage wants to revive Union Pacific’s abandoned 6-mile Warner Branch in Tooele County, Utah, restore a quarter mile of ripped-up track, and build 5 miles of new track within the Lakeview Business Park […]
New Jersey short line holds golden spike ceremony
FARMINGDALE, N.J. — The Delaware & Raritan River Railroad, a Chesapeake & Delaware subsidiary, celebrated the completion of its F&S Connection with a golden spike ceremony in Farmingdale on Oct. 13. The $12 million project extended D&RR’s Freehold Branch by 5 miles from Freehold to Farmingdale, where it joins D&RR’s Southern Branch. Interchange with Conrail, […]
One killed in coal-train derailment that closed I-25 (continuing updates)
PUEBLO, Colo. — The driver of a semi truck was killed when a bridge collapsed Sunday as a result of a BNSF coal-train derailment that has closed Interstate 25, Colorado’s main north-south highway, near Pueblo. An image from a Colorado State Patrol post on the social media site X, formerly Twitter, shows the train derailed […]
Scratchbuild an unloading platform
When you look at any model railroad, it’s the details that grab your attention—the people at the station, barrels by the wayside, or maybe a weathered locomotive or car. A recent trip to Sand Patch, Pa., inspired this small but important platform used by the maintenance-of-way department to unload materials for work along the line. […]
NTSB chair criticizes FRA’s final rule requiring video cameras on passenger locomotives
WASHINGTON – The Federal Railroad Administration today published its final rule mandating inward- and outward-facing cameras in passenger locomotives, a move that immediately brought criticism from the chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, who said the rule doesn’t go far enough. The FRA rule, which goes into effect on Nov. 13, will require the […]
Kansas requirement for two-person crews takes effect
TOPEKA, Kan. — The state of Kansas on Wednesday enacted rules requiring two-person crew for freight trains, but the new administrative action could be challenged in court. Gov. Laura Kelly said in a press release that the new requirement “will protect workers from the effects of fatigue, prevent train derailments, and reduce risks in the […]
Weekly U.S. rail traffic again shows increase
WASHINGTON — Weekly U.S. rail traffic continued its recent upward trend, with traffic for the week ending Oct. 7 showing a 3% increase over the same week in 2022, according to statistics from the Association of American Railroads. It was the fourth straight week traffic has been ahead of weekly figures of a year ago. […]
Norfolk Southern lifts day-of-week restrictions on Midwest-West Coast international intermodal service
ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern this week ended restrictions on international intermodal service linking five of its Midwestern terminals with West Coast ports. “We are instituting this customer-centric, operations-driven solution for shipments originating at Appliance Park [Louisville, Ky.], Cincinnati, Columbus, Cleveland, and Detroit, and we look forward to the positive impact these adjustments will have on […]
New company to launch perishables service from UP’s former Cold Connect warehouse in Washington State
A new company is reviving the plans that temperature-controlled intermodal provider Tiger Cool Express had to acquire and develop the former Union Pacific Cold Connect warehouse in Wallula, Wash. Last October Tiger Cool Express signed an agreement with UP to acquire the Cold Connect property and to develop an intermodal terminal on the site. But […]
CPKC and CSX detail their plans to connect their networks via Meridian & Bigbee short line
WASHINGTON — Canadian Pacific Kansas City and CSX Transportation have detailed their plans to acquire Genesee & Wyoming short line Meridian & Bigbee in order to create a shortcut interchange route linking the Southeast and Mexico via Myrtlewood, Ala. The deal, announced in June but outlined in a series of regulatory documents that appeared on […]
Canadian government to help fund new Port of Montreal container terminal
CONTRECOEUR, Quebec — The Canadian government will spend up to C$150 million toward construction ofa new rail-served container terminal at the Port of Montreal, Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez announced on Tuesday. The project will include a 675-meter-long dock; a rail connection to existing Canadian National tracks, including a rail transfer point and freight transfer hub; […]
