Short line track maintenance legislation gathers steam in Congress

WASHINGTON — The bipartisan Railroad Track Maintenance Credit Modernization bill, which supports short line railroad track and bridge projects, passed the 100 co-sponsor mark in the House of Representatives this week. To date, the bill to continue the tax credit that short lines receive for maintaining and improving their physical plants, has 102 sponsors, the […]

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U.S. weekly rail traffic remains ahead of 2024 levels

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

WASHINGTON — U.S. weekly rail traffic continues to run ahead of 2024 levels. According to Association of American Railroad statistics, traffic for the week ending Aug. 2, 2025, was 513,529 carloads and intermodal units, a 2.9% increase over the same week a year earlier. That figure included 233,805 carloads, up 6.4%, and 279,724 containers and […]

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BNSF sets all-time low terminal dwell record

FORT WORTH, Texas — BNSF set an all-time monthly record for terminal dwell in July, with cars spending an average of 21 hours in its major yards. Terminals that set new marks for low dwell include Barstow, Calif.; Belen, N.M.; Northtown, Minn.; and Pasco, Wash. BNSF’s intermodal and automotive terminal in Pearland, Texas, which serves […]

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OmniTrax to provide rail service to Wyoming mine

Side view of blue locomotive with OmniTrax lettering

GREEN RIVER, Wyo. — OmniTRAX has been selected as the switching partner for Tata Chemical Soda Ash Partners’ mine in Green River, one of North America’s largest soda ash mines and home of one of the world’s largest reserves of trona ore. The agreement, effective as of Aug. 1, will provide dedicated shipping and track […]

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Starnes joins South Central Florida Express

Logo of short line South Central Florida Express

CLEWISTON, Fla. — Chris Starnes has been hired for the newly created position of sales, marketing, and revenue manager, short line South Central Florida Express has announced. The company says he will lead efforts to drive business development, expand its customer base, and increase the value of SCFE rail services. Starnes’ nearly 20 years of […]

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RMT 40′ PS-1 boxcar

red, black, and gray model boxcar

The Pullman-Standard 40-foot PS-1 boxcar was first introduced in 1947. You can learn more about the full-size cars in this WalthersMainline review from the February 2016 issue of Model Railroader magazine. Ready Made Toys (RMT) sent us a sample of its Pullman-Standard 40-foot PS-1 boxcar with Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) graphics. If CPKC isn’t […]

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