The Lionel 2023 Volume 2 catalog is here! Sometimes Christmas does come twice a year, in the world of toy trains this celebration is typically associated with a catalog drop. For Lionel, that takes place in January and July. I typically can find something in each catalog that gets me excited for what’s to come. […]
CINCINNATI — Voters will have their say on the sale of the Cincinnati Southern Railway on Nov. 7. WXIX-TV reports that Thursday, the railway board of trustees voted unanimously to place the proposed sale of the line from Cincinnati to Chattanooga, Tenn., on the ballot. If a majority of voters approve, the nation’s only municipally […]
Norfolk Southern high hoods The high-hood locomotive once numbered in the hundreds on the Norfolk Southern roster, charged with every duty from high-value manifest trains to slow coal drags. Some even helped pull the curtain down on the last steam-powered branch lines. Now, their numbers have been decimated down to the double digits, their duties […]
ELLISTON, Va. — The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the derailment of a Norfolk Southern coal train Thursday night near Elliston, the Associated Press reports. The NTSB confirmed its investigation plans in a Twitter post this evening (July 7). Nineteen cars derailed but stayed upright in the incident, which came after the train crew […]
Facts & features Name: Norfolk Southern Salem DivisionScale: HO (1:87.1)Size: 15 x 34 feetPrototype: Norfolk Southern Locale: Salem, Va.Era: summer 1991Style: walkaroundMainline run: 80 feetMinimum radius: 22″ (branch), 25″ (main)Minimum turnout: No. 6Maximum grade: 1.5%Benchwork: open gridHeight: 40″ to 46″Roadbed: corkTrack: Atlas code 83 flextrack with Peco and Shinohara turnoutsScenery: extruded-foam insulation board and Woodland […]
WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration is demanding immediate changes to Norfolk Southern’s conductor trainee program, citing “grave deficiencies” that have been marked by incidents resulting in “amputations and other serious injuries.” In a June 14 letter, Allison Ishihara Fultz, FRA’s chief counsel, wrote that despite nearly two years of FRA working with NS to […]
AKRON, Ohio — Norfolk Southern is suing chemical manufacturers and a group of railcar leasing firms over the East Palestine, Ohio, derailment and toxic-chemical release, saying those companies must share in the cleanup costs from the Feb. 3 incident. Reuters reports the railroad contends the companies are liable for a share of the costs under […]
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — Norfolk Southern has completed removal of soil underneath and between tracks of its main line through East Palestine, the railroad announced Monday, completing a process that had been ongoing since the Feb. 3 derailment. “We promised to listen to residents and support East Palestine for the long haul. Fully cleaning up […]
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — The National Transportation Safety Board put a spotlight on Norfolk Southern’s car inspection practices and railroad industry wayside detector standards during its second day of field hearings on the disastrous Feb. 3 derailment of NS train 32N in this town on the Pennsylvania border. The derailment, which spilled hazardous materials initially […]
SPARTANBURG, S.C. — South Carolina’s legislature has set aside an additional $10 million for development of the Saluda Grade Rail Trail, the Spartanburg Post and Courier reports. Lawmakers had already earmarked $5 million for the project before Norfolk Southern agreed to sell the dormant 31-mile, two-state rail route, once the steepest main line in the […]
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — During a rare on-site public hearing on Thursday, the National Transportation Safety Board delved into the chain of events that led to the venting and burning of tank cars laden with vinyl chloride following the Feb. 3 derailment of a Norfolk Southern freight train. The big question: Was the venting and […]
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — Concerns about firefighter training, communication between responding agencies, and the ability of first responders to receive information on hazardous materials were a focus of the morning session as National Transportation Safety Board began its hearing into the Feb. 3 derailment of Norfolk Southern train 32N, and the subsequent fire and chemical […]
