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German rail network operators will be able to override existing contracts to prioritize the transport of oil and coal for power generation — potentially delaying passenger and other freight service — under a draft emergency law published last week by the German government. The rule also covers moves of heavy equipment, such as transformers, needed […]
READING, Pa. — As promised, Reading & Northern’s restored Reading Co. T-1 4-8-4, No. 2102, saw action in freight service on Friday, Aug. 19, hauling a 28-car train (plus caboose) from Tamaqua to Reading after a light-engine move from Port Clinton, Pa., to Tamaqua. Photographer Gary Pancavage provides two shots of the action. […]
The Model Train Association Lionel 6464 boxcars are the subject of many collectors’ searches. Interest in the near-scale postwar series never flags. Newcomers to the hobby continue to discover the 29 cataloged entries and start tracking down examples. Longtime hobbyists hunt hard-to-find variations. Among the sought after are the Train Collectors Association models sold as […]
Transfer caboose Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: To be announced Era: Varies depending on paint scheme Manufacturer: Bachmann Trains, 1400 E. Erie Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19124; 215-533-1600; bachmanntrains.com Features: New and existing tooling E-Z Mate Mark II couplers Blackened metal RP-25 contour wheels Release date: 2023 Paint scheme: CSX (gray, blue, and yellow), Missouri Pacific (red […]
General Electric AC4400CW Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: Direct-current model with 21-pin NEM connector, $204.99; with dual-mode ESU LokSound 5 sound decoder, $299.99 Era: 1995 to present (varies depending on paint scheme) Manufacturer: ScaleTrains, 7598 Highway 411, Benton, TN 37307; 844-987-2467; scaletrains.com Features: Road-number-specific details Factory-installed wire grab irons, m.u. clusters, uncoupling levers, windshield wipers, and more […]
52′-6″ drop-end gondola Scale: N (1:160) Price: To be announced Era: Varies depending on paint scheme Manufacturer: Bachmann Trains, 1400 E. Erie Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19124; 215-533-1600; bachmanntrains.com Features: Positionable drop-end gates E-Z Mate Mark II couplers Blackened metal RP-25 contoured wheels Release date: 2023 Paint scheme: Great Northern (Vermillion Red), New York Central (black), […]
Spokane, Portland and Seattle freight trains remembered: All through August 2022, Classic Trains editors are celebrating the grit, panache, and charm that was the Spokane, Portland and Seattle. As part of the celebration, please enjoy this freight train photo gallery as the perfect accompaniment. Each month since October 2019, Classic Trains editors have showcase one “Fallen Flag” railroad — […]
NEW YORK — Domestic intermodal service is running at historically low levels, with trains routinely arriving a day or two behind schedule, J.B. Hunt executives say. “We never saw numbers like this before the pandemic,” Darren Field, J.B. Hunt’s intermodal president, told an investor conference this week. “It’s really a labor and crew issue for […]
Electro-Motive Division GP40 Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: To be announced Era: April 1966 to present (varies depending on paint scheme Manufacturer: ClassOneModelWorks.com, 8610 NW 107th Terrace, Kansas City, MO, 64153; 816-243-0044; ClassOneModelWorks.com Features: Road- and unit-specific body styles Flat cap 48” fans Diamond mesh radiator intake screen Early triangular fuel tank mounts Ribbed cab base […]
NEW YORK — Norfolk Southern and CSX Transportation executives say their railroads are slowly on the mend as more conductors begin active duty and start to ease the crew shortages that have caused widespread service problems. Neither railroad has been able to handle freight demand and both have lost traffic to trucks as on-time performance […]
GAINESVILLE, Ga. — The Environmental Protection Division of Georgia’s Department of Natural Resources has ordered Norfolk Southern to remove soybeans that ended up a waterway because of a derailment, or face penalties as high as $50,000 a day. The Times of Gainesville, Ga., reports the agency informed the railroad in an Aug. 17 letter that […]
PERRIS, Calif. — The Federal Railroad Administration is investigating last week’s incident involving a leaking tank car that led to evacuations and closure of an interstate highway for about a day. The Riverside Press-Enterprise reports the FRA’s Hazards Materials Division will look at preparation and loading of the tank car, the car’s move from origin […]
