Shortline railroading For many independent shortline operators, staying fiscally sound today means disregarding so much of what was once a winning formula. You know, picking up freight cars at the interchange and delivering them to customers, then dropping off outbounds back at the end of the workday before heading to the barn. If all went […]
Locomotives & rolling stock Mr. Muffin’s Trains has several custom-run items for sale. The first are MTH 50-foot Waffle Boxcars in two paint schemes with two road numbers each: Louisville & Nashville No. 101635 (20-99372), Louisville & Nashville No. 101640 (20-99373), Milwaukee Road No. 4307 (20-99374, shown), and Milwaukee Road No. 4311 (20-99375). Price: $69.95 […]
LINCOLN, Neb. — Nebraska legislation that would require two-person train crews advanced in the state’s legislature on Wednesday, with an amended version passing in the Transportation and Telecommunications Committee by a 35-8 vote. LB 31 was introduced last year by state Sen. Mike Jacobson (R-North Platte, Neb.) and establishes penalties of up to $10,000 for […]
WASHINGTON — After two weeks in negative territory, U.S. weekly rail traffic barely edged into positive ground for the week ending Jan. 27, 2024. Figures from the Association of American Railroads show overall traffic of 467,222 carloads and intermodal units, up 0.7% compared with the same week a year ago. That included 208,131 carloads, down […]
An activist investor group has taken a $1 billion stake in Norfolk Southern and aims to wrest control of the company’s board and oust CEO Alan Shaw, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal this evening. The investor group, led by Cleveland-based Ancora Holdings, has nominated a slate of directors that includes former […]
WASHINGTON — Canadian National’s proposed acquisition of the 218-mile Iowa Northern Railway will boost rail competition, divert freight off the highway, and give Iowa shippers broader access to single-line service, CN says in a merger application filed this week with the Surface Transportation Board. CN spent $230 million to acquire the Class III railroad from […]
WASHINGTON – The Surface Transportation Board today issued a decision that extends the temporary reporting of employment data through the end of the year and that requires certain updated information from BNSF Railway, CSX, Norfolk Southern, and Union Pacific. The board originally required the big four U.S. Class I railroads to submit employment information beginning […]
U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward must have thought he was making the real estate deal of a lifetime — 600,000 square miles for a cost of less than two cents an acre. That is the price Seward negotiated with Edouard de Stoecki, Russian minister to the U.S., for the purchase of what would […]
CALGARY, Alberta — Canadian Pacific Kansas City will launch the “Final Spike Anniversary Steam Tour,” featuring 4-6-4 No. 2816 on a Canada-to-Mexico trip to celebrate last year’s Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger, on April 24 at its headquarters in Calgary. A total of 11 stops are planned for the tour, concluding June 4 in Mexico […]
SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. — BNSF Railway has resumed freight operations through the location of the latest landslide on Southern California’s Surf Line, which remains closed to passenger traffic following a Jan. 24 incident near the San Clemente Pier. The Orange County Register reports BNSF began freight movements with a 10-mph speed restriction between 9 p.m. […]
DULUTH, Minn. — Following successful test runs and a single excursion in autumn 2023, the Lake Superior Railroad Museum’s Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range 2-8-0 No. 332 will be pulling a number of trips in 2024. The museum announced the 2-8-0 will be under steam on four weekends during the upcoming season on the museum’s North […]
DETROIT — The landmark Michigan Central Station, undergoing revival by the Ford Motor Co. as a technology hub, could also become the home of a hotel, the Detroit Free Press reports. A spokesman for the Ford subsidiary overseeing the station’s redevelopment said Monday that the company is seeking a zoning change from the current heavy […]
