U.S. weekly rail traffic drops

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

WASHINGTON — U.S. rail traffic showed one of its biggest single-week dips compared to 2024 for the week ending Sept. 6, with volume down 2.4% compared to the same week a year ago. According to the Association of American Railroads, volume for the week was 467,880 carloads and intermodal units. That included 214,383 carloads, down […]

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Board members engaged at Amtrak online meeting: Analysis

Passenger train pulled by electric locomotive on long straight

WASHINGTON — Though outsiders were not permitted to comment or ask questions, the online Amtrak board of directors meeting today (Wednesday, Sept. 10) was much more informative than the previous edition, in large part because of interrogation by board members following company executives’ presentations and candid admission of where results are falling short. The last […]

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NS CEO says the rail industry has turned corner on service

Freight train at diamond with bridges in background

LAGUNA BEACH, Calif. — Norfolk Southern CEO Mark George says the rail industry is ready to put periodic service crises in the rearview mirror — and regain market share lost to trucking in the process. “We went through … more than a decade where service crises happened every couple of years,” George told an investor […]

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SMART-TD, NCCC reach tentative agreement on contract for yardmasters

Logo of SMART-TD union

WASHINGTON — The International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers-Transportation Division has reached a tentative agreement with the bargaining group representing major railroads for a new five-year contract for yardmasters, SMART-TD has announced. The agreement with the National Carriers Conference Committee calls for annual wage increases totaling 17.5% through 2029, with a […]

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TSB investigating new CPKC derailment in British Columbia

CPKC logo

JAFFRAY, British Columbia — The Transportation Safety Board of Canada will investigate a CPKC derailment that occurred Tuesday (Sept. 9, 2025). near the community of Jaffray, the agency has announced. TSB investigators will gather information at the scene and assess the occurrence, the second in the area in about a week. The Canadian Press reports […]

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WalthersProto HO Amtrak Viewliner I sleeper

Color photo showing vestibule end of HO scale modern passenger car with metal finish; tinted windows; and red, white, and blue graphics.

WalthersProto HO Amtrak Viewliner I sleeper Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: Unlighted, $109.98; lighted, $124.98 Manufacturer: Wm. K. Walthers Inc., 5601 W. Florist Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53218; 414-527-0770; walthers.com WalthersProto HO Amtrak Viewliner I sleeper features: 36” metal wheels on plastic axles Detailed underbody with air and waste tanks, battery and equipment boxes, HVAC ducts, transformer […]

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News photos: MBTA introduces Boston & Maine heritage locomotive

Maroon and gold commuter-rail locomotive with silver trucks

BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has unveiled an F40 locomotive painted to honor the Boston & Maine Railroad, the first of three recently overhauled diesels honoring predecessors to the commuter rail service offered today by the MBTA. The three units are the last of 37 F40PH locomotives built between 1987 and 1991 to […]

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CSX and Canadian National working on new interline intermodal service

CSX and Canadian National today announced they plan to develop a new interline intermodal service linking Nashville, Tenn., with Vancouver and Prince Rupert, British Columbia. This international container traffic currently runs over CN to Memphis, where it is then trucked to Nashville. Once the railroads finalize their deal, the loads will run via CSX between […]

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Fun and fancy in Lionel 2025 Catalog Volume 1

catalog page with Star Wars items

Fun and fancy fill Lionel 2025 Catalog Volume 1. What am I writing here? You will recall that I recently explored for Trains.com the latest additions to the roster of O gauge sets, locomotives, and rolling stock presented in Lionel’s brand-new catalog. There, I focused on a handful of great trains that impressed me because […]

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