Can railroad materials be reused?

Ask Trains.com: Just back from a ride on the Rocky Mountaineer and noticed lots of old concrete and wood ties stacked in piles in many places and lots of rails resting along the active track and large quantities of tie plates and spikes stacked near the active track. Does the railroad intend to reuse this material or do they recycle it?

Cody addresses applicable cases for railroad track material reuse. Are you looking to learn more about your model railroad, or do you have questions about full-size trains? Send us an email at: AskTrains@trains.com ………………………………… Ask Trains is a regular video feature of Trains.com for magazine subscribers and Trains.com members, where editors answer the questions readers and […]

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Biden signs bill preventing nationwide railroad strike

Trains Washington Watch logo

Railroad employees picket outside the North American Rail Shippers conference in Kansas City on May 10, 2022. Trains: David Lassen WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden today signed legislation averting a railroad strike that would have shut down the national freight network and snarled Amtrak and commuter service. “Our nation’s rail system is literally the backbone […]

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No injuries in NS derailment on landmark Rockville bridge

Derailed railroad car on roadway in night photo

MARYSVILLE, Pa. — Six cars of a Norfolk Southern train derailed on the landmark Rockville bridge crossing the Susquehanna River early this morning (Friday, Dec. 2), sending at least one railcar onto a roadway below the bridge. It was one of at least two NS derailments early today. The other, near Hanover, W.Va., involved five […]

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Beyond the byline with Bob Johnston

Photograph of author Bob Johnson

What was your first byline in Trains? Bob Johnston: “All passengers will make their connections” appeared in “Selected Railroad Reading” in the April 1989 issue. That article really began two years earlier, when an employee on the Chicago TV advertising sales team I managed gave me a notebook prior to a trip I took to […]

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Has the railroad industry considered adding solar panels to diesel locomotives?

Ask Trains.com: Has the railroad industry thought about putting solar panels on the diesel locomotives yet? I believe that would save money in the long run. Save on fuel costs too.

Cody discusses the application of solar power in the rail industry. Are you looking to learn more about your model railroad, or do you have questions about full-size trains? Send us an email at: AskTrains@trains.com ………………………………… Ask Trains is a regular video feature of Trains.com for magazine subscribers and Trains.com members, where editors answer the questions […]

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