Trains Magazine · Conversations with Brian Solomon, Episode 39 Railroad author and photographer Brian Solomon produces this exclusive biweekly podcast for Trains Magazine. You can catch his column monthly in the magazine or his daily railroad photography blog at briansolomon.com/trackingthelight. Conversations with Brian Solomon, Episode 38 We’re back on the railfan track this week with […]
Train Topic: Railroad Operations
Why long hood vs. short?
Although this CNJ RS3 had dual engineer controls, the “F” defines the leading end for hand or radio signals. Bert Pennypacker Q When diesels replaced steam locomotives, early cab units had snub noses with good front visibility for the engineer. When hood units appeared, some railroads set them up to run short hood forward and […]
PTC timeline: How did we get here?
Metra commuter and Norfolk Southern freight trains meet at tower A2 northwest of Union Station. Steve Sweeney Trains tracks the evolution of positive train control technology from the 1980s to present! August 1985 – Burlington Northern executives approve testing a PTC prototype system, ARES, in Minnesota’s Iron Range. May 1, 2007 – U.S. Rep. James […]
Rail impact of US-Mexico trade deal is uncertain NEWSWIRE
With a BNSF Railway unit in the lead, a Mexico-bound empty auto rack train pulls into Robstown, Texas, on Kansas City Southern tracks in November 2017. Bill Stephens The trade deal reached by the U.S. and Mexico this week — which The Wall Street Journal dubbed “half a NAFTA” — may be positive for railroads […]
CSX streamlines intermodal network, including interline service with BNSF and UP NEWSWIRE
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — CSX Transportation is streamlining its intermodal network to focus on more profitable longer-haul service linking major markets. Lost in the shuffle: Service between low-volume origin-destination pairs as well as certain shorter-haul direct interline moves made in conjunction with BNSF Railway and Union Pacific through Chicago. The railroad informed customers today about numerous […]
‘Railroader’ examines the life and times of four-time CEO E. Hunter Harrison NEWSWIRE
Howard Green Journalist-turned-author Howard Green conducted more than 14,000 interviews while at Canada’s Business News Network, including the chief executives of every major Canadian company and more than a few American firms. But no interviews were like the ones he did with E. Hunter Harrison when he was at the helm of Canadian National and […]
Rail milling marks North America debut in a New York rail yard NEWSWIRE
NEW YORK — What weighs 68 tons, is almost 40 feet long, arrives in its own container, and could revolutionize railhead maintenance in North America? A rail milling machine, of course. More than 20 rail transit and rail commuter line operations staff from coast to coast had a brief inaugural look on Tuesday at one […]
PHNX caboose
This bright red caboose and its sister, No. 101, escort special rail loads and are owned by PHN LLC. Timothy J. O’Malley Q Last year I saw a caboose on the tail end of a BNSF Railway train with PHNX reporting marks. Is it escorting the three hopper cars in front of it? Who owns […]
The basics of blockchains on railroads NEWSWIRE
Blockchain technology may be the way of the future for railroads looking to minimize costs and streamline operations. More than 230 transportation and freight companies — including BNSF Railway, Union Pacific, and Canadian National — have joined the Blockchain in Transportation Alliance, known as BiTA, an organization seeking to develop blockchain standards for the freight […]
Analysts press Norfolk Southern about keeping pace with CSX NEWSWIRE
Norfolk Southern CEO James Squires Norfolk Southern NORFOLK, Va. — There’s more than one way to run a railroad. That sums up Norfolk Southern’s response to Wall Street analysts’ questions on why it has not closed a widening operating ratio gap with its Eastern rival, CSX Transportation. NS CEO Jim Squires on Wednesday took his […]
CN updating operating plan to use new capacity, accommodate growth NEWSWIRE
Canadian National MONTREAL — Canadian National is updating its operating plan to reflect surging volumes and the new track capacity, locomotives, and crews that are coming online to handle it over the next few months. “How we work is not going to change. Precision railroading is our gold standard,” Chief Operating Mike Cory told investors […]
Analysts ask why Union Pacific isn’t more like CSX NEWSWIRE
OMAHA, Neb. — CSX Transportation’s financial turnaround — including a record-low quarterly operating ratio of 58.6 percent — may increase Wall Street pressure on the rest of the American railroad industry. Analysts compared Union Pacific’s second-quarter results with those of CSX and during the railroad’s earnings call on Thursday asked executives why UP doesn’t measure […]
