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EDITOR’S NOTE: This story appeared in the June 1947 issue of Trains magazine following the resumption of service on the strike-crippled Toledo, Peoria and Western Railway. Things are peaceful again after the Toledo, Peoria and Western strike ends. The bitter 19-month strike which was climaxed by the murder of President George McNear is […]
Mountain railroading always gave the opportunity for a runaway train. In 1949, I was working out of the small town of Avery, Idaho, on the Milwaukee Road. The railroad crossed the Bitterroot Mountains on a 1.7% grade through St. Paul Pass. The grade began just east of the Avery depot. Avery was a crew-change, engine-change, […]
I was working as a relief railroad tower operator on the Lehigh Valley in the late steam era. It was a beautiful late-summer evening when I left an Athens, Pa., diner and began walking along North Main Street. It was quiet as there was little traffic on this main artery that connected the Wilkes-Barre area, […]
WASHINGTON — The trucking industry doesn’t want a railroad work stoppage any more than railroads do. In a letter sent to Congressional leaders on Friday, the American Trucking Associations warned that trucks would be unable to replace rail service in the event of a strike or lockout. “While trucking and rail companies compete for ground […]
SILVIS, Ill. — Canadian Pacific has donated the former Milwaukee Road twin-span turntable from Bensenville, Ill., to Railroading Heritage of Midwest America (RRHMA) for use at its Silvis shop complex. On Sept. 8, the turntable, constructed in 1937, was successfully split in two and loaded onto trucks for the move across Illinois to Silvis. Project […]
BOSTON — Work on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s Orange Line, shut down since Aug. 19 to allow for major repairs, is two-thirds complete, General Manager Steve Poftak said Friday, with the project set to be completed on schedule. “We have less than 10 days to go,” Poftak said, as reported by NBC Boston. “We […]
Railroads have begun preparations to secure what they call “hazardous and security-sensitive materials” to make sure no such cargo is left on a train left unattended or unsecured in the event of a work stoppage, the Association of American Railroads, Norfolk Southern, Union Pacific, and BNSF Railway all said in news releases or messages to […]
When two trains running in opposite directions on a single-track main have to pass each other, the dispatcher will schedule them to meet at a passing siding. But what happens when one or both of those trains is too long to fit into the siding? Engineers coped with this situation with a maneuver called a […]
American Car & Foundry Coalveyor bathtub gondola Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: $39.95 (undecorated, $30.95) Era: 1980s to present (varies depending on paint scheme) Manufacturer: Atlas Model Railroad Co., 378 Florence Ave., Hillside, NJ 07205; 908-687-0880; shop.atlasrr.com Coalveyor bathtub gondola features: Die-cast metal chassis Interior bracing Removable coal load Accumate couplers Brake detail 100-ton roller-bearing trucks Metal wheels Release date: […]
Bay Area Rapid Transit Legacy Fleet Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: A-B-B-A with dual-mode sound decoder, $712.45; A-B-B-A with direct-current, $522.45; C end car with dual-mode sound decoder, $322.95; direct-current C end car, $218.45; A end car with display case; $142.45; B intermediate car, $85.45. Era: 1972–present Manufacturer: Rapido Trains Inc., 500 Alden Road, Unit 21, Markham, Ontario L3R 5H5 […]
OMAHA — Union Pacific says it expects to complete bridge repairs this weekend on the Iowa line which has been closed since a Monday derailment that sent asphalt into a creek near Hampton, Iowa. “Key bridge materials” are expected onsite today (Friday, Sept. 9), the railroad informed customers in a Thursday advisory, allowing the line […]
MECCA, Calif. — The two Union Pacific crew members killed in a Thursday collision with railcars parked on a siding were ejected from their train by the impact, the Los Angeles Times reports. The accident occurred about 3 a.m. Thursday east of the community of Mecca [see “Two UP crew members killed …,” Trains News […]
