BNSF Railway and J.B. Hunt To honor fallen veterans during the holidays a number of companies regularly partner with Wreaths Across America to deliver wreaths for placement on headstones. Among them are BNSF Railway and J.B. Hunt Transport Services. This year the two transportation giants together moved 46 container loads of wreaths — that’s 314,000 […]
Metra It’s likely many passengers don’t realize commuter rail operator Metra serves Chicago O’Hare International Airport. But then, “serves” may be generous. What the commuter operator provides is more akin to a cameo appearance. In 2022, the airport handled almost 664,000 commercial flights and more than 68.3 million passengers. Metra addresses this with 12 trains, […]
Common name: Sweet alyssum Latin name: Lobularia maritima Plant size: Under 6″ Plant type: Annual USDA Hardiness Zones: 9-11; grown as an annual in colder Zones Cultural needs: Almost any well-drained soil; full sun to part shade Originally from southern Europe, sweet alyssum has naturalized throughout the US as a hardy annual, reseeding year after […]
Lionel’s perfect postwar train set The perfect postwar Lionel train set should have a great locomotive, exciting and attractive pieces of rolling stock, and maybe an operating accessory. There would be plenty of track, too. Which engine and cars would you choose if you were able to assemble a perfect outfit from the post-World War […]
WASHINGTON — The temporary shutdown of the U.S.-Mexico railroad border crossings at Eagle Pass and El Paso, Texas, has thrown a kink into supply chains that demand reliability. Eagle Pass and El Paso are the No. 2 and No. 3 rail gateways by volume, respectively. Union Pacific says the closure has prompted it to place […]
Have you ever considered making rocket component loads for your flatcars? Over the years I’ve seen some interesting flatcar loads on full-size trains, but I wanted to build something I’ve never seen before. I’m interested in watching rocket launches, so I decided to scratchbuild SpaceX rocket component loads. The rocket I built isn’t modeled after […]
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Fort Lauderdale’s fight over whether to build a $500 million bridge or a $3 billion tunnel to handle rail traffic through downtown could heat up further on Tuesday, as city officials meet to vote on their preferred option — after the city’s mayor sent out an email newsletter to voters saying […]
OTTAWA, Ontario — A member of Canada’s Parliament from British Columbia has introduced a bill to create a right of preference for passenger trains on the nation’s railroads — the lack of which has long hampered VIA Rail Canada operations. Taylor Bachrach, a House of Commons member of the New Democratic Party from the riding […]
SEATTLE — Sound Transit’s light rail system will begin charging a flat fare of $3 next fall for rides anywhere on the system under a plan approved Friday by the transit agency’s board. Riders currently pay fares ranging from $2.25 to $3.50 based on distance, with the majority paying $2.75 or less, the Seattle Times […]
WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board is retiring its “Most Wanted List of Transportation Safety Improvements,” a method the agency has used since 1990 to call attention to safety issues. “The Most Wanted List has served the NTSB well as an advocacy tool, especially in the days before social media, but our advocacy efforts […]
By Ari Sandel Ever since I was a little kid I’ve always loved miniatures, whether I was making models or painting toy soldiers. And though I always appreciated trains, I never had an actual train set because it seemed so intimidating. Flash forward to me in my 40s, when I convinced my best friend to […]
EL PASO, Texas — U.S. officials are halting freight train operations across the U.S.-Mexico border at two locations because of a surge in migrant traffic, the El Paso Times reports. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency will temporarily suspend the freight crossings at Eagle Pass and El Paso — the No. 2 and No. […]
