Weekly U.S. carload, intermodal volume remains down

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

WASHINGTON — Carload and intermodal traffic remain below 2021 levels in the latest weekly statistics from the Association of American Railroads. For the week ending Oct. 8, overall traffic of 494,413 carloads and intermodal units represented a 2.4% drop from the same week a year earlier. That figure included 232,930 carloads, down 2.8%, and 261,483 […]

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News Photo: NJ Transit’s ‘Bluebird’ diesel

Two GP40 locomotives in heritage paint schemes

KEARNY, N.J. — NJ Transit has unveiled its newest heritage locomotive, GP40PH-2 No. 4101, repainted into the “Bluebird” paint scheme used by New Jersey Department of Transportation’s Commuter Operating Agency, a predecessor of the current transit agency. The locomotive is one of 13 3,000-hp EMD GP40P units specifically designed for the Central Railroad of New […]

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OmniTRAX finalizes deal for San Luis & Rio Grande

Locomotive at station

DENVER — OmniTRAX has completed an agreement to purchase the assets of the bankrupt San Luis & Rio Grande Railroad, which will become the company’s 26th short line. Bankruptcy trustee William Brandt had said last month that the company had signed an agreement in principle to purchase the 155-mile Colorado railroad, a former Denver & […]

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In Memoriam: Stephan Lamb

An image of a man wearing a hat.

In Memoriam: Stephan Lamb. The founder and owner of Stephan Lamb Associates, passed away on the morning of October 8th, 2022. He started his business to help his friends which grew into building professional model railroads for so many clients throughout the years. Stephan took a personal interest in every layout that he built and […]

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50-foot Superior plug-door boxcar from Athearn

Drawing of yellow boxcar with brown ends

50-foot Superior plug-door boxcar Scale: HO (1:87:1) Price: $37.99 Era: 1971+ to late 2000s+ (varies depending on paint scheme) Manufacturer: Athearn Trains, 2904 Research Rd., Champaign, IL 61822; 800-338-4639; athearn.com Features: Separate, factory-installed brake wheel and ladders 70-ton roller bearing trucks 33” machined metal wheels with RP-25 contours Body-mounted McHenry knuckle couplers Injection-molded plastic body […]

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Reading & Northern 4-8-4 repaired, set for next excursion

Steam locomotive passes through town under cloudy skies

PORT CLINTON, Pa. — Reading & Northern Railroad’s Class T-1 4-8-4 steam locomotive is repaired and ready to pull a sold-out Oct. 29 excursion after a malfunctioning component in its firebox sidelined it during a trip on Saturday, Oct. 8. After a six-year, $2.4 million restoration, the former Reading Co. engine has been performing flawlessly […]

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Rapido Trains General Motors Diesel F40PH-2D

N scale model of passenger diesel locomotive in VIA Rail paint scheme

Rapido Trains recently released their General Motors Diesel F40PH-2D diesel locomotive. Associate Editor Bryson Sleppy hosts a Product Review video of this new N scale passenger locomotive. He demonstrates the details on the locomotive as well as lighting and sound effects from the dual-mode ESU LokSound 5 sound decoder. Finally, he takes passengers on the […]

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Super Signals from Dallas Model Works

Three green signals and two red signals on signal stands

Super Signals Scale: HO (1:87:1) Price: Single, $39.99; five-pack, $179.99; and 10-pack, $349.99 Manufacturer: Dallas Model Works, 6009 W. Parker Rd., Unit 149 No. 196, Plano, TX 75093; dallasmodelworks.com Super Signals feature: Hand-built with fine detail Tested multiple times during assembly Fully painted Copper tube and resin construction Red/green light-emitting diode provides two light aspects Necessary resistor included […]

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Athearn 48-foot intermodal containers

Drawing of six white and yellow intermodal containers

48-foot intermodal containers Scale: HO (1:87:1) Price: $89.99 Era: 1990s+ Manufacturer: Athearn Trains, 2904 Research Rd., Champaign, IL 61822; 800-338-4639; athearn.com Features: New road numbers Injection-molded plastic construction Fully assembled Stackable Each container is individually numbered Release date: November 2023 Road names: Conrail (white with “Conrail Mercury” lettering); Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe (white with […]

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Carload Considerations: Railcars should make shippers’ lives easier

Freight train snaking through curves in mountains

CHICAGO – Railroading’s intricacies require shippers to get involved in the industry’s nitty-gritty details. A half-hour crash course on Railroading 101 is going to leave someone more confused than confident. It takes commitment to grasp, and predict, the vulnerabilities of railroad logistics. This is why shippers often employ individuals in rail logistics, fleet management, or […]

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CN, IBEW finalize new contract in Canada after arbitration

Canadian National logo

MONTREAL — Canadian National Railway announced Tuesday that it had reached a new three-year agreement with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers in Canada after concluding arbitration with the union. The new contract, retroactive to Jan. 1 of this year and running through the end of 2024, includes 3% raises each year. The union represents […]

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