Rehab My Railroad | Rehab Effort Recap, Episode 16

Work on the HO scale Milwaukee, Racine & Troy (MR&T) Jones Island project has come to a close, so it’s prime time for David Popp and Eric White to survey the 14 x 3-foot finished layout section! Follow along as the two hosts, along with Cody Grivno and Ben Lake, point out specific scenes and […]

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Quick takes on the Lionel 2023 Big Book catalog

Lionel 2023 big book catalog J3 Drefuss Hudson

The Lionel 2023 Big Book catalog is out. I just had a quick flip through it and here are my first impressions. I’ll tell you right off, this isn’t an exhaustive treatment and I can’t cover everything. Nor will you find any mention of the prices of these things. As I’m frequently inclined to say, […]

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Minnesota city builds “railroad depot” water pump station

mock train station building

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. – It’s been decades since the last Chicago & North Western freight train rumbled through Eden Prairie on former Minneapolis & St. Louis tracks, and even longer since the M&StL depot stood along the right-of-way. Yet if you look along that right-of-way today, there’s a new “station” – a replica of a […]

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Grand Canyon Railway sets 2023 steam dates

Black steam locomotive pulling passenger train around curve

  WILLIAMS, Ariz. – The Grand Canyon Railway has announced dates it will operate 2-8-2 No. 4960 in 2023. The railroad typically uses the former Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad locomotive to pull trains between Williams and Grand Canyon one Saturday a month, plus some additional dates. The 2023 steam dates are: February 18 for […]

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Weather cancellations impact Amtrak and its western network

Train approaching in snowstorm

CHICAGO — The well-publicized snows that buried Buffalo, N.Y., and resulted in a lengthy cancellation of the New York/Boston-Chicago Lake Shore Limited haven’t been this winter’s only disruptor of Amtrak’s national network. Extreme weather since late December has also been responsible for two significant Amtrak long-distance train cancellations in the west. Flooding truncates Starlight The […]

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Bakken Energy announces alliance with BNSF Railway

BNSF Railway logo

BISMARCK, N.D. – Bakken Energy, a developer of affordable clean hydrogen, announced a memorandum of understanding with BNSF Railway to collaborate on the design of the Heartland Hydrogen Hub. In collaboration with the states of North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Montana, Bakken Energy is working on the design of the Heartland Hydrogen Hub, a regional […]

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George Walker, Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum general manager, dies

Man in safety vest in door of steam locomotive cab

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — George Walker, Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum general manager, passenger operations, died Jan. 4, 2023, following an accident at the organization’s shop facility in the early afternoon hours, according to Penelope Soule Gault, museum marketing and public relations director, and a statement posted on their website. The museum’s statement reads: “The Tennessee Valley […]

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Caltrain marks milestones in electrification project

Caltrain logo

SAN FRANCISCO — In 2022 California’s Caltrain achieved a number of milestones for its $2.44 billion electrification project from San Francisco to its Tamien Station in San Jose, Calif. It’s the largest electrification project in the U.S. since Amtrak completed electrification of its Northeast Corridor from New Haven to Boston in 2000. Construction on the […]

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Sisseton Milbank Railroad seeking federal grants to rebuild line

Web of 75-pound rail

  SISSETON, S.D. — The Sisseton Milbank Railroad, owned by Twin Cities & Western Railroad, is seeking $24.7 million in grant funds to rebuild the railroad, the Watertown (S.D.) Public Opinion reported. The former Milwaukee Road branch line was built in 1893 and still has 75-pound rail. The railroad can’t handle 286,000 pound cars and […]

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