Marking 50 years of the Ntrak modular standard

A pencil sketch on graph paper of several model railroad modules following the Ntrak modular standard

To mark the 50th anniversary of Ntrak, I thought I’d take a look at the Ntrak modular standard and sketch up a sample track plan for a couple modules. Ntrak started at an N scalers’ gathering in Signal Hill, Calif., in 1973, where the modelers were discussing ways to get more people into their favorite […]

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Amtrak tentatively sets Sept. 11 date to resume ‘Adirondack’ service to Montreal

Passenger train at station next to body of water

  PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. — Amtrak has resumed selling tickets for the much-interrupted Adirondack to Montreal and plans to resume service on Sept. 11, WAER radio reports, but the station quotes an Amtrak spokesman as saying the company still needs to “work out several operational details to make that date happen.” Operations north of Albany were […]

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‘Software defect’ caused system outage, Norfolk Southern says

Train passing grain facility

ATLANTA — A “software defect” led to the computer system outage that disrupted Norfolk Southern operations on Monday, the railroad said in a follow-up report. In a statement today, the railroad said during routine maintenance by its data storage vendor, “a leading global technology provider,” this software defect created an error that affected both the […]

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Norfolk Southern funding will help bring railcars to Pullman National Park and State Historic Site

Ornate multistory brick building with clock tower

CHICAGO — Norfolk Southern has made a $250,000 contribution to help create an interactive exhibit at the Pullman State Historic Site and Pullman National Historical Park that will give visitors a chance at a close-up experience with historic railcars, including those once manufactured at the site. The Historic Pullman Foundation and Illinois Department of Natural […]

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Locomotives We Love: Lionel Santa Fe Alco diesel

Lionel Santa Fe Alco diesel Q: What toy train locomotive means the most to you? A: The locomotive that means the most to me is the Lionel Santa Fe Alco diesel. Yes, that’s right, Lionel only called it an “Alco diesel” with no designation of Alco model. It’s decorated in the attractive Santa Fe “Bluebonnet” […]

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CSX: Norfolk Southern lawsuit over Pan Am matters is now moot

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – CSX Transportation says Berkshire & Eastern’s operation of Pan Am Southern, which began today, should moot the concerns that Norfolk Southern raised last month in a lawsuit alleging that CSX was hampering its access to New England. NS asked a Delaware court for an expedited preliminary injunction that would bar CSX and […]

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Michael J. Del Vecchio, editor, writer, railfan, dies at 63

Cropped image of Mike Del Vecchio

DOVER, N.J. – Railroader, editor, and writer Michael Del Vecchio, 63, died Thursday, Aug. 31, after a lengthy battle with cancer. He is best known as an associate editor at Railfan Magazine, and later at the industry publication Railway Age. Prolific at any endeavor he set his mind to, his booming voice and New Jersey […]

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AAR says STB erred in decision ordering BNSF Railway to haul more coal from Montana mine

WASHINGTON — The Association of American Railroads has filed a friend-of-the-court brief backing BNSF Railway in its appeal of the Surface Transportation Board’s decision ordering the railroad to haul more export coal from a Montana mine to tidewater in British Columbia. The brief, filed yesterday with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, […]

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Regulators pause environmental review of proposed Union Pacific line near Phoenix

Union Pacific logo with Building America slogan

WASHINGTON – Federal regulators have put a hold on their final environmental assessment of Union Pacific’s proposed 6-mile branch to a new industrial park being built outside Phoenix. The Surface Transportation Board’s Office of Environmental Analysis, in a decision released on Thursday, said it was delaying a decision indefinitely due to the discovery of “significant […]

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Massachusetts legislator seeks to revive commuter rail service to Cape Cod

Side view of pasenger train in grassy field

HYANNIS, Mass. — A Massachusetts legislator has announced plans for a bill that would revive daily commuter train service to Cape Cod, currently served by the summer-weekend-only CapeFlyer service. The Cape Cod Times reports state Rep. Dylan Fernandes said this week that the service would ease congestion on the Cape’s major roadways and bridges across […]

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Mid-Continent Railway Museum celebrates milestone, continued progress

Mid-Continent Railway Museum NORTH FREEDOM, Wis. — Mid-Continent Railway Museum celebrated its 60th anniversary earlier this year, marking the milestone with special events as well as reminiscences of the Wisconsin museum’s growth from a fledgling museum to one with some 500 volunteer members who share their interest in and knowledge of the “Golden Age of […]

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News Photo: A quiet finale for Pan Am Southern

Train with two blue locomotives passes tower at yard

Pan Am Southern quietly wrapped up operations on Thursday. Shown is one of the final trains, EDBF, making a late-afternoon departure from the former Boston & Maine yard at East Deerfield, Mass., for to Bellows Falls, Vt. Effective today (Sept. 1, 2023), Pan Am Southern lines in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, and New York […]

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