News & Products for the week of March 31st 2025 Model railroad operators and builders can get the latest information about locomotives, freight cars, passenger cars, tools, track, and more by reading Model Railroader’s frequent product updates. The following are the products Model Railroader editors have news on for the week of March 31st, […]
Type of Train: Freight
CSX taking steps to dig out of congestion
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — In the weeks before the Feb. 1 closure of the Howard Street Tunnel in Baltimore, CSX was a railroad on a tightrope. CSX had been struggling to recover from a string of harsh weather events that began during a devastating hurricane season and continued through winter. Among them: The Jan. 21 storm […]
Norfolk Southern introduces RailGreen emissions reduction program
ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern has introduced what it says is a first-of-its-kind program for customers to reduce freight emissions, offering verified certificates of emission reduction. With shipping by rail reducing emissions by 75% on average, the NS RailGreen program allows shippers to address the remaining 25%. The program developed with 123Carbon, an independent book-and-claim platform, […]
East Troy Industrial Park, Ep. 6 | Installing subroadbed
David keeps the hammer down and drill humming, as he works to install the joists and subroadbed sections across the entire HO scale East Troy Industrial Park (ETIP) model railroad. Watch, learn, and discover clever insights to adding the critical components used to create realistic trackwork and scenery set at various elevations. Be sure to […]
Local residents oppose plans for 26.9-mile rock-hauling railroad in Texas
WASHINGTON — An aggregates company’s proposal to build a 26.9-mile rail line to haul rock from four Texas quarries has run into local opposition. Texas Materials Group has asked the Surface Transportation Board to approve its plans to build and operate a new rail line in Burnet and Lampasas counties. The shortline would connect to […]
CPKC container dwell still an issue at Canada’s largest port
VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Container dwell times at the Port of Vancouver, Canada’s busiest intermodal hub, continue to be a significant issue since the start of the year. Canadian Pacific Kansas City has been particularly affected, with over 89,000 feet of containers sitting at Deltaport for more than seven days, according to port data. This […]
Weekly U.S. rail traffic remains ahead of 2024 levels
WASHINGTON — For a fourth straight week, U.S. rail traffic has recorded an increase of more than 5% over the same week a year earlier. Statistics from the Association of American Railroads for the week ending March 22 show total traffic was 496,214 carloads and intermodal units, a 5.5% increase over the same week in […]
CSX announces tentative agreement with boilermakers union
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — CSX on Tuesday evening (March 25) announced it had reached a tentative five-year labor agreement with the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, its second such deal of the day. The union — formally the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers & Helpers — represents 59 CSX employees. “The agreement with […]
Norfolk Southern working on projects representing $9 billion in investments, executive says
Norfolk Southern is working on more than 450 projects, representing $9 billion in investments, as part of the railroad’s role in industrial development, says Stefan Loeb, the railroad’s vice president of business development and first- and final-mile markets.Loeb was appearing on the FreightWaves podcast “Bring It Home,” which addresses American reindustrialization. Norfolk Southern is working […]
BNSF touts $4.2 billion of customer investments along its lines in 2024
FORT WORTH, Texas – BNSF Railway says its customers invested more than $4.2 billion along its lines in 2024. Significant investments were made from customers including CJ Logistics America, Hudson Asphalt Terminal, and Bakersfield Renewable Fuels. As a result of these and other customer investments, BNSF projects supported the creation of more than 1,000 new […]
NS installs replacement bridge spans on hurricane-damaged route in Tennessee
ATLANTA – In a major step toward reopening the west end of its hurricane-damaged AS Line in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Norfolk Southern has completed the installation of new bridge spans for its bridge replacement project over the Pigeon River in Newport, Tenn. The AS Line has been out of service since Hurricane Helene brought […]
IBEW ratifies contract with rail carriers
WASHINGTON — The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers has ratified a five-year agreement with the National Carriers Conference Committee, bargaining group for Class I and other railroads. The union represents about 3,500 freight rail workers nationwide. “This agreement reaffirms our commitment to securing strong contracts that provide economic stability for our members and their families,” […]
