CALGARY — Canadian Pacific moved 2.29 million metric tons of Canadian grain in January, setting a record for the month, the company said last week. The railroad has now moved more than 15 million metric tons in the 2022-23 crop year, an increase of more than 45% over the same point in the 2021-22 crop […]
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and officials in Columbiana County have issued a new evacuation order tonight (Sunday, Feb. 5) for those within a mile of the site of Friday’s derailment of a Norfolk Southern train, warning of a possible tank car explosion, WHIO-TV reports. Also, National Transportation Safety Board investigators have […]
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — The chemical burning in the fire resulting from Friday’s derailment of a Norfolk Southern train is the flammable gas vinyl chloride, a potentially carcinogenic substance. The village of East Palestine identified the material in a news release Saturday afternoon, NBC News reports. The Environmental Protection Agency says “cancer is a major […]
CHICAGO — Lack of standby equipment and the inability of Amtrak mechanical forces to sufficiently prepare cars and locomotives for service led to the cancellation of one pair of Chicago-based trains and departure delays to 11 others on Thursday, Feb. 2. The cancellation of one Chicago-Milwaukee Hiawatha round trip, and the cumulative delays to the […]
HICKORY, N.C. — Matt Bumgarner, founding member of the Southeastern Narrow Gauge and Shortline Museum, historian, author, publisher, entrepreneur, and restorer of wooden railroad cars, died Jan. 26 after a brief illness. He was 56. Bumgarner was a director of the museum in Newton, N.C., an organization spearheaded by the Newton Depot Authority, a non-profit […]
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — The mayor of the town of East Palestine has declared a state of emergency as a fire continues to burn, following Friday night’s derailment of about 50 cars of a Norfolk Southern train near the Ohio-Pennsylvania state line. WKBN-TV reports Mayor Trent Conaway issued the emergency declaration just before 9:30 a.m. […]
Working with rail joiners is difficult for many model railroaders. Rail joiners are the weakest electrical connection on any given model railroad layout. When tightly fit, rail joiners serve as fine electrical conduits. However, over time, rail joiners tend to expand and loosen, which results in worse electrical conductivity. However, better rail joiners are possible. […]
The Lionel Union Pacific Rocket Booster Train is finally out, and as an aerospace engineer formerly employed by NASA, this set hit home! I knew I had to have it the second I saw it advertised in the Lionel 2022 Volume 1 catalog! The set isn’t a work of science fiction, either. The prototype Rocket […]
Working with rail joiners is difficult for many model railroaders. Rail joiners are the weakest electrical connection on any given model railroad layout. When tightly fit, rail joiners serve as fine electrical conduits. However, over time, rail joiners tend to expand and loosen, which results in worse electrical conductivity. However, better rail joiners are possible. […]
CG Railway’s traffic grew 53% last year thanks to the increased capacity of its new rail ferries, the company said this week. The short line, a joint venture of Genesee & Wyoming and SEACOR Holdings, floats freight cars across the Gulf of Mexico. The route links the ports of Mobile, Ala., and Coatzacoalcos in Veracruz, […]
Managing the installation of a Tortoise switch machine on my layout’s two-inch thick foam baseboard has been challenging. I tried the hook-and-loop fastener solution explained in the October 2005 Model Railroader but didn’t like the wobble or the actuating wire’s long reach through the foam board. After some experimentation, I’ve developed the mounting method that’s […]
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Work will begin in March to convert a former Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad bridge into an entertainment venue, the Kansas City Star reports. The bridge, built by the Rock Island in 1905, crosses the Kansas River in the city’s West Bottoms area. It has been idle since the 1970s […]
