CHICAGO — Depending on the route, Amtrak trains can either offer a welcome alternative to record high gas prices or no relief at all. That’s because where sufficient capacity exists, fares remain flexible, but where Amtrak management has failed to marshal the resources to return sidelined equipment to duty, the traveling public suffers. Corridors offer […]
WASHINGTON — The freight railroads involved in the Surface Transportation Board’s proceeding over Gulf Coast passenger service have again asked that the matter be sent to mediation — and Amtrak is again opposing that request. In a May 19 filing, CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern, and the Alabama State Port Authority and its its short line […]
WASHINGTON — Amtrak’s effort to use eminent domain to take control of Washington Union Station is being challenged by the current operator of the landmark structure, saying projects planned by the passenger railroad do not meet the legal requirements for the takeover or require the move. The Washington Post reports that Union Station Investco LLC […]
WASHINGTON — U.S. rail traffic remains below 2021 levels on a weekly and year-to-date basis according to the latest statistics from the Association of American Railroads. Figures for the week ending May 21 show overall traffic of 506,976 carloads and intermodal units, down 4.1% from the corresponding week a year earlier. That figure includes 233,244 […]
OTTAWA, Ontario – The Canadian government said on Wednesday that it will spend $42 million to help fund capacity expansion projects at Port Saint John, New Brunswick, as well as to upgrade rail facilities in Saint John and McAdam on short line New Brunswick Southern. The New Brunswick Southern and its sister short line, Eastern […]
Menards’ Cripple Creek Crossing switch tower really struck a chord with me for an odd reason – it’s weather-worn and looks like it’s been on the losing end of a battle with railroad management for maintenance. Anyone who did railfanning in the 1970s or ’80s knows what I mean. These places might have seen their […]
53-foot plate wall highway trailers Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: $29.95 Era: Mid-1990s to present Manufacturer: Bowser Manufacturing Co., Inc., 1302 Jordan Ave., Montoursville, PA 17754, 570-368-2379, bowser-trains.com HO scale highway trailers features: Injection-molded plastic Plastic wheels and mudflaps Landing gear Pre-orders due June 30, 2022 Scheduled for release in summer 2023 Road names: Crete, Dart, […]
Pennsylvania RR class H-43 100-ton three-bay hopper Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: $29.95 Era: 1971 to present (varies depending on paint scheme) Manufacturer: Bowser Manufacturing Co., Inc., 1302 Jordan Ave., Montoursville, PA 17754, 570-368-2379, bowser-trains.com HO scale 100-ton three-bay hopper features: 36” metal wheelsets Roller-bearing trucks Interior and slope sheet braces Knuckle couplers Pre-orders due May […]
Pennsylvania RR class X-31 round roof boxcars Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: $29.95 Era: 1943 to 1962+ (varies depending on paint scheme) Manufacturer: Bowser Manufacturing Co., Inc., 1302 Jordan Ave., Montoursville, PA 17754, 570-368-2379, bowser-trains.com HO scale Pennsylvania RR class X-31 round roof boxcar features: Injection-molded plastic body Metal wheels Knuckle couplers Pre-order deadline June 30, […]
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Efforts by Class I railroads to hire more engineers and conductors are helping lift workforce numbers from record lows during the coronavirus pandemic. But other forms of railroad employment remain below pre-pandemic numbers, and overall employment is still dramatically lower than it was five years ago. According to the most recent Surface […]
WASHINGTON — DC Metrorail will return 64 of its long-sidelined 7000-series railcars to service this summer as it continues work to automate wheel inspections that would allow use of all 748 of the Kawasaki-built cars, easing the agency’s equipment shortage. The Washington Post reports the independent Washington Metrorail Safety Commission will accept Metro’s plan for […]
PORTER, Ind. — As one major construction project remains on schedule, another is about to begin for the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District. The Times of Northwest Indiana reports that at a Monday meeting in Porter, the district’s board of directors was told that the South Shore Double Track project, building a second main line […]
