ScaleTrains debuts Pullman-Standard 5,820-cubic-foot capacity covered hopper

Photo of blue HO scale covered hopper on scenicked base.

Pullman-Standard 5,820-cubic-foot capacity covered hopper A Pullman-Standard 5,820-cubic-foot capacity covered hopper was unveiled at the ScaleTrains booth during the St. Louis Railroad Prototype Modelers Meet in Collinsville, Ill., on July 29. The HO scale freight car, scheduled for release in February 2023, will be offered in the company’s Rivet Counter and Operator lines. Road names […]

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Iowa Interstate returns SD38-2s to service

Black, red, and yellow locomotives cross bridge with speedboat in foreground

The Iowa Interstate Railroad has reactivated SD38-2s Nos. 152 and 153 after three of its General Electric ES44-AC locomotives suffered damage in grade crossing accidents. The locomotives handed train PESI (Peoria-Silvis, Ill.) on Sunday, July 31, with ES44AC No. 508, pulling 90 grain empties and two steel loads. The non-turbocharged, normally aspirated engines are fan […]

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Massachusetts legislation includes East-West Rail funding

Map of proposed passenger route in Massachusetts

BOSTON — The Massachusetts legislature has passed a transportation bill including $275 million in funding for the East-West Rail project, which would extend existing rail service west from Worcester to Springfield and Pittsfield, Mass. The Boston Globe reports the $11.3 billion transportation and infrastructure bill was part of a flurry of legislation passed late Sunday […]

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News photo: Amtrak wraps locomotive to promote King Tut event

Locomotive wrapped in blue and gold design featuring King Tut mask

WASHINGTON — Amtrak’s has specially wrapped one of its ACS64 electric locomotives to promote a National Geographic exhibit on King Tut in Boston and Washington. This is not the first time Amtrak and King Tut have been linked. An Amtrak Cascades F59PHI was wrapped to promote a King Tut exhibit at the Pacific Science Center […]

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News photo: Ethan Allen begins service on extended route

Passenger train arrives at station arrives with crowd on platform.

VERGENNES, Vt. — The inaugural run of Amtrak’s Ethan Allen Express from Burlington, Vt., arrives at the Ferrisburg-Vergennes station on Friday, July 29, 2022. The train had previously originated and terminated in Rutland, Vt. The station — added to the National Register of Historic Places in May 2021 — is a Rutland Railroad building dating […]

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FTA orders ‘safety standdown’ for MBTA over runaway trains

Rapid-transit train at station. Governor reacts following more close calls on MBTA.

BOSTON — The Federal Transportation Administration on Friday ordered ‘an immediate safety standdown” for Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority workers dealing with out-of-service trains in the wake of three recent runaway-train incidents, the latest of which happened last week. The Boston Globe reports the order, effective at 12:01 a.m. Saturday, requires worker operating or securing out-of-service […]

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Competing claims complicate Amtrak-CN STB filings: Analysis

Train crosses diamond in small town

WASHINGTON — The question of how Canadian National should receive incentives or penalties for handling of Amtrak trains has no doubt chalked up hundreds — maybe thousands — of billable hours for the companies’ attorneys. The inability of the two sides to reach a new operating agreement first came to the Surface Transportation Board in […]

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CN train derails in northern Minnesota

Canadian National logo

COOK, Minn. — Fourteen cars of a Canadian National train derailed Saturday night north of the town of Cook, KMSP-TV reports. The St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office reported the accident occurred about 7:45 p.m. and involved a 123-car northbound train. A county emergency management team responded because some of the cars involved contained hazardous materials, […]

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Canadian National releases 2022-23 Grain Plan

Cover of document with CN locomotive

MONTREAL — The continued addition of more new grain hoppers, along with the addition of new locomotives and ongoing hiring efforts, are key elements in Canadian National Railway’s 2022-23 Grain Plan, released last week. The plan outlines CN’s preparations for moving up to 27 million metric tons of grain from western Canada in the crop […]

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