Metra, Chicago suburbs see few concerns addressed in merger decision

People walk across railroad tracks as trains meet in background

WASHINGTON — Commuter rail operator Metra and a group of Chicago suburbs received few of the conditions they had sought when the Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger was approved on Wednesday. But that doesn’t mean their concerns couldn’t be addressed later, Surface Transportation Board Chairman Martin J. Oberman said during a Wednesday press conference, thanks […]

Read More…

Better track, wheels, and couplers

Better track wheels and couplers

Better track, wheels, and couplers: Several years ago Atlas introduced its code 55 N scale track, and soon a great wail rose up from some in the N scale community. Beautiful as the track was, the wheels that came standard with Micro-Trains cars bumped against the track’s molded spike heads as the cars rolled along. The […]

Read More…

Wheel quality keeps rolling

Wheel quality keeps rolling: An infographic showing different N scale wheelsets

Wheel quality keeps rolling: Over the last five years or so, N scalers have shown increased interest in replacement wheelsets. Maybe it’s just because so many more choices have ­become available. Up until the ’90s, some cars came with less than satisfactory wheels. Often the trucks didn’t roll freely. Sometimes cars would shimmy down the […]

Read More…

BC government to fund further study of Vancouver Island rail line; some land to be returned to First Nations group

ENRDCsJohnston

VICTORIA, British Columbia — The British Columbia government will spend C$18 million on planning for a possible resurrection of rail service on the former Esquimalt & Nanaimo line on Vancouver Island, beating by a day a court-ordered deadline to declare intentions for the long-dormant rail line but pushing an ultimate decision farther into the future. […]

Read More…

Auto racks derail at UP yard in Wyoming

Derailed auto racks under cloudy skies

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — No injuries were reported and no hazardous materials were involved when 12 cars of a Union Pacific train derailed Monday night at UP’s yard in Cheyenne, Cowboy State Daily reports. UP spokesman Make Jaixen told the news site that the cause of the derailment is under investigation. Cleanup was continuing on Tuesday. […]

Read More…

Ohio sues Norfolk Southern over East Palestine derailment

Workers and equipment around burned out tank cars

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The state of Ohio is suing Norfolk Southern over the Feb. 3 derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, claiming the incident was “entirely avoidable and the direct result of Norfolk Southern’s practice of putting its own profits above the health, safety, and welfare of the communities in which Norfolk Southern operates.” The 58-count, […]

Read More…

Norfolk Southern reaches sick-time agreements with two more unions

Norfolk Southern logo

ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern has reached agreements for paid sick time with members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers and Brotherhood of Railway Carmen, bringing to eight the number of unions to reach sick-leave agreements with the railroad. The latest agreements cover more than 1,350 employees. As with earlier agreements, they provide […]

Read More…

STB schedules Wednesday announcement on CP-KCS merger

Train with red, yellow, and black locomotives

WASHINGTON — A decision appears to be at hand in the Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger. The Surface Transportation Board has announced a Wednesday press conference at 11 a.m. EDT in which board Chairman Martin Oberman will deliver remarks “regarding the agency’s decision on the proposed acquisition” of KCS by CP, followed by a Q&A […]

Read More…