News & Products for the week of November 24th 2025

A navy blue model locomotive with yellow lettering and a yellow stripe

News & Products for the week of November 24th 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 November 24th, […]

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Berkshire & Eastern proves good service drives growth: Analysis

Pat Ottensmeyer, the late Kansas City Southern chief executive, had a favorite saying: Service begets growth. It’s not the most catchy phrase you’ll ever hear. But it’s true. And nowhere is that more apparent than in New England, where Genesee & Wyoming’s Berkshire & Eastern is growing a bumper crop of freight in the middle […]

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MTH Track Cleaning Car with Power Meter

yellow model boxcar

When I saw the press release for this product from Ross Custom Switches, it caught my interest. This 40-foot boxcar is an MTH custom run that includes both a voltmeter and a track cleaning system from Many New Products (MNP). A voltmeter is an instrument that measures voltage between two points in a circuit. This […]

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Capacity pinch points trigger Thanksgiving Amtrak sellouts, high fares

Large crowds waiting for trains in Chicago

CHICAGO — As expected, shortened consists and surging holiday demand are responsible for Amtrak sellouts across the country, notably on segments of virtually every long-distance train nearest population centers, as well as on the Pacific Northwest’s Cascades, New York State’s Empire Service, and Midwest corridors. Repeating their analysis earlier this year for the Labor Day […]

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Railroads debate merits of mergers and alliances

NEW YORK — BNSF Railway, Canadian National, and Canadian Pacific Kansas City are touting interline partnerships as a way to gain new volume without having the regulatory and service-meltdown risks associated with a merger. But Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern say alliances are built on a foundation of sand, and can shift with the whims […]

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Three state attorneys general voice support for UP-NS merger

Freight train led yellow locomotive with Chicago skyline in background

WASHINGTON — Attorneys General in three states — including the headquarters states of both railroads — have announced their support for the proposed Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger. In a Nov. 20 letter to Surface Transportation Board Chairman Patrick J. Fuchs, Attorneys General Chris Carr of Georgia, Mike Higlers of Nebraska, and J.B. McCuskey of West […]

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New York MTA opens facility to inspect, test subway equipment

Interior of servicing facility for subway equipment

NEW YORK — The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has opened a new Railcar Acceptance and Testing Facility, where the MTA will inspect and test new subway cars and other equipment before it is placed into service. The facility — the first new subway-car facility opened by the MTA since 1948 — is near the South Brooklyn Marine […]

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