STB takes up case regarding BNSF access to new Utah short line

WASHINGTON— Federal regulators will determine whether BNSF Railway can use its trackage rights over Union Pacific to reach a new short line railroad in Utah. The Surface Transportation Board yesterday rejected Union Pacific’s request to dismiss the case regarding the Savage Tooele Railroad. Savage held a groundbreaking ceremony in November for the railroad [see “Groundbreaking […]

Read More…

Treacherous tracks

20200407

A Denver & Salt Lake passenger train pauses at Arrow, Colo., on the original Rollins Pass line in 1905. At left is the main line west to Middle Park, which has a 4-percent grade. Today, Union Pacific freights and Amtrak’s California Zephyr bypass this treacherous trackage with Moffat Tunnel, completed in 1928. L. C. McClure photo […]

Read More…

Timeless Tennessee Pass

20200428

Running behind three Rio Grande GP40s and a GP30, this eastbound was working up the west side of Tennessee Pass near Red Cliff, Colo., on April 30, 1967. Out of sight are two F7 helpers on the rear. In the late 20th century Tennessee Pass had eight or more heavy trains climbing its 13 miles […]

Read More…

Posner, Iowa Interstate honored at short line conference

Three people outside private car

DENVER — The Hall of Fame induction of Iowa Interstate Railroad Chairman Henry Posner III highlighted the railroad’s week at the recent American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association conference in Denver, which also saw Iowa Interstate recognized with two major awards. Posner was inducted into the Short Line Railroad Industry Hall of Fame, along […]

Read More…

Loads for a fertilizer blend plant

Color photo showing portion of three-bay covered hopper painted light orange.

Q: I have a question about one of the articles in your special issue Best of Industries. On page 16, Rich Cobb wrote about a fertilizer blend plant. Can you tell me what kind of loads a plant like this would receive? — Markus Russ A: We released that special-interest publication in 2021, so I […]

Read More…

In Grande style

20200401

The Denver & Rio Grande Western, symbol of so much of Colorado railroading, had nowhere else to go for traffic. After laying tracks in search of gold and silver, it was coal that made the road. A westbound freight appropriately heads up Coal Creek Canyon west of Denver on the Front Range in 1972. Ron […]

Read More…

Union Pacific CEO ‘very comfortable’ working through tariffs

Man in suit gesturing while speaking on stage

DENVER — Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena says his company will work through tariff shocks gripping the economy the same way it worked through the pandemic. “I can’t control what governments do,” Vena said Monday (April 7) as keynote speaker at the annual conference of the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association. “It’s noisy, […]

Read More…

The N scale Missouri-Kansas-Texas RR St. Louis Subdivision layout

Facts and features Name: Missouri-Kansas-Texas RR St. Louis SubdivisionScale: N (1:160)Size: 15 x 25 feet with 19 foot extensionPrototype: Missouri-Kansas-Texas RRLocale: central MissouriEra: 1984Style: walk-inMainline run: 135 feetMinimum radius: 24″Minimum turnout: No. 6Maximum grade: 3% on Columbia BranchBenchwork: L-girder with 1 x 4 box modules on perimeterHeight: 53″ to 60″Roadbed: AMI Instant Roadbed on main […]

Read More…