Western Maryland Scenic announces plans for RailFest 2025

Big plume above black steam engine coming around a bend

CUMBERLAND, Md. — The Western Maryland Scenic Railroad has announced plans for the 2025 edition of RailFest, its event celebrating heritage railroading, community, and mountain adventure. RailFest 2025: A Return to the Rails, is set for Sept. 12-14. Planned events include: — A “Sunset on the Mountains” train departing Friday, Sept. 12, at 7 p.m. […]

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2025 NMRA Convention: Five takeaways as a first-time attendee

NMRA logos

The 2025 National Model Railroad Association convention recently wrapped up with encouraging attendance numbers. A July 19 post from the NMRA social media pages highlighted the success: 950 registered attendees were on hand for this year’s showing in Novi, Mich., a significant jump from 620 in Long Beach, Calif., for 2024. Notably, 266 first-time attendees, […]

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UP-NS merger puts intermodal giants on the wrong side of the map

Intermodal train entering yard with skyscrapers in distance

The proposed Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger leaves three major intermodal customers — J.B. Hunt, Schneider, and STG Logistics — in the awkward position of having their tents pitched in the wrong railroad camps. J.B. Hunt, the largest domestic truckload intermodal operator, uses BNSF Railway in the West and relies primarily on Norfolk Southern in the […]

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OmniTRAX named operator of Long Island transload center

YAPHANK, N.Y. — OmniTRAX has been named the rail operator of Brookhaven Rail Terminal on Long Island, N.Y. The terminal, recently rebranded as Long Island Reload, serves commodities, aggregates, and building materials industry customers including The Home Depot, Heidelberg, and LBM Riverhead. “Long Island plays a critical role in northeast supply chains, and we are […]

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BNSF officially opens Salt Lake City intermodal terminal

SALT LAKE CITY — BNSF Railway, Patriot Rail, and the Utah Inland Port Authority held a grand opening ceremony on Thursday for the Class I railroad’s new intermodal facility in Salt Lake City. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, legislative leaders, and public-private partners gathered to celebrate the milestone with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. “This new facility is […]

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Classic Toy Trains new products for August 2025

blue and white model diesel locomotive

Locomotives & rolling stock Legacy Station, 4153 Lawrenceville Highway, Ste. 12, Lilburn, GA 30047, has a custom-run MTH Extended Vision Caboose as part of the RailKing line (30-77414). It features holiday graphics and O-27 operation. Expected delivery in October 2025. Price: $89.95. Website: legacystation.com   MTH Electric Trains, 7393 Washington Blvd. Ste. 101, Elkridge, MD […]

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Menards HO scale Grandma’s House

Color photo of HO scale house with blue siding and gray roof on scenicked base with a tree in the front yard, shrubs, a motorcycle, and figures.

Price: $49.99 Manufacturer Menards 5106 Menard Dr. Eau Claire, WI 54703 menards.com/trains Era: 1930s to present Comments: Kids on the porch swing, a dog in the front yard, and a neatly manicured yard. Those are just some of the highlights of Grandma’s House, a new HO scale structure from Menards. The two-story house has laser-cut […]

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Report: CSX talks with investment bank about merger options

CSX locomotives with Family Lines paint scheme

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — CSX has declined to comment on a Bloomberg report that it has engaged Goldman Sachs to advise it about potential merger options. Today’s news comes in the wake of this week’s announcement that Union Pacific will acquire Norfolk Southern in an $85 billion deal that would create the first transcontinental railroad. Industry […]

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Influential shipper group: No rail mergers without better service, pricing, and competition

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Industrial Transportation League said today that rail shippers will not support a transcontinental railroad merger unless it’s accompanied by improvements in service, pricing, and competition. “Despite the promises that rail customers would benefit from mergers through more efficient service, in reality captive rail customers must pay increasingly higher prices for […]

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Amtrak names Corneanu as chief financial officer

Man in blue suit

WASHINGTON — Costin Corneanu has been named as Amtrak’s executive vice president, chief financial officer, effective Aug. 4. The Amtrak board approved the appointment today (July 31, 2025). Corneanu will succeed Tracie Winbigler, who will retire on Jan. 1, 2026. Until then, she will remain in her executive vice president role as chief transformation officer. […]

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