GATINEAU, Quebec — A hi-rail vehicle parked outside the area specified in its track occupancy permit — reflecting miscommunication between the vehicle’s driver and the rail traffic controller, as well as the driver’s inexperience in requesting such permits — led to a Canadian National train striking the vehicle in a Nov. 28, 2020, accident near […]
WASHINGTON — The independent body that oversees DC Metrorail safety issues has indicated reservations about the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s plan to restore automated operation of Metrorail trains, which was disengaged following a fatal collision in 2009. The Washington Post reports the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission says it will work with WMATA on the […]
My first railroad book has stuck with me ever since my parents gave it to me when I was 9. Lucius Beebe’s “Hear the Train Blow” was a massive scrapbook of American railroad history, full of the author’s outrageous prose and uncanny skill at digging up illustration. I still love looking through it 62 years […]
Missouri Pacific 4-6-2 6621 and St. Louis-Southwestern 4-6-0 663 await their next assignments at the Memphis Union Station engine house in October 1950. James G. La Vake photo […]
WASHINGTON — Union Pacific’s increasing reliance on embargoes to clear congestion came under fire on Tuesday from shippers, labor unions, and members of the Surface Transportation Board during a daylong hearing. Regulators last month ordered UP to explain why it has significantly increased its use of embargoes. With UP running short of train crews, the […]
MINOT, N.D. — With winter storm warnings in effect across the northern plains from a windy, frigid blast that has already barreled through the Sierra Nevada and Colorado mountains, there is always the possibility that service on Amtrak’s long-distance network will be disrupted. As was the case during a blizzard last month [“Westbound Empire Builder […]
Food Machinery Corporation 50-foot plug door boxcar in N scale from Athearn Scale: N (1:160) Price: $29.99. Add $5 for Primed for Grime. Era: 1977+ (varies depending on paint scheme) Manufacturer: Athearn Trains, 2904 Research Rd., Champaign, IL 61822; 800-338-4639; athearn.com Food Machinery Corporation 50-foot boxcar features: Injection-molded body Scale profile brake wheel Roller bearing, screw-mounted […]
HO scale Autoflood III coal hopper from Rapido Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: Single car, $59.95; six-pack, $359.70 Era: 2004+ (varies depending on paint scheme) Manufacturer: Rapido Trains Inc., 500 Alden Road, Unit 21, Markham, Ontario L3R 5H5 Canada; 905-474-3314; rapidotrains.com Autoflood III coal hopper features: Die-cast frame and floor Full interior rivet and K-member details Detailed […]
Model steam locomotive troubles and how to fix them: Compiled by John Page, Editor of the Model Railroader, in 1952. Many of the tips here address problems with open-frame motors and direct-current operation. However, many of the same gear and wheel-quartering issue still apply to locomotive models in any scale and manufacture. Model steam locomotive […]
The Lionel American Flyer EP-5 is the latest version of a locomotive with a lot of history in S gauge. The General Electric prototype gained fame in service with the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad. A.C. Gilbert first produced its model numbered 449 in 1956-57 with one motor and a horn. In 1958 […]
Arriving in hobby shops now is the Athearn HO scale General Electric Dash 9-44CW diesel locomotive. The newly tooled model features a variety of railroad-specific details. Road names offered on the first run of the six-axle road locomotive are Canadian National (red, white, and black with “wet noodle” herald); Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe (warbonnet); […]
BESSEMER, Ala. — A Norfolk Southern conductor trainee was killed early this morning (Tuesday, Dec. 13) in what is being described as a freak accident, Al.com reports. Bessemer police report they were called to the accident scene about 1 a.m. The trainee and conductor were on a train when it passed another NS train. One […]
