Fourteen cars of UP train derail at North Little Rock yard

Aerial view of derailed cars on wye

NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Fourteen cars of a Union Pacific train derailed and overturned this morning (Thursday, Aug. 1) in North Little Rock, KATV-TV reports. No injuries were reported in the incident that occurred about 7:45 a.m.; all of the cars involved were empty, a UP representative told the station. The incident occurred on […]

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U.S. grain shippers say Ferromex lacks capacity to handle traffic growth in Mexico

WASHINGTON — A number of U.S. agricultural shippers are raising concerns about inadequate capacity on Mexican railroad Ferromex, which they say has struggled to handle grain trains since late last year as cross-border rail traffic has grown. A coalition of agricultural groups yesterday asked Surface Transportation Board Chairman Robert Primus, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, and […]

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FreightCar America to begin tank car conversions

Logo of FreightCar America

CHICAGO — Manufacturer FreightCar America will enter the tank car conversion market, having entered into an agreement to upgrade more than 1,000 DOT-111 cars to DOT-117R cars over the next two years, the company announced today. The cars will receive new exterior valve jackets, thermal protection, full-height head shields, top fittings protection, and upgraded bottom-outlet […]

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Designing the LCCA Krispy Kreme Boxcar

model boxcar with Krispy Kreme graphics

Have you ever wondered how a new boxcar is designed? When the Lionel Collectors Club of America (LCCA) product development team worked with Lionel to create the assembled-in-the-USA Krispy Kreme boxcar, the team encountered a new level of required detail.   The team has always been sensitive to making sure brand logos met the companies’ design […]

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Weekly U.S. rail traffic remains up

Weekly table showing U.S. carload traffic by commodity type, plus overall intermodal volume

WASHINGTON — Weekly U.S. rail volume showed a solid increase for the seven days ending July 27, with overall traffic up 5.3% over the same period a year earlier. Statistics from the Association of American Railroads show railroads moved 508,496 carloads and intermodal units for the week. That includes 228,845 carloads, down 0.5% from the […]

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B&O 2-8-0 on a short line

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The Castleman River Railroad ran 13 miles from Bittinger, Md., to a connection with the Baltimore & Ohio at Worth, Pa. The road’s lone engine, a Consolidation leased from the B&O, rests at Grantsville, Md., while men unload a boxcar in September 1955. Philip R. Hastings photo […]

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Dirty kitty

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Covered in coal dust, Chessie System GP40-2 No. 4156 and a mate in Baltimore & Ohio blue lead a coal train onto the Old Main Line at Point of Rocks, Md., in 1983. Michael S. Murray photo […]

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Southwest Chief again disrupted by freight derailment (updated)

Amtrak logo.

Amtrak’s Southwest Chief is once again facing cancellations on the central portion of its route because of a freight train derailment, according to the Amtrak Alerts feed on X.com. The westbound train that departed Chicago today will be canceled between Kansas City and Albuquerque, with no alternate transportation provided, while the eastbound train that left […]

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Merger-related traffic growth boosts CPKC’s revenue and profits

Freshly painted red and black diesels with gold trim and white letters

CALGARY, Alberta — Canadian Pacific Kansas City had a gangbuster second quarter as merger-related traffic synergies kicked in faster than expected and boosted revenue and profits, executives said on Tuesday. Although freight demand remains soft, CPKC has been able to create its own opportunities thanks to last year’s combination of Canadian Pacific and Kansas City […]

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