LONDON — The British election last week resulted in a landslide win for the previous opposition Labour Party, which won 411 seats, with the former Conservative government reduced to 121 seats in the 650-seat House of Commons. The new government has pledged to make some big changes to Britain’s railways, although in some ways the […]
A fleet of GE-built former Union Pacific and Conrail locomotives exported to Estonia two decades ago are now mostly out of service, with many cut up for scrap earlier this year. A handful remain in service, and some, heavily rebuilt, remain in use in Estonia and have been exported to nearby Finland for use there. […]
Planning your travel for this summer? Be sure to include some model trains in those plans! These five train layouts throughout the country (and world) are all worth a visit this summer. Colorado Model Railroad Museum Featuring more than 500 HO scale locomotives, 80 scale miles of track, and tens of thousands of handmade trees, […]
FAIDO, Switzerland — Work in the Gotthard Base Tunnel to repair damage from an August 2023 derailment is complete, SBB, the Swiss Federal Railways, announced Thursday. Plans are to resume full operations through the tunnel on Monday, Sept. 2. The reopening will restore service in less than 2 hours between Zurich and Lugano, and end […]
In early 2024, the United Kingdom’s Warley Model Railroad Club announced they were discontinuing the renowned Warley National Model Railway Exhibition. As the club pivots in a new direction, there’s another organization looking to fill the void left behind with the cancellation of the national event. The need for a national event On Feb. 16, […]
LONDON — A British company has announced plan to convert a 1980s diesel locomotive to a prototype of a zero-emission steam powered unit. Rail equipment leasing firm Eversholt Rail Group said earlier this month it would convert a British Rail Class 60 locomotive, a C-C unit built by Brush Traction, in a partnership with Steamology, […]
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: “Model railroading is dying.” An adage seemingly as old as the hobby itself, right? That alone belies the truth of the statement. If it held any veracity, model railroading would be long dead, and I wouldn’t be writing this article, and you wouldn’t be reading it. It’s […]
FAIDO, Switzerland — Repairs to the Gotthard Base Tunnel remain on pace for a full reopening in September, according to a project update on the Swiss Federal Railways website. The lane-change gate at the Faido multifunction point — which seals off the two bores of the tunnel at a crossover, to prevent the spread of […]
LEEDS, England — Marking the 200th anniversary of the original Liverpool and Manchester Railway Co., the first intercity passenger rail line in the world, the Liverpool City Region and Greater Manchester announced the all-new Liverpool-Manchester Railway Board on May 22, 2024. This new venture also brings forth plans for an improved high speed rail line […]
ROHTAK, India — Wabtec Corp. on Monday opened a new manufacturing facility in India, which initially will produce components and subsystems for rail transit and will expand to include other Wabtec products in the future. The 10,000-square-meter (32,800-square-foot) facility will produce axle-mounted disc brake systems, distributor valuves, brake calipers, and actuators, as well as material […]
KARRATHA, Western Australia — Rio Tinto has fully reopened its mining railroad in Western Australia’s Pilbara region after the collision last week involving two autonomous trains, with the Australian Financial Review reporting the mining company has suspended a procedure known as “on-site override” while investigation into the incident continues. One line of the two-track main […]
Paris-based rail engineering firm Alstom has announced its results for the 2023 financial year, with EBIT (earnings before interest and tax) profits of €997 million ($1.08 billion), and a future order book worth €18.9 billion ($ 20.4 billion). However, despite the apparently positive numbers. the company also reported that overall it had a net loss […]
