Common name: Trost’s Dwarf cutleaf birch, Dwarf European birch Latin name: Betula pendula ‘Trost’s Dwarf’, synonym: Betula platyphylla Plant type: Shrubs & small trees Plant size: 3-4′ high by 3′ wide before pruning USDA Hardiness Zones: 3-9 (10, given moisture) Cultural needs: Sun; moist, drained, slightly acidic One day a horticulturist noticed a finely divided […]
Shay No. 7 and the log operating train Name: Ray Wheeler Railroad Name: Jericho & Mt Zion Railway Location: Lynnwood, WA Scale: G scale Theme: Tourist railroad with freight operations in the modern era. Title: The E.V. Wheeler Timber Company Description: “The E.V. Wheeler Timber Company” – EVWT Shay #7 and log train operating on […]
Q: I would like to add a speaker to a decoder in my Atlas locomotive. But I plan to run it on a DC analog system. Can I still put the speaker on or can I not? – Zachary Chevalier A: There are such things as motor-only and function-only DCC decoders, so to know if yours […]
OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific’s second quarter profits and revenue rose despite service problems that prompted the railroad to meter traffic, a move that helped keep the network fluid but came at the expense of lost volume. “We understood that the actions we took to improve fluidity would impact our financial performance,” CEO Lance Fritz […]
ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern is increasing conductor trainee pay to $25 per hour, with a minimum of $200 in earnings per shift, the railroad has announced. Trainees will also be eligible for an on-the-job training incentive of $300 per biweekly pay period, provided they make themselves available to work. “We are committed to ensuring our […]
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Union Pacific has released details of its excursion later this month with Big Boy No. 4014. In a message to members of its Steam Club, the Railroad says the 4-8-8-4 will depart Cheyenne for Denver on Thursday, July 28, at 10 a.m., with an intermediate stop in Greeley, Colo. The locomotive will […]
Operator CIMC 40-foot tarp top containers Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: Single container, $10.49 Era: Late 1990s to present Manufacturer: ScaleTrains, 7598 Highway 411, Benton, TN 37307; 844-987-2467; scaletrains.com Operator CIMC 40-foot tarp top containers features: Simulated canvas tarp top 40-foot standard-height (8’-6” tall) container Eight squared vertical nose corrugations 42 angled side wall corrugations Cored-through […]
SOMERVILLE, Mass. — An MBTA Orange Line rapid-transit train caught fire on a bridge Thursday morning, reportedly leading passengers to kick out windows to escape and one person to jump into the river below. WCVB-TV reports the incident happened prior to 7 a.m. on a bridge over the Mystic River in Somerville. Images show fire […]
PORT CLINTON, Pa. — The Reading & Northern has announced plans to run a steam doubleheader — with 4-8-4 No. 2102 and 4-6-2 No. 425 — on its sold-out Iron Horse Rambles excursion Aug. 13. In a Facebook post, the railroad says this will be its first steam doubleheader since 1988. The doubleheader was made […]
KEYTESVILLE, Mo. — A second wrongful death suit has been filed over the June 27 derailment of Amtrak’s Southwest Chief, this one taking aim at the company whose truck was hit at a grade crossing, triggering the derailment. The Kansas City Star reports the family of Bihn Phan, 82, of Kansas City, has filed suit […]
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — CSX Transportation’s second-quarter earnings improved despite ongoing crew shortages that have snarled operations and forced the railroad to turn away traffic. At the current pace of hiring and training new conductors, CSX expects to hit the magic number of 7,000 active train and engine crews by the end of September, which will […]
WESTPORT, N.Y. — The New York-Montreal Adirondack is now the only Amtrak service that has not resumed operation following the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, and Amtrak and the state of New York will not predict when it might return. The delay — which contrasts with Vermont’s preparations to extend the Ethan […]
