KIRKWOOD, Mo. — Well-wishers who turned out Monday morning to welcome the restored second daily Missouri River Runner at the venerable Kirkwood train station, and other stops from St. Louis to Kansas City, Mo., included travelers riding train No. 311 west for the first time since it last operated on Jan. 3, 2022, when state […]
LAKE GENEVA, Wis. — Some of the more detailed metrics the Surface Transportation Board has begun collecting as it tracks the rail industry’s service issues could become part of the STB’s regular regulatory oversight, board member Patrick Fuchs said Tuesday. “I do think that some of the service numbers that we have collected are extraordinarily […]
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The first Caltrain electric trainset has seen action on the San Francisco-San Jose corridor, although at a significantly slower pace than will eventually be the standard. The commuter rail operator reports the trainset was pulled by a diesel at 5 mph between the Santa Clara and Tamien (San Jose) stations, a […]
TAMPA, Fla. — City of Tampa officials have voted to spend $1.5 million to refurbish Tampa Union Station, a 1912 structure which remains in use for Amtrak service. WTSP-TV reports the funds will go for updating restrooms, repairing windows and doors, and replacing the intricate façade. Once those repairs are complete, the city plans to […]
BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority is slated to have submitted plans by today to address safety directives issued by the Federal Transit Administration, Streetsblog Mass reports. Corrective action plans were required to respond to the four directives issued by the FTA in June [see “Federal directives order MBTA to address safety issues,” Trains […]
WASHINGTON — Pressure to reduce terminal dwell figures has prompted some Union Pacific yards to routinely depart trains that include misrouted cars simply to get them moving, a UP engineer alleges in a letter sent to federal regulators. Michael Lindsey, a veteran engineer based in Pocatello, Idaho, used a train he ran to Nampa, Idaho, […]
60-foot Pullman-Standard flatcar Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: $34.98 Era: mid-1960s to present Manufacturer: Wm. K. Walthers Inc., 5601 W. Florist Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53218, 414-527-0770, walthers.com 60-foot Pullman-Standard flatcar features: Decks match different prototype configurations Board pattern with wood grain and bolt details Brake wheel cutout as appropriate 70-ton roller bearing trucks 33” turned-metal wheelsets […]
National Steel Car 73-foot center-beam bulkhead flatcars Scales: HO (1:87.1) and N (1:160) Price: HO scale – single car, $59.95; six-pack, $359.70. N scale – single car, $44.95; six-pack, $269.70 Era: 1987 to present Manufacturer: Rapido Trains Inc., 500 Alden Road, Unit 21, Markham, Ontario L3R 5H5 Canada, 905-474-3314, rapidotrains.com NSC HO scale 73-foot center-beam bulkhead […]
WASHINGTON – Union Pacific has been delivering unit grain trains as scheduled to a major California poultry and feed producer since federal regulators issued an emergency service order last month. But Fowler Farms, the largest chicken producer in the West, is seeking a 90-day extension of the emergency service order, which expired on July 17. […]
Fruit Growers Express 50-foot insulated boxcars Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: In line with current ready-to-run freight car prices Era: March 1967 to 1990s (varies depending on paint scheme) Manufacturer: Moloco, 302-5025 Harvard Rd., Mississauga, ON, L5W 0W6 Canada, molocotrains.com Fruit Growers Express 50-foot insulated boxcars features: Differing lettering placements for individual car numbers for repainted […]
LAKE GENEVA, Wis. — It just may be that CSX Transportation CEO Jim Foote is a bit weary of hearing about the evils of Precision Scheduled Railroading. In his customary blunt style, Foote gave that impression Tuesday when speaking to the Midwest Association of Rail Shippers about ongoing service issues for his railroad and the […]
Pullman-Standard PS-2 2,893-cubic-foot capacity three-bay covered hopper Scale: N (1:160) Price: $34.99 Era: Mid-1950s through late 1980s+ (varies depending on paint scheme) Manufacturer: Athearn Trains, 2904 Research Rd., Champaign, IL 61822, 800-338-4639, athearn.com Pullman-Standard PS-2 2,893-cubic-foot capacity three-bay covered hopper features: Body-mounted McHenry scale couplers Machined metal wheels with RP-25 contours Minimum radius: 11” Separate, factory-applied round roof hatches, […]
