Built by Others is an article series showcasing layouts constructed by modelers using plans and projects from the pages of Model Railroader and its related products. Malcolm Furlow’s HOn3 San Juan Central layout first appeared in a multi-part series in the pages of Model Railroader between 1983 and 1984. Adam Palmer’s San Juan Central V2 […]
Type of Train: Freight
STB to take closer look at NS bid to control Norfolk & Portsmouth Belt Line
WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board will take a closer look at Norfolk Southern’s proposal to officially control Virginia terminal railroad Norfolk & Portsmouth Belt Line. CSX had asked the board to review competition issues involving NS and NPBL. CSX and NS have been locked in a legal dispute over the NPBL for six years. […]
Two hurt as CSX trains collide in Baltimore yard
FOX45 drone is over a train derailment in South Baltimore near Frankfurst Ave and Shell Road right now. MDOT and MTA confirm it is not impacting MARC services. We’re waiting for more info from CSX. More: https://t.co/FCtNt7Ix6Z@FOXBaltimore pic.twitter.com/qPJlDlWAXt — Ashley Cusicanqui FOX45 (@ashleycusitv) March 14, 2025 BALTIMORE — Two crew members were taken to hospitals […]
With Baltimore tunnel project under way, CSX detours 16-plus trains per day
BALTIMORE — Just hours after empty coal train E730 rolled through the Howard Street Tunnel at 3:35 a.m. Feb. 1, a small army of contractors and CSX workers arrived to begin removing the 1.7-mile tunnel’s single track. The 100-car coal train was the last through the 1895 Baltimore & Ohio tunnel, which will be shut […]
Action on the Front Range
GP30s stand in the foreground as F9s lead the westbound Rio Grande Zephyr up the Front Range toward the Moffat tunnel in the 1970s. Classic Trains coll. […]
North American trade disputes create opportunities for CPKC, Creel says
NEW YORK — Canadian Pacific Kansas City CEO Keith Creel looks at the uncertainty currently swirling around North American trade and sees an opportunity. CPKC has a lot riding on the outcome of tariff spats involving the U.S., Canada, and Mexico: The 2023 merger of Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern was a $30 billion […]
Columbia Basin Railroad donates line to Moses Lake project
MOSES LAKE, Wash. — The Columbia Basin Railroad has donated about 3 miles of rail line to the Port of Moses Lake, aiding the port’s effort to expand its rail network as part of the North Columbia Basin Railroad Project. The project seeks to rebuild or rehabilitate approximately 8 miles of rail line, restoring rail […]
U.S. weekly rail volume remains up
WASHINGTON — U.S. weekly rail traffic remained above 2024 levels for the week ending March 8, 2025, the Association of American Railroads reports. According to AAR information, traffic for the week was 497,412 carloads and intermodal units, a 5.4% gain over the same week a year ago. The overall figure included 219,457 carloads, up 2.6%, […]
Patriot Rail to build transload facility on CPKC in Texas
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Short line and regional rail company Patriot Rail Co. is set to expand its transload services in Texas. In partnership with Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Patriot Rail will establish a new multicommodity transload facility on CPKC’s network in Denton, Texas. The move aims to enhance transload services and logistics solutions for customers […]
OmniTRAX acquires California short line under new joint venture
SANTA MARIA, Calif. – OmniTRAX has entered into a joint venture for the Santa Maria Valley Railroad, which becomes the short line holding company’s 29th rail operation. Located between Los Angeles and San Francisco, the SMV provides Central Coast Valley commercial and agricultural customers a connection to Union Pacific. The acquisition is a joint venture […]
NS says route through Asheville, N.C. will reopen this month
NEWPORT, Tenn. — Norfolk Southern is set to begin replacing a collapsed bridge today (March 12) on its line between Newport and Asheville, N.C., and should reopen the route closed by Hurricane Helene by the end of the month. New spans for the bridge across the Pigeon River in Newport will be placed today, Blue […]
Unloading on a car float
A worker unloads produce from refrigerator cars on a Pennsylvania Railroad car float in New York harbor in 1939. This car float has two tracks flanking a central covered platform that enabled cars to be unloaded while still on the float. Arthur Rothstein, Library of Congress photo […]
