InterMountain HO Trinity 5161 covered hopper

Color photo of HO scale covered hopper painted light gray on white background.

The Trinity 5,161-cubic-foot capacity three-bay covered hopper is a new addition to the InterMountain Railway Co. product range. The HO scale model has an injection-molded plastic body, InterMountain metal wheelsets, and body-mounted Kadee couplers. Prototype history Since making its debut in 1995, the Trinity 5161 has become one of the most common three-bay covered hoppers […]

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South Dakota rail board approves $12.6 million loan for soybean plant’s rail project

Aerial view of industrial facility under construction

PIERRE, S.D. — The South Dakota Railroad Board will provide $12.6 million for upgrades to rail service at the state’s largest soybeen processing plant. The South Dakota Searchlight reports that the funds, in the form of a loan to the Davison Regional Rail Authority, will be used to build 6.2 miles of rail line, 22 […]

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Carload Considerations: What a new administration might mean for railroads in 2025

Union Pacific EMD SD70M No. 4271 approaches Echo Canyon near Echo, Utah, in the last of the evening light. What will a new administration mean for carload freight? Chase Gunnoe

WASHINGTON — Railroads are winding down the final weeks of 2024 with support from strong international intermodal volumes, a healthy grain harvest, and modest GDP growth at 4% year over year. Economically, inflation is still a problem, as groceries cost more than they did four years ago. Unemployment hangs around 4% and fuel prices are […]

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Incorrectly lined switch led to collision of UP trains at yard in Texas, NTSB determines

Aerial view of site of Union Pacific train collision

WASHINGTON — An incorrectly lined switch — the result of an error by a crew member of a train not involved in the incident — led to a collision between two trains at Union Pacific’s yard in Chico, Texas, on April 16, 2023, the National Transportation Safety Board said in an investigation report released today […]

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Built by Others: Dustin Whitten’s Norfolk & Western South Branch

A model railroad layout with lush green sceneery and an industrial line in the center of the image running from top left to bottom right

Built by Others is an article series showcasing layouts constructed by modelers using plans and projects from the pages of Model Railroader and its associated products. The Virginian project layout first appeared in the pages of Model Railroader in January of 2012. Dustin Whitten’s Norfolk & Western South Branch layout took inspiration from this project […]

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RailTrends notebook: Locomotive news, farmers vs. railroads, steam supremacy, and gunbattles

NEW YORK – Here are notes, quotes, and quips from the annual RailTrends conference, held Nov. 14-15. CPKC plans to build more hydrogen fuel cell locomotives Canadian Pacific Kansas City CEO Keith Creel says the railway’s handful of hydrogen fuel cell locomotives are proving themselves in revenue service every day. There are a lot more […]

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Rail labor seeks regulations to protect workers from technological advancements

A train passes through a tall, gray, open-ended shed

WASHINGTON — The Transportation Trades Department of the AFL-CIO, the umbrella group that includes all railroad labor unions, today urged Congress and federal regulators to protect workers whose jobs are affected by the rollout of automated and autonomous railroad technology. In a broadside against technological advances — including automated track and train inspection systems, automated […]

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Infrastructure fund acquires MobilGrain short lines in Saskatchewan

REGINA, Saskatchewan — Grain and pulse crop processor AGT Food & Ingredients has sold its MobilGrain short lines and its rail and port terminal operations to an infrastructure fund. The sale to GCM Grosvenor, announced Wednesday (Nov. 20), includes MobilGrain’s two Saskatechewan short lines, Last Mountain Rail and Big Sky Rail, both of which connect […]

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Boilermakers union ratifies deal with BNSF

Logo of International Brotherhood of Boilermakers

FORT WORTH, Texas — Members of the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers have ratified a new five-year contract with BNSF Railway, the union and railroad have announced. The agreement includes average wage increases of 3.5% as well as improvements to health care and vacation time. It was one of two tentative deals announced by BNSF in […]

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Cando Rail acquires terminal in Northwest Territories

Aerial view of small rail yard

WINNIPEG, Manitoba — Cando Rail & Terminals has acquired the rail terminal operations of AWP Industries, a storage and transload facility in Enterprise, Northwest Territories, the northernmost point on the North American rail network. Cando says the facility is recently built and describes it as a “critical gateway” for the transport of bulk products to […]

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Weekly U.S. rail traffic still ahead of 2023 levels

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

WASHINGTON — A drop in carload traffic was more than offset by strong intermodal numbers, allowing U.S. rail traffic to remain above 2023 volume for the week ending Nov. 16. According to statistics from the Association of American Railroads, total traffic for the week was 516,886 carloads and intermodal units, a 3.2% gain from the […]

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