North American Rail Shippers meeting set for April 30-May 2 in Chicago

North American Rail Shippers logo

CHICAGO — BNSF Railway CEO Katie Farmer and Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena are among those scheduled to speak at the annual meeting of the North American Rail Shippers, set for April 30-May 2 in Chicago. The meeting will be held at the Sheraton Grand Chicago Riverwalk hotel, 301 E. North Water Street, and is […]

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News & Products for the week of February 19th 2024

A model bomb shelter underneath a model railroad layout

News & Products for the week of February 19th 2024   Model railroad operators and builders can get the latest information about locomotives, freight cars, passenger cars, tools, track, and more by reading Model Railroader’s frequent product updates. The following are the products Model Railroader editors have news on for the week of February 19th […]

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JB Hunt elects former KCS President and CEO Patrick Ottensmeyer as new board member

Kansas City Southern CEO Patrick J. Ottensmeyer

LOWELL, Ark. — J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. announced the addition of Patrick Ottensmeyer to its board of directors. Effective Jan. 12, 2024, the former Kansas City Southern CEO will serve on the board’s Compensation Committee and Nominating and Governance Committee, according to a recent news release. Beginning in 2006, Ottensmeyer held multiple leadership roles […]

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The Atlas O Multi-Max autorack

Atlas O Multi-Max autorack in Kansas City Southern paint

The Atlas O Master Gunderson Multi-Max Auto Carrier is out after an almost two-year wait. The company announced the newly tooled cars in its Summer 2021 catalog. For modern operator-collectors with the real estate on their layout, having an autorack train is a virtual must. Before the announcement of these the only scale option was […]

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Overhaul of Canadian Pacific 4-6-4 No. 2816 nearing completion, CPKC says

Steam locomotive with short train on prairie

CALGARY, Alberta — CPKC is stoking interest in the revival of Canadian Pacific 4-6-4 Hudson No. 2816, which will set out on a tour this summer to celebrate the CP-Kansas City Southern merger. In social media posts, the railroad this week teased the progress made on the locomotive’s overhaul in preparation for its first outing […]

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You can sum up Union Pacific’s appeal of CPKC merger decision in one word: Laredo — Analysis

KCS3947Laredo

Union Pacific’s decision to challenge the Surface Transportation Board’s approval of the Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger is likely a last-ditch attempt to protect its cross-border traffic from upstart CPKC. Last week UP asked a federal court to review the STB’s March 15 decision that allowed the CP-KCS merger to proceed on April 14 without […]

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Union Pacific challenges STB’s Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger decision

WASHINGTON – Union Pacific has asked a federal court to overturn the Surface Transportation Board’s approval of the Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger. In a petition for review filed on Wednesday with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, UP said the STB’s March 15 decision exceeded the board’s authority and […]

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CPKC unveils new logo on first day as a merged system

Canadian Pacific Kansas City, the first railroad to link Canada, the U.S., and Mexico, made its debut today and unveiled its new logo and website. Officials from Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern will celebrate the historic merger at a final spike ceremony scheduled for 10 a.m. today at Knoche Yard in Kansas City, Mo., […]

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Labor leaders welcome FRA’s train makeup safety advisory, while railroads emphasize their train-building tools and techniques

Aerial view of derailed boxcars and auto rack

Rail labor leaders welcomed the safety advisory that the Federal Railroad Administration issued last week that encourages railroads to take steps to reduce the in-train forces that can cause long trains to derail. Railroads, meanwhile, said they were reviewing the advisory to make sure their operating practices are in line with the FRA’s recommendations. “For […]

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The Lionel F40PH

Lionel F40PH Panama Canal front end

The Lionel F40PH is a great model of a locomotive that has quietly become one of the true diesel success stories in railroad history. The F40PH saw construction in various phases by General Motors’ Electro-Motive Division between 1975-92. Its purpose was initially short-haul passenger service for Amtrak. This mission was quickly revised to add long-distance […]

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Kansas City Southern Shay locomotives

One of two Kansas City Southern Shay locomotives with a train

Kansas City Southern Shay locomotives were oddballs on a steam locomotive roster of non-conformity. Ephraim Shay came up with the design for the geared locomotive in the 1870s. The Lima Locomotive Works popularized the design and sold almost 2,770 copies.     Throughout the Leonor F. Loree administration, Kansas City Southern was a loyal Alco […]

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Kansas City Southern locomotives remembered

Red, yellow, and black streamlined diesel locomotive with passenger train

Kansas City Southern locomotives were full of surprises in both the steam and diesel fleets.     Steam locomotives saw a gradual evolution, from 2-8-0 to articulated 0-6-6-0s (an oddball in the industry for road service) and 2-8-8-0s and eventually the much-vaunted 2-10-4s of 1937. The 0-6-6-0s were the largest group of the type built […]

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