Trains.com Insider Exclusive | Third & Townsend Models President Jay Escamilla

Trains.com sits down with Third & Townsend Models President Jay Escamilla on October 15, 2025, to discuss the recent amalgamation of Sunset Models, 3rd Rail, and Golden Gate Depot brands, and what it means for modelers. Jay details the companies’ commitment to producing the most prototypically accurate O (1:48) and HO (1:87.1) scale models in […]

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UP derailment in Missouri leads to Amtrak cancellations

Union Pacific logo without slogan. UP Bailey Yard explosion appear to be accidental.

KNOB NOSTER, Mo. — About 20 cars of a Union Pacific train derailed early today (Friday, Oct. 17) west of the town of Knob Noster, closing a major highway and leading to the cancellation of Amtrak’s Missouri River Runner. KMMO Radio reports the derailment occurred about 2 a.m. and led to a closure of a […]

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Chicago & North Western 400 passenger trains

Black-and-white photo of streamlined passenger train departing a large city

Like its Midwest rivals, the Chicago & North Western Railway jumped on the idea of brand-named passenger trains. However, it took a different route with the name in the form of a three-digit number: 400. The name [or number] stuck as the railroad rolled out a prominent fleet of Chicago & North Western 400 passenger […]

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Illinois touts funding for passenger rail projects but obstacles remain: Analysis

Commuter train on steel bridge over river

CHICAGO — Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker disclosed earlier this month that his administration seeks to commit almost $1 billion of planned 2026-2031 infrastructure spending to several languishing passenger rail initiatives in the state, but translating proposals into tangible results continues to be a challenge. Hanging over all new construction endeavors is the need for Illinois […]

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MBTA head Eng named interim Massachusetts transportation secretary

BOSTON — Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority General Manager and CEO Phillip Eng has been named as interim transportation secretary for the state of Massachusetts, Gov. Maura Healey announced today (Oct. 16, 2025). He will also continue in his MBTA role. Eng will fill the vacancy created by the decision of Monica Tibbits-Nutt to step down […]

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NJ Transit proposes developing unused land to raise $1.9 billion

Large number of passengers wait on platform for arriving train

NEWARK, N.J. — NJ Transit could raise up to $1.9 billion for its operations over the next 30 years through development of more than 8,000 acres of unused agency-owned real estate, the transit operator says in a plan released on Wednesday. The proposal dubbed the “LAND Plan: Leveraging Assets for Non-Farebox Dollars” would also address […]

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Communities to provide $650,000 in funding for Chicago-Pittsburgh passenger proposal

Map of rail line between Chicago and Pittsburgh via Columbus, Ohio

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Communities represented by two regional commissions, along with the city of Ft. Wayne, Ind., have committed some $650,000 in funding for a proposed Amtrak service linking Chicago and Pittsburgh via Ft. Wayne and Columbus. The Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission announced the funding, also including backing from the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, on Oct. […]

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Trump suggests Gateway Tunnel project is ‘terminated’ (updated)

Large group of people with oversized check for $6.88 billion

WASHINGTON —New York’s Gateway Tunnel project may be halted, based on a brief comment in a lengthy news conference by President Donald Trump on Wednesday, Oct. 15. While not identifying by name the project to add two tracks under the Hudson River between New Jersey and New York’s Penn Station, Trump suggested it was the […]

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New York begins environmental review process for Interborough Express

Illustration of blue light rail vehicles on double-track line

NEW YORK — The environmental review process has begun for Interborough Express, New York City’s first light rail service, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced on Wednesday (Oct. 15, 2025). The start of the process will include three public meetings to explain the scope of the project and the review process. The first is set for […]

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Agreement seeks to develop transportation hub, passenger rail service at Michigan Central station

Map of Michigan Central campus

DETROIT — Michigan Central Station, the long-abandoned rail facility revived last year by Ford Motor Co. as the centerpiece of an innovation district, could see trains again under an agreement announced today (Oct. 15, 2025). The Michigan Department of Transportation, the city of Detroit, and Michigan Central, the company overseeing the innovation district, have agreed […]

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Athearn Genesis HO EMD FP45

In this product review video, Model Railroader Senior Editor Cody Grivno examines the Athearn Genesis HO scale (1:87.1) EMD FP45 diesel locomotive. Cody starts with the prototype history of the FP45, which was produced by the Electro-Motive Division from 1967 through 1968, resulting in 14 units built for the Santa Fe and Milwaukee Road. The […]

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Athearn Genesis HO EMD FP45 diesel locomotive

In this product review video, Model Railroader Senior Editor Cody Grivno examines the Athearn Genesis HO scale (1:87.1) EMD FP45 diesel locomotive. Cody starts with the prototype history of the FP45, which was produced by the Electro-Motive Division from 1967 through 1968, resulting in 14 units built for the Santa Fe and Milwaukee Road. The […]

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