CN contract proposal would have required Amtrak to pay $1.4 million for delaying freight trains in 2024

Passenger train passes station

WASHINGTON — Amtrak would have owed Canadian National $1.4 million for delays its passenger trains caused to CN freights last year under the CN’s proposal for a new operating agreement, according to a document filed with the Surface Transportation Board on Tuesday (July 22, 2025). The CN filing and one from Amtrak are in response […]

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Atlas Summer 2025 HO and N catalog

Color photo showing cover of product catalog

The Atlas Summer 2025 HO and N catalog was recently posted on the manufacturer’s website. The 60-page PDF includes new models and signals in both scales, as well several items in new paint schemes and road numbers. All of the offerings are scheduled for release in the third quarter of 2026. N scale In N […]

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Crew member, firefighter hurt as SEPTA train catches fire

Screenshot of aerial view of SEPTA train on fire on July 22, 2025.

BREAKING: SEPTA train on fire at Paoli station. @NBCPhiladelphia pic.twitter.com/ciJ68Oq2eh — Matt DeLucia (@MattDeLucia) July 23, 2025 PAOLI, Pa. — A Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority employee and a firefighter were injured when a Regional Rail train caught fire late Tuesday (July 22, 2025). No passengers were on board at the time. WTXF-TV reports two cars […]

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Florida’s Tri-Rail says it could run out of money in two years

White and blue locomotive pushing commuter train

MIAMI — Commuter operator Tri-Rail could run out of money within two years — earlier than previously anticipated — because of cuts in funding approved by the state legislature in June, according to the executive director of the service’s parent agency. The Palm Beach Post reports David Dech, executive director of the South Florida Regional […]

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How do Tightlock couplers work?

Color photo of rusty coupler on passenger car

Q:  How do Tightlock couplers work? — Thor Clemens A: Longtime staff member Jim Hediger provided an explanation of the Type H, or Tightlock, coupler in a sidebar that appeared with his article “HO knuckle coupler guide” in the November 2007 Model Railroader. He wrote, “The need to reduce slack and improve passenger train safety […]

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Amtrak marks 100th birthday of Chicago Union Station

Interior of main waiting room at large railroad station

CHICAGO — You only celebrate a 100th birthday once, and Amtrak made sure that the milestone for Chicago Union Station did not go unnoticed. Officials including Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker were on hand today for ceremonies today (July 22, 2025) marking the centennial of the station’s dedication, held July 23, 1925, although — as Amtrak’s […]

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News Photos: Amtrak’s first Airo train readied for departure

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Amtrak today shared photos of the first Airo train set being prepared to leave the Siemens assembly plant in Sacramento. The set will head to Pueblo, Colo., for testing before eventually making its revenue debut in Cascades service sometime in 2026. Amtrak has ordered 83 of the train sets, which will replace […]

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Federal Transit Administration to see major staff cuts through buyouts

WASHINGTON — The Federal Transit Administration will lose about 33% of its staff as a result of buyouts offered by the Trump administration, well above the 7% figure for the Department of Transportation as a whole, Politico reports. The news site’s review of data found 4,127 employees took the deferred resignation “fork in the road” […]

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East Troy Industrial Park Sidetrack | Building a glass plant, Part 2

Eric White continues his efforts to construct an HO scale glass plant. In this second episode of the Sidetrack Series, he uses cardboard mockups to help envision and shape the structures, meticulously measuring and comparing pieces with prototype photos for accuracy. Eric then shares how he tests the mockups on the East Troy Industrial Park […]

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CN seeks to end lease on ex-BC Rail route north of Vancouver

SQUAMISH, British Columbia — Canadian National Railway has announced its intention to abandon operations on 214 miles of former BC Rail tracks north of Squamish that it began leasing from the province of British Columbia in 2003. The scenic route through the province’s interior from North Vancouver to a connection with CN’s Prince Rupert line […]

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Newest subway cars debut on NYC Transit’s B line

Subway train on curve in open-air segment

NEW YORK — New York City Transit rolled out its latest generation of subway equipment, the R211 car, on the B Line on Monday (July 21, 2025), marking the fourth route to receive the new railcars and meaning the equipment is now operating in all five boroughs. “I’m thrilled that B train riders from the […]

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