WalthersProto Trinity four-bay covered hopper

Model of gray hopper car in front of white background

WalthersProto Trinity four-bay covered hopper Price: $49.99 Manufacturer Wm. K. Walthers Inc. 5601 W. Florist Ave. Milwaukee, WI 53218 walthers.com Era: 2007 to present (as decorated) Road names: Trinity Industries Leasing (gray and black [75th anniversary] schemes), Archer Daniels Midland (gray with modern logo), Bunge North America Inc. (gray), Cenex Harvest States Cooperative (gray), CIT […]

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Rapido announces Canadian Pacific Budd coaches and VIA Rail HEP-equipped coaches

Model of streamlined passenger car

Canadian Pacific Budd coaches and VIA Rail HEP-equipped coaches Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: $124.95 Era: 1954 to present (varies depending on scheme) Manufacturer: Rapido Trains Inc., 500 Alden Road, Unit 21, Markham, Ontario L3R 5H5 Canada; 905-474-3314; rapidotrains.com Features Simulated stainless steel finish HEP 2 cars have new side window arrangement HEP 1 and HEP 2 […]

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GATX to buy 15,000 railcars from Trinity Rail

Logo of rail equipment leasing firm GATX

CHICAGO — GATX Corp. will purchase 15,000 new railcars, including at least 6,000 tank cars, from Trinity Industries subsidiary Trinity Rail in 2023 through 2028, with an option for an additional 500 in each of those years. Trinity’s announcement said the deal is valued at $1.8 billion. The agreement announced Monday calls for 1,200 tank […]

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How to simulate hot slab loads

three colors of model slab loads

Steel slab loads have been the subject of many reader questions, including some looking for ways to simulate hot-steel loads. While it’s easy enough to cut and paint pieces of plastic to represent the cold slabs, the trick has always been simulating the hot metal. The folks at State Tool & Die Co.have made this […]

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CRRC order for new MBTA cars falls farther behind schedule

Subway train at station

BOSTON — Delivery of new rapid-transit cars by a local affiliate of Chinese manufacturer CRRC are falling farther behind schedule, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority board was told Thursday, and officials are expressing growing concerns about the quality of the cars being built. CommonWealth Magazine reports CRRC says it will need to add several more […]

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Accurail HO scale freight car kits

Drawing of brown boxcar with white "Soo Line" lettering

HO scale freight car kits Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: See individual cars below Era: Varies depending on car type Manufacturer: Accurail, P.O. Box 278, Elburn, IL 60119; 630-365-1173; accurail.com Features: Injection-molded plastic construction Plastic wheelsets Solid-or roller-bearing trucks as appropriate Steel weight(s) Screws for trucks and draft-gear box covers Accumate couplers with modeler-installed trip pins […]

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Friends’ work week brings more progress

Wooden framework for building

ROCKHILL FURNACE, Pa. – Friends of the East Broad Top volunteers wrapped up a week’s worth of labor on Friday, Sept. 23, the group’s second week of concentrated effort this year. The crew ranged between 10 and 20 people, working in close coordination with the railroad’s own full-time employees, according to Andy Van Scyoc, Friends […]

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Amtrak auctioning off remaining Talgo equipment

Passenger train along rocky coast line

BEECH GROVE, Ind. — Amtrak is auctioning off its Talgo Series VI trainsets, retired in the wake of the fatal derailment of an Amtrak Cascades train in December 2017. A “Material and Pricing Schedule” for the auction lists 28 cars for sale: two baggage cars, two bistro cars, two dining cars, 11 coaches, two cars […]

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Return of InnoTrans draws more than 137,000 (updated)

View from above of large, crowded display area for one company at trade show

BERLIN — While not quite matching the record numbers it set in 2018, the 2022 InnoTrans trade fair, which concluded Friday, made a strong return after a four-year pause. A total of 137,394 people attended the four-day event, according to the event’s closing report, with visitors from 131 countries attending the world’s largest rail industry event. […]

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News photos: Public gets first look at Caltrain’s new electric equipment

Two trainsets parked at station

SAN FRANCISCO — Caltrain has given the public the first look at its new electric multiple-unit trainsets, set to take over commuter rail service between San Francisco and San Jose in 2024. The commuter operator brought two of the new trains, built by Stadler at its plant in Salt Lake City, to its Fourth and […]

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Checked baggage dropped from two Amtrak trains (corrected)

Train arrives at station with baggage cart in foreground

WASHINGTON — Amtrak says checked baggage service is being dropped this fall from two state-supported routes “due to equipment shortages” — even though the company received 70 new baggage cars as part of its 125-car Viewliner II equipment order from CAF USA in 2014-15. The company now says, however, that a notice posted in at […]

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Siemens optimistic about US passenger market

Two passenger trains, one white and blue, one white and yellow, on display tracks outside exhibition hall.

BERLIN — The prospects for a number of transformative passenger projects, as well as the potential for more rail electrification, have the CEO of Siemens Mobility in North America upbeat as he considers his company’s future. Marc Buncher heads a company that has grown rapidly in North America, with its Sacramento, Calif., manufacturing site employing […]

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