Thursday morning rail news: — Metropolitan Transportation Authority CEO Patrick J. Foye suggested in a Wednesday news conference that the “failings” of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention contributed to the spread of the COVID-19 virus, which has killed at least 83 MTA workers. Specifically, the New York Daily News reports, when asked if […]
OMAHA, Neb. – Union Pacific expects traffic to fall 25% in the second quarter due to the economic upheaval caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, has withdrawn its earnings guidance for the year, and suspended its share buyback program amid ongoing uncertainty. The railroad, which announced improved first quarter financial results on Thursday despite a 7% […]
Many readers have asked how we identify the current crop of big, modern road diesels. Unfortunately, it isn’t easy, as many locomotive designs have evolved into a family of similar looking locomotives. This means modelers have to study the details to figure out what locomotive is represented by a specific scale model. Comparing the model […]
More Wednesday morning rail news: — InnoTrans, the massive international rail trade fair held every other year in Berlin, has postponed its 2020 edition, which had been set for Sept. 22-25. The decision follows a decree on Tuesday by the Berlin Senate banning events with more than 5,000 people before Oct. 24 because of the […]
OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific executives, including the board of directors, will take a 25% pay cut and non-union employees will be required to take one week per month of unpaid leave as the railroad deals with the financial impact of the COVID-19 virus. Both moves are effective May through August. “I recognize this is […]
An Iowa Northern intermodal train arrives in Manly, Iowa, on Monday for handoff to the Union Pacific, transporting agricultural products for export as part of a new service between Los Angeles and Iowa. Iowa Northern: Brad Sabin Iowa Northern has begun regular service for its new intermodal service — a partnership with Union Pacific, Denver-based […]
A screen shot from BNSF’s video updating its response to the COVID-19 virus. BNSF Railway Three Class I railroads have released videos addressing their response to the coronavirus pandemic. BNSF Railways’ video, available here, features Jon Gabriel, general superintendent of the railroad’s Network Operations Center in Fort Worth, Texas. It updates current service and moves […]
More Monday morning rail news: — While Strasburg Rail Road passenger operations have been suspended because of the COVID-19 virus, the short line’s freight traffic is up 169% in March, Lancaster Online reports. The 4.5-mile railroad has handled 43 incoming freight cars this month, 27 more than the same month a year ago, with another […]
Friday afternoon rail news: — The National Transportation Safety Board will make the performance of DOT-111A, DOT-117, and DOT-117R tank cars one of the focal points in its investigation of a Feb. 13 derailment of a CSX train in Draffin, Ky. The preliminary report on the accident, released Thursday, also indicates the agency will look […]
More Saturday morning rail news: — The American Public Transportation Association has increased its request for emergency funding for public transit agencies to $16 billion from $12.875 billion, reflecting an estimated $14 billion in funding losses and $2 billion in direct costs including upgraded cleaning. “Without these funds,” APTA CEO Paul P. Skoutelas said in […]
A refrigerator car rolls into the bowl of Union Pacific’s North Platte, Nebr., hump yard. The box to the right contains a radar speed-monitoring device. Union Pacific photo […]
A look at Thursday news on the Union Pacific Railroad: — The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has turned down a Union Pacific challenge to a U.S. Department of Transportation rule requiring railroads to share information with states and Native American groups about trains carrying flammable materials. Reuters reports the 2-1 ruling […]
