STB orders Union Pacific to deliver trains to Foster Farms while it considers emergency order (updated)

Train rounds curve in late afternoon sunlight

WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board has issued a decision requiring Union Pacific to deliver five trains of corn to the largest chicken producer in the western U.S. while the board considers a request by that producer, Foster Farms, for an emergency order that would require UP to prioritize shipments to the company. It would […]

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Union Pacific, CSX tell shippers delays continue in wake of storm

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

Union Pacific and CSX Transportation have notified customers to expect shipment delays as a result of the recent storms that swept across much of the country, with CSX indicating those delays could last through the New Year’s weekend. In a Tuesday, Dec. 27, customer advisory on its website, Union Pacific says parts of northern Iowa […]

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Top 10 stories of 2022: No. 7, Railroading Heritage of Midwest America makes its mark in Silvis

Aerial view of large railroad shop

At the beginning of 2022, no one would have considered Silvis, Ill. a center of the railroad preservation community. The massive former Rock Island shop facility had just been downgraded by owner National Railway Equipment. It was closed in March 2021 as part of a plan to consolidate NRE rail operations to its shops in […]

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Top 10 stories of 2022: No. 10, alternative-power locomotives

Rear view of red and gray battery-electric locomotive

Today, we begin our countdown of the Trains News Wire Top 10 stories of 22, as determined by a vote of Trains editors, columnists, and masthead correspondents. Up today, stories Nos. 10 and 9. The railroad industry’s search for alternatives to diesel-electric power continued to move forward in 2022, with manufacturers and railroads making inroads […]

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Union Pacific train derails in Victorville, Calif. (updated)

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

VICTORVILLE, Calif. — Twenty-seven cars of a Union Pacific train carrying iron ore derailed Tuesday in Victorville, blocking BNSF’s line through the community and leading to the cancellation of Tuesday’s eastbound departure of the Southwest Chief, the San Bernardino Sun reports. No injuries were reported. The derailment occurred about 8 a.m. The cause of the […]

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Top 7 1/2 products of 2022

Black, red, and white diesel locomotive on a scenery base

As we enter the holidays and highball into 2023, the MR staff wanted to take a look back at our top model railroad products of 2022. Any of these would make great gifts for any modeler on your Christmas list or even for yourself. Athearn added the General Electric Dash 9-44CW to its Genesis 2.0 […]

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Big Skies & Iron Rails, Timelapse Trek to the Tracks

In this extra-long, extended-length, timelapse video (1 hour 20 minutes!), our intrepid railfan/professional photographer Tom Danneman has a long way to go, but makes a point to enjoy the entire journey to, about, and from his favorite trackside destination – Big Sky Country! You’ve seen Tom’s meticulous preparations to his trail-rated 4×4 truck in previous […]

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Big Skies & Iron Rails, Timelapse Trek to the Tracks

In this extra-long, extended-length, timelapse video (1 hour 20 minutes!), our intrepid railfan/professional photographer Tom Danneman has a long way to go, but makes a point to enjoy the entire journey to, about, and from his favorite trackside destination – Big Sky Country! You’ve seen Tom’s meticulous preparations to his trail-rated 4×4 truck in previous […]

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Union Pacific asks STB for more time to respond to Amtrak request for Sunset Limited investigation (updated)

Two silver locomotives with passenger train at station

WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board has granted Union Pacific’s request for more time to respond to Amtrak’s request for action regarding UP’s handling of the Sunset Limited, which Amtrak says has the worst on-time performance in its system. In a document filed Monday, Dec. 19, UP notes that the board’s procedures do not specifically […]

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Big Skies & Iron Rails, Timelapse Trek to the Tracks

In this extra-long, extended-length, timelapse video (1 hour 20 minutes!), our intrepid railfan/professional photographer Tom Danneman has a long way to go, but makes a point to enjoy the entire journey to, about, and from his favorite trackside destination – Big Sky Country! You’ve seen Tom’s meticulous preparations to his trail-rated 4×4 truck in previous […]

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Mishandling of air brakes led to three-train Minnesota accident, NTSB says

Diagram of three-train accident at junction with two parallel tracks

WASHINGTON — Improper handling of train air brakes by the engineer of a Canadian Pacific train was the cause of a three-train accident in St. Paul, Minn., in August 2021, the National Transportation Safety Board has determined. The accident report, issued Dec. 8, covers an Aug. 25 incident that saw the CP train strike a […]

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