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COWCATCHER MAGAZINE

ODOT signs agreement to receive Tiger III funding

May 10, 2012 / Updated June 26, 2023

News

The Oklahoma Department of Transportation formally signed an agreement to receive $6.75 million from the Transportation Investments Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) III program to rehabilitate 49 miles of state-owned rail line between Elk City and Sayre, OK, in the Anadarko Basin, according to U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

The Federal Railroad Administration announced in December that ODOT was awarded the funding.

Farmrail, a short line that serves the region, will benefit from track improvements that are expected to reduce transportation costs in bringing crude oil and gas to market quicker. The railroad has made recent investments in equipment to keep up with more outbound crude and inbound frack sand trains coming from the Basin.

The track rehabilitation will allow for speeds up to 25 miles per hour with fewer restrictions on the number of cars per train.

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FW&D Aura

Keith Brewer’s HO Wichita Falls Division, Fort Worth & Denver Rwy. is not just the culmination of years of research of his hometown railroad but the backstory after he took up model railroading. It wasn’t until several years after leaving Bowie, TX, that he understood the importance of the FW&D beyond its everyday whistles. Today Brewer's point-to-point 14x20 layout, a scaled down version of a much larger pike in another home, pays homage to the freight business. Short main line trains haul cattle, grain, gravel and agricultural products along the route from Fort Worth, Decatur, Bowie, Henrietta and Wichita Falls, TX. The action is heavy but eases when the crew breaks midway through an operating session. A tasty cobbler, cake or banana pudding is just the right recipe for fun.

Modular N Growing

With a variety of options, N-scale modular model railroading is enjoying growth.This summer in Chattanooga, TN, NRail, which embraces all forms of N scale, will head the hobby’s quest to build the world’s largest modular layout at the NMRA National Convention. It’s all but assured that the previous record will fall to a connected layout that will occupy 10,000 square feet of the city’s convention center.

Packing the Aisles

A fierce winter storm brought out model railroad and rail enthusiasts by the thousands for the opening day of January's annual Railroad Hobby Show in Springfield, MA. A single-day record of 18,432 filled the aisles at the Eastern States Exposition before some 18 inches of snow blanketed New England. U-series General Electric locomotives topped new product announcements.

Plus

Coordinated run-throughs that connect two or more Class I railroads is a proven solution for moving freight from coast to coast; one of Micro-Trains last N-scale releases, the Greenville Railgon is worth its weight in hauling heavy loads; the elegance and food of the dining car experience spoiled hungry riders during the heyday of passenger rail transportation; Union Pacific inks a record deal to upgrade its locomotives. And more!