Prototype News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 14, 2026

White River Productions is pleased to announce that Nick Stewart has been named Associate Editor of Railfan & Railroad and Railroad Model Craftsman. A Nevada native, Nick is a 2026 graduate of the University of Nevada, Reno’s Reynolds School of Journalism. Before joining White River Productions, he worked as a photojournalist for The Nevada Independent and as a reporter for KUNR Public Radio in Reno. His work has appeared in national outlets including National Public Radio and the Associated Press. He is also a past contributing writer and photographer for Railfan & Railroad.

Nick developed an interest in railroading at an early age, and some of his earliest memories of trains are from visits to his mother’s office next to the Union Pacific yard in Sparks, Nev. He is a passionate railroad photographer with a particular interest in steam locomotives and vintage diesels. His favorite railroad is Southern Pacific, though he calls Western Pacific a close second. Nick dreams of building a model railroad one day — when he actually has the space — but for now he maintains a modest collection consisting primarily of 1980s and 1990s Southern Pacific diesels and rolling stock. He currently resides in Sparks with his family.

Nick joins the White River Productions staff full-time, working alongside Editor Steve Barry and Managing Editor Otto Vondrak on Railfan & Railroad and Railroad Model Craftsman.

Railfan & Railroad was launched in 1974 as Railfan, and expanded with the acquisition of the venerable Railroad Magazine in 1979. Railfan & Railroad is a showcase of modern trackside railroad action, with stunning photography paired with the latest industry news and monthly columns. Established in 1933, Railroad Model Craftsman delivers the best in scale model railroading each month. Every issue features beautiful layout tours, detailed scratchbuilding and detailing features, the latest news and in-depth product reviews, exact scale drawings, construction tips and techniques, and more. Both magazines were acquired by White River Productions in 2014.

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Rival Class I railroads and a number of short line and regional operations intend to ask the U.S. Surface Transportation Board to grant them trackage rights to various parts of a combined Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern network if the federal regulator approves the proposed merger.

In a flurry of filings in early September, operators from BNSF Railway to the Wheeling & Lake Erie all announced their intentions to participate in the ongoing review of UP’s plan to acquire NS. While the filings did not need to detail how they would participate, many hinted at what they would ask in return for supporting the merger — or at least dropping opposition.

BNSF has been among the most vocal opponents of the merger and said in filings that its opposition will not change. However, if the board were inclined to let UP and NS merge, BNSF planned to ask for trackage rights east of Chicago into Pennsylvania on NS lines. Meanwhile, CPKC officials said they plan to ask the STB to protect its existing trackage rights on UP and NS and to grant new access, particularly between Kansas City and St. Louis. CSX was also planning to ask for rights into the Midwest.

Some of the most interesting proposals, however, came from several short lines. The Wheeling & Lake Erie announced it would ask for trackage rights over NS track to reach the Belt Railway Company of Chicago. The Reading & Northern, on the other hand, was asking for trackage rights south to Hagerstown, Md., in order to connect with CSX. Other short lines that have said they will ask for trackage rights include New Orleans Public Belt, the Columbus & Ohio, Indiana & Ohio, Chicago, Fort Wayne & Eastern, and others.

In August, the STB set a timeline to review the merger, suggesting the earliest it could be approved was sometime in the second half of 2027. If approved, the combined UP-NS would stretch more than 50,000 miles and touch 43 states. The merger was first proposed in mid-2025, but the STB rejected UP’s first application as “incomplete.”

—Justin Franz 

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