Posted on 10/07/2019 5:25:12 AM PDT by Gamecock
Will there be any train surfing? ;*}
The article talks about the new railroad from Europe to the eastern seaboard of China.
That is because the mainline east/west of the BNSF crosses northern Idaho and runs from Seattle and Sumas all the way to Minneapolis and then down to Chicago.
The next east/west line runs through SLC/Denver/Omaha/KC.
The southern east/west line runs from Barstow/Flagstaff/Albq/Dallas/Memphis/Birmingham.
The UP also has several east/west lines.
The line you mentioned handles most of the lumber moving east out of OR, WA, ID heading east.
FYI, what the railroads like the best is moving coal, oil and grain.
That way the WHOLE train starts at one point and delivers to one point. No stopping along the way to pick up another ten cars from this mill or twenty from that mill.
As the major railroads have consolidated in North America they have less interest in serving the smaller volume accounts.
These are the big railroads left: BNSF, UP, CN, CPRS, CSXT, NS, KCS. This has left the service of individual locations in many metro areas to small specialized feeder railroads that only service metro areas. Like the IHB. They just move cars around Chicago. The big railroads all bring cars to them in the Chicago area. They actually deliver to many of the customers.
Many of our lumber yard customers lost their rail sidings in the last 20 years. Many sidings were abandoned once they needed repairs because there was just not enough revenue or ROI for the railroad.
There are many “railtrails” across the northeast and Midwest that were once active railroads. Now they are bike paths and running trails in and around many cities.
LOTS of coal moving along the Washington side of the Columbia River...a LOT!!!
Europe has a vast network of water canals to ship product.
Europe never measured the effectiveness of its well-engineered railway system by the volume of freight it hauled, but by the number of passengers it could move.
Not gonna say it...
Around 1940 this was established....
In Alaska, most trains carry oil or coal. Increasingly, tour packages include passenger trips by train. Alaska Railroad is the only state-owned rail system in the U.S. The state of Alaska also owns the Ferry System. Both are heavily used.
Moving east or west?
I would guess west to Portland. Load it on a boat and send it to China maybe.
Passenger rail systems can share freight lines. Japan does it all the time. It was done in this country for over a hundred years until competition with the Federal Highway system killed the railroads. Europe has a vast network of canals where most of the freight is moved. Railroads in Europe always mostly moved people and time sensitive freight.
In the US the emphasis is on air travel and roads.
What is this train thread without Willlie Green?
*****************
Interesting that you say that. Willie’s last post
on FR was a Train thread.
https://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2607597/posts
Trains Save Fuel
10/14/2010, 4:04:05 PM
All that shale oil and coal in Wyoming and nearby areas is flowing through on those trains. The containers moving east are full of Chinese and other Asian goods.
Yes!
I imagine the scenes from old movies: sitting in the restaurant car, eating while looking out window. Or preparing for sleep in sleeper car. For some reason it is soothing. Don’t think they make them like that any more.
In the US the emphasis is on air travel and roads.
I always wonder what the country would be like today if the Federal Highway Act was never enacted.
We could have profitable passenger rail operations in the U.S. , but only in a select few markets, like the northeast corridor.
If Amtrak were privatized it could cut all passenger rail routes that could not be profitable. Then, when those money losing lines were not wasting the rider revenues privatized rail outfits could build “high speed” routes, where they would actually work, without taxpayers spending a dime.
However, as this article points out we have a very efficient rail freight system run by private rail companies. But they often share the same rail beds with passenger trains, and already have to adjust schedules to accommodate each other. If privatized passenger rail was to actually improve and expand where profitable, it would require more adjustments with freight lines, or more infrastructure investment to lay more rail beds in some places.
But “high speed” rail should be an initiative of private rail companies with experience in railroads, not newcomers to the industry and not as political initiatives.
One of the few ways government can legitimately assist the rail industry can be, and ought to be no more than, assistance with obtaining the necessary rights of way.
Moving West....I believe Portland banned coal shipments by rail, or something...so they are likely loaded out of Vancouver, WA
For the same reason the US is so “backwards” with passenger rail: geography.
You can’t find a Western/Central European city more than 400 miles from an excellent port.
Or Longview, WA. or Tacoma, WA.
Tacoma is the main shipping port in the Pacific Northwest.
Oakland and Long Beach in CA. These are where most of the stuff from China comes in.
The huge ocean going container vessels/supertankers and bulk Cargo ships can not go up the Columbia River. I am talking about the biggest ships in the world.
Oh, you’re right...I used to live above the Tacoma port....yowsers...
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