These pioneer pipelines have long been abandoned
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Not True.
Texas Eastern formed in 1947 with the purchase of two wartime-built pipelines, the Big Inch and the Little Big Inch, from the U.S. government. With numerous improvements and modifications over time, the pipelines are still in use and are a vital part of Spectra Energy. Today, the Texas Eastern Transmission system ranks fourth among the nation’s gas pipelines in system capacity.
http://www.spectraenergy.com/About-Us/History/Texas-Eastern/
I had not realized the Big Inch and Little Big Inch were still in use. This would even further buttresses my contention that the transport by tank cars should be phased out, as the lifetime of a pipeline involved is far greater than that of a common carrier of only limited size, moving at the whim of the train as a whole.
Efficiency wins over egregious clinging to old technology every time it is tried.