Freight Rail Traffic Plunges: Haunting Pictures of Transportation Recession

Wolf Street ^ | Wolf Richter | 4 May 2016

[Sgt_Schultze]

292 Union Pacific engines idled in Arizona Desert

Total US rail traffic in April plunged 11.8% from a year ago, the Association of American Railroads reported today. Carloads of bulk commodities such as coal, oil, grains, and chemicals plummeted 16.1% to 944,339 units.

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Only five of the 20 commodity categories saw gains. Of the decliners, coal was the biggest. But petroleum products also plunged 25%, and grain mill products dropped 7%. Even without coal, carloads were down 3% year-over-year.

[HiJinx]

Don’t know how often you come through there, Dave. I can’t pin down the times; but I’ve seen that stretch of siding both full and empty in the last year or 2. As someone suggested upthread, this is quite likely a holding siding for when engines are ‘temporarily’ not needed.