What you see when you see a train

In early evening you pull your Dodge Durango to a stop in Strong City, Kan., beside the handsome Santa Fe-built brick depot. Sitting in front of it are three BNSF Railway locomotives fronting a double-stack container train that stretches out of sight around a curve half a mile away. And looking the other way you see a train of empty coal gondolas making its way toward you down the 11,800-foot siding.

Presently, the container train gets a green signal, toots its whistle twice, and begins to move. By the time the locomotives reach you they’re in the company notch and making a dull roar, doing maybe 15 mph. Out of habit, you begin counting containers . . . two, four, eight, 12, 20.

The train is picking up speed . . . 88, 98, 106. Your eyes flick to the curve; no end in sight . . . 148, 158, 164. The container count crosses the 200 mark.

You recall someone telling you that a 9,000-foot train holds about 280 containers. That is a lot of transportation. Yet as your count reaches 280, the end of the train is still not in sight.

When finally this train clears Strong City, with two more General Electric motors holding forth, your count is 350. By then, maybe you think you’ve seen a long train. But what you’ve really seen is money.

The price for moving a container from the docks in Los Angeles or Long Beach to Logistics Park Chicago is roughly $1,200. Plus there’s a fuel surcharge that adds another $400 or so to the tab. Finally, throw in $45 for passing through the Alameda Corridor. That gets you to $1,645 per container.

So, yes, this is a train, but it’s also a $575,000 cash register for BNSF Railway, and a mere 18 men and women move it those 2,200 miles. Their wages and the fuel consumed may come to $200,000. The indirect costs of loading, unloading, inspecting, dispatching, and maintaining the track and signals come to another . . . what? You’ve no idea.

What you do know is that technology has given railroads the ability to deliver almost unbelievably efficient transportation services. And when you can do that, you can earn the big bucks.

Yes, this train was a beautiful sight as it gained speed passing in front of you. But it is also an economic miracle for its owner. — Fred W. Frailey