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[quote]QUOTE: Originally posted by TomDiehl [quote]QUOTE: Originally posted by jchnhtfd [quote]QUOTE: Originally posted by edblysard I think it is the evil, monopolistic, captive shipper, anti open access BNSF making bad business decisions that only benefit BNSF instead of the grain shippers...this is after failing in their moral debt to the public, stealing all that free land through abusing government land grants, and failing to rebuild the Milwaukee Road... Of course, it could just be that lose car load railroading , outside of heavy industrial hubs/locations, is a thing of the past, and no one wants the expense of dispatching a crew and locomotives to gather up five and ten grain cars from a bunch of elevators scattered all over the place... Ed [/quote] Ed -- do I detect a tongue firmly planted in cheek here? I hope?[:p] [/quote] Of course Jamie. Funny but the link led me to an article that said: "On the lines its ending service on Watco says it can’t compete for grain shipments against trucks to river barge and grain trucked to a 110-car rail shuttle facility at Ritzville." "Can't compete against truck and river barges" has a bit of a different meaning than "BNSF being a poor mentor." I didn't even see BNSF, or any connecting railroad, even mentioned. I must have linked to a different article than the one mentioned in the original post. [/quote] Tom, WATCO via the PCC currently runs (1)the ex-UP branch from Hooper Junction (on the UP "Washy" mainline) to Pullman and Moscow in the wheat country called "The Palouse", (2) the ex-BN line from Marshall (near Spokane on the BNSF mainline to Pasco) to Pullman/Moscow, and (3) the ex-BN line from Cheney (near Spokane) to Coulee City through the "Big Bend" wheat country. You should note that it is only the ex-BN lines that are "not profitable" for WATCO to run, while the ex-UP line is generating some nice profits. You should also note that WATCO works in conjunction with the barge lines by running grain trains west to Hooper then onto the UP Washy mainline to the barge port at Wallula, or else they transfer those grain shuttles to UP for the trip on to the lower Columbia River deep water ports. Clearly, the problem is one of willing car supply - UP does a good job of getting to the PCC the necessary cars in expedient fashion, and picking them up as well. Subsequently, those elevators located on the ex-UP lines are able to ship grain by rail at competitive prices with the local truck/barge option. BNSF on the other hand has been a poor supplier of requested cars. Consequently, those elevators on the ex BN lines have had to truck their grain to the nearest mega terminal (Ritzville for the Coulee City line). The elevators on the ex-BN Marshall line are either trucking their grain down to the barge port at Lewiston or Almota on the Snake River, or in some cases are trucking their grain to elevators on the ex-UP lines, even though the ex-BN and ex-UP lines interconnect in Pullman! What is being missed by some is the gist of the conundrum for the State of Washington. The State went to all this trouble to purchase the PCC lines with the thought that by doing so they could keep rail service on those lines viable and keep trucks off State and county roads. Then BNSF refuses to provide the promised service levels for their former share of the State purchased lines, forcing grain to be trucked over State and county roads anyway. Clearly, it was a wasted effort for the State to have any dealings with property formerly owned by BNSF, while it is turning out beautifully for the ex-UP lines. Some of you have stated in other threads that (paraphrasing) "if states and localities want to keep lines from being abandoned they should put their money where their collective mouth is and buy the lines themselves." Well, the State of Washington did just that, and got burned. At this point, the best thing the State could do would be to go ahead and buy the Coulee City line, then physically connect the Coulee City line to the Marshall line (bypassing any interchange with BNSF) and allow grain trains to be run down to interchange with the UP, or even better - continue to build a new line that connects the Palouse lines to the local barge ports, thereby capturing almost all grain hauls from the truckers in that corridor. If BNSF threatens lawsuit, then the State shoud use it's power to countersue on the grounds of non-compliance with the caveats of the purchase regarding car supply. Then the state should take out the road crossing that allows trucks to access the Ritzville mega terminal under the guise of the crossing removal program![}:)]
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