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Energy, Powder River Basin, and the DM&E

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[quote user="Murphy Siding"][quote user="futuremodal"]Keep in mind, that $4 billion figure was just for an example.  I'm not sure what the total estimated cost for rehabbing the entire DM&E line from Colony to Winona was/is, but the $4 billion figure may be a bit high. For what it's worth, here's a list of all the industries served by DM&E:<a href="http://www.dmerail.com/PDF/DME%20INDUSTRY%20DIRECTORY.pdf">http://www.dmerail.com/PDF/DME%20INDUSTRY%20DIRECTORY.pdf</a>Also, it was CNW's "Cowboy Line" that was used as the access into the PRB.  What is the status of that line now?[:-,]What is your source for the claim that most new ethanol plants in SD are being located on BNSF?  Certainly, BNSF being the main Class I line out of the state is going to get most of the rate split.And for what it's worth, Colony is technically located in the PRB coal fields, just not the easy to get prefered coal.  There's gotta be a reason DM&E has gone to all the trouble of not only obtaining and keeping that line, but also getting an FRA loan to upgrade it.  It was surmised that Colony would be the starting point into the PRB to get at all that Montana coal just sittin' there.  Still could be if Montana's Guv threw DM&E a bone or two.........[/quote]   Well, here goes.  I've read that the PRB extention from Wall, S.D. was to cost somewhere around $2Billion.  Six minus two equals four.  That's where I'm getting that number from.  I could be all wrong.  Looking at a map, S.D. has 8 ethanol plants operating, and two in development.  The score would be 7:1, or 8:2 BNSF:DM&E, depending on how you score it.  I don't think Colony is in the Powder River coal area.  It's in the Belle Fourche River area of bentonite clay.   If the coal's there, it's so far down, that it will never see daylight.[/quote]Actually, I count about 14 ethanol plants either up and running or in planning/development...<a href="http://www.sdcorn.org/ethanol/sdplants.cfm">http://www.sdcorn.org/ethanol/sdplants.cfm</a>Some of those are on various shortlines.  Whether those shortlines are captive to BNSF or some other Class I such as UP or CP is hard to say.  But I'll grant you that if we were keeping score, BNSF would win......(yaaawwwnnnn).....When I speak of Colony as being a more apt starting point for a PRB extension, I mean it is half as close to the Gillette area as that southern option.  And the Belle Fourche river flows northeast from the Gillette coalfields to Colony, so there's your water level grade.  But perhaps more important, the untouched Montana PRB fields are a hop skip and jump away from Colony, so there's the possibility of using Colony as a jumping point for two coal road extensions.
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