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[quote]QUOTE: Originally posted by NS2317 Man, all this talk about grain makes me want a couple more bowls of corn flakes! [:D] Let me get this straight: You want me to haul your 29 privately owned( and payed for by taxpayers money) grain hoppers all over the country and bring them back to you as a unit? SURE! All of them can't possibly be going to the same destination, by any chance, would they? Ooops! Theres 29 more brightly colored cars in the nation's pool. [:I] Hey, heres some of our very own cars till we find yours. [;)] [/quote] No, it's all going as a unit to the same area as the grain from the Ritzville shuttle loader. The lower Columbia River deep draft ports, Grays Harbor, or Puget Sound. All over Western Washington? Yes, but not all over the country. And the hoppers in question are either State of Washington owned 264k and 286k, or PCC 264k hoppers, or (rarely) Cascade Green 264k hoppers. [quote]QUOTE: Oh and by the way, if I were in Watcos shoes I would rather take the 27 million in taxpayers money and the money for the scrap rails etc, rather than continue a lossing battle with the trucks, the "Evil Loading Facility", and further losses from contractual obligations that may already exsist or may develop from any sale of the line to the state. Not really rocket science, there.[:I][/quote] What is this obsession with BNSF defenders ascribing the words "evil" with BNSF or BNSF facilities? Can you find even one example of myself or any other BNSF critic actually using the word "evil" in describing BNSF? And the losing battle isn't with trucks per se, it's with the lack of car supply from BNSF. Because apparently UP has no problem competing with the truck/barge combination nor the truck/BNSF shuttel loader combination over this short haul. In fact, sometimes UP cooperates with the barge lines to get grain from the Palouse to the Pacific. In fact it has been pointed out ad naseum that WATCO has had no problem getting car supply from UP, it's only BNSF that has held back on the deal. [quote]QUOTE: In the midwest, it was a very surprising season considering the drought. It's quite possible that BNSF just doesn't have that many cars to spare, if that really is the case. I saw a comment somewhere about grain cars just sitting around here in the Heartland. Is it possible they are full of grain waiting for transit or awaiting the call for a refill? This part of railroading is almost as intriuging to me as the coal aspect. [/quote] Yes, I am just as intrigued as you regarding the perception of masses of grain cars seemingly sitting around while demand for hoppers is at an all time high. A while back BNSF was storing about 50 286k hoppers down in Lewiston while Midwest grain coops were screaming for cars. An anonomous tip [}:)] resulted in BNSF suddenly "discovering" those extra cars, and they were moved East forthwith. Things that make you go "Hmmmmmm....." [quote]QUOTE: Besides, coal most likely tastes horrible. Nor can you run a car on it, that I know of. [/quote] Well, that's a whole 'nother topic, but technically yes, you can run your car on coal deriviatives. Coal can now be commercially processed into methanol, diesel and other distillates for the liquid transportation fuel market. As long as the price differential between coal and oil stays as wide as it is now, that's where we're headed.
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