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[quote user="Chris30"] My meaining of "[t]he Milwaukee Pacific Extension suffered going to Seattle" was just another way of saying that it's not there anymore. I was trying to make the point that if one midwest grainger couldn't keep a pacific extension going to Seattle (or is it really Tacoma?), a major US city, then what realistic expectations could one have of a Northwestern pacific extension to places such as Eureka or Coos Bay? Would either of those places become a major shipping port if a transcon were built there?? If you want to dream a little and suggest that the Northwestern would have been better with a pacific extension, then without it; I agree. Maybe. I'm not thinking about how successful the Northwestern would have been if they reached the ocean that's called the Pacific as much as I'm thinking about the ocean of coal in Wyoming that now is commonly reffered to as the Powder River Basin. Here's where the guessing game begins... How would the pacific extension have changed the Northwestern financial status? Would the pacific extension still exist or be in good shape into the 1970's when the PRB came into existence? The "Cowboy" line through Nebraska would have been a main line. Could it have been useable for the PRB trains, thus avoiding the UP's assistance? Talk about your history mind-benders! If the Milwaukee PCE was so succesful, then why didn't any other western railroad assume control when the Milwaukee Road pulled out? CC [/quote]   They tried.  The bankruptcy trustee opted for abandonment even in the face of the long haul vs short haul realities, and there were several offers to continue operating the PCE, including a group that eventually created MRL.  It is all well explained in the "What happened to the Milwaukee?" thread. The key to success of course, besides the mental health of the controlling corporation, is the relative quality of the line in terms of profile, operating hassles, and access to revenue markets along the way.  Are we talking a lot of long tunnels with stiff ruling grades, a lot of reverse curves, roller coaster alignments, et al, or are we talking about 1% ruling grades, few tunnels, and supurb engineering?  I would agree that access the ag markets of Southern Idaho would have been ideal, and a CNW transcon that transversed the PRB would have a lucrative online market ready made.  The choice of Coos Bay or Newport OR as the western terminus might have also been an ideal locale, since both are closer to the Pacific Rim markets than Portland, Puget Sound, or Vancouver.
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