PC X58 boxcar oddity

[Ike the BN Freak]

I never heard of that one before either. Maybe that's why they considered E60Cs?

Those were considered for the Powder River Basin coal trains, and not until the later 70s into 80s

[nkalanaga]

If the coal export business comes to western Washington they may have to electrify Cascade Tunnel, or rebuild the Stampede Pass line.  The last I heard Stevens Pass was at capacity, because of the time required to ventilate Cascade Tunnel, and doublestacks won't fit through Stampede Pass's tunnels.  Dumping another couple dozen coal trains in the mix will clog both, and going down the river to Vancouver then up to Seattle would definitely be the long way around.

They might have enough traffic to finally make electrification cost effective.  On the other hand, the coal business may never materialize... 

[Ike the BN Freak]

If the coal export business comes to western Washington they may have to electrify Cascade Tunnel, or rebuild the Stampede Pass line.  The last I heard Stevens Pass was at capacity, because of the time required to ventilate Cascade Tunnel, and doublestacks won't fit through Stampede Pass's tunnels.  Dumping another couple dozen coal trains in the mix will clog both, and going down the river to Vancouver then up to Seattle would definitely be the long way around.

They might have enough traffic to finally make electrification cost effective.  On the other hand, the coal business may never materialize...

Talked to an engineer buddy of mine, he's saying the Funnel between Spokane and Sandpoint is at about 90% capacity currently.  And the export coal boom is said to bring an extra 40-50 trains a day...or so they say.

[Ian MacMillan]

[sirenwerks]

Painting a roof with the roofwalk on was a little hard, so it would have come off anyway, and then it was left off.

I would think a roofwalk would make walking on a roof easier and safer, imagine RR paint shops have bigger spray guns than auto body shops, and care less about/rely more on overspray, no?

[ljudice]

If the coal export business comes to western Washington they may have to electrify Cascade Tunnel, or rebuild the Stampede Pass line.  The last I heard Stevens Pass was at capacity, because of the time required to ventilate Cascade Tunnel, and doublestacks won't fit through Stampede Pass's tunnels.  Dumping another couple dozen coal trains in the mix will clog both, and going down the river to Vancouver then up to Seattle would definitely be the long way around.

They might have enough traffic to finally make electrification cost effective.  On the other hand, the coal business may never materialize...

It's a crying shame BN abandoned the MILW Snoqualmie route, since it is widely believed to be the best of the three routings through the Cascades.  I thought I read that the rails to trails deed for that route was revokable if it was needed again as an active rail line?

I think I also read that the MAIN reason it was abandoned was that traffic in those days was dwindling and there was a major concern that it would be hard to keep Union Pacific from piecing together some sort of plan to justify buying it or forcing it to be sold to them.

- Lou

[peteski]

Youz guys are killin' me!  I was waiting with baited  breath to find out what is the actual date stenciled on that car but  this thread has totally turned in the direction of Albuquerque!

[haasmarc]

Mine says "BLT 4-68" as well.

[Lemosteam]

Youz guys are killin' me!  I was waiting with baited  breath to find out what is the actual date stenciled on that car but  this thread has totally turned in the direction of Albuquerque!

Nice Bugs Bunny reference there peteski!

It looks like BLT 4-68 to me too.

[GonzoCRFan]

Shut up before more people have hissyfits and leave!

[Ike the BN Freak]

Youz guys are killin' me!  I was waiting with baited  breath to find out what is the actual date stenciled on that car but  this thread has totally turned in the direction of Albuquerque!

Nah, we ended up in Wyoming.

[nkalanaga]

Marc and John:  Thank you.  So it isn't my eyes, or a one-off printing error. 

Sirenwerks:  Painting the roof through the roofwalk is harder than taking it off and painting the roof, as the roofwalk would block some of the paint.  One would have to paint from different angles to get around the walk, instead of making one pass.  Also, the reason roofwalks were removed was because walking on the roof had been banned, so safety wasn't a factor.  The only cars that had to have them were those where people had to be on  the roof when the train was stopped, such as iced reefers and covered hoppers.

Ike:  I knew the Funnel was near capacity, but that could be fixed with another track.  As for the number of trains, the estimates vary widely, with the larger numbers seeming to come from opponents of the coal terminals.  But even at the low end, BNSF and MRL say there would be major capacity issues.  Most of the coal is expected to move west over MRL, and the Mullan Pass tunnel west of Helena is also single track.

Lou:  One of the main reasons the MILW was abandoned was that it would have cost a fortune to make it usable.  By the time the MILW retrenched, the track was in such bad condition that trains derailed more often than not, and multiple derailments by the same crew weren't unheard of.  It would have had to be rebuilt from the ground up, and the BN didn't have enough traffic to keep Stampede Pass in service, much less need the MILW. 

I agree that if it had been saved, it would be the ideal route for stack trains, partly because of the clearances, and partly because it misses every major population center between Seattle and Minnesota, unless one counts Missoula.  On the other hand, that's partly why the railroad went broke!