According to a story in yesterday's Clatskanie Chief there is progress with the ethanol distillery. The story stated that sometime in October the grain trains will run again. Over the past couple of months a few three bay covered hoppers have been in the local through here. Them big GE AC-4400's and EMD SD70mac's were impressive on "A" Street here in town when the grainers were running.
That's certainly good news for the railroad and for NW Oregon. It'll be fun to see more traffic on the A-line!
I remember talking with the P&W guys on the WES last summer and they said even then that the plant was being fixed. Good to here it's moving forward.
Am I missing something here? Did the P&W get some big motive power? I thought the biggest locos they had were SD 45s.
Cwwrman, when those big trains are pulling through it's usually (always?) big newer BNSF power pulling them. You are correct about PNWR's power. I am not sure they have anything "bigger" than about an SD45.
I'll be out with my video camera for sure. Somewhere here on Trainboard there are some photos I took when the grainers were running.
The grainers still haven't showed up but right now it's 100 car oil trains. The trains have either BNSF or Canadian Pacific power . Two units up front and a thire in DPU on the rear. The trains have two idler cars one on each end between the tank cars and the power.
The oil is going to Clatskanie to a oil terminal at Port Westward. The oil then is loaded into a barge and taken to west coast refineries. As far as I know no oil is being exported.
Still no Grainers running yet as of this date. 3 October 2014. The oil trains are going through at about two per week. The P&W doesn't provide power for the oil trains and idin't provide power for the grainers either. The P&W only provided the crew of two. A conductor and Engineer
Interesting video, post #17, this topic: http://www.trainboard.com/grapevine...eceived-my-FVM-Reading-SD70ACe-(Photos)/page2