<http://www.oregonlive.com/news/argus/index.ssf?/base/news/117864845715170.xml&coll=6> Work continues on upgrading track between Hillsboro and Hagg Lake Tuesday, May 08, 2007 By Ellen Ast The Argus CORNELIUS - A 12-mile stretch of train tracks between Hillsboro and Hagg Lake will continue to undergo repairs that started two weeks ago and will last through July, boosting capacity for heavier freight loads. Known as Seghers Branch by its owners Portland & Western Railroad, the tracks run south of Cornelius and regularly help transport freight, mostly lumber from Stimson Lumber Mill, near Gaston. P&W Railroad uses 523 miles of track between Portland, Salem, Eugene and Astoria. New train transportation regulations allow cargo weights up to 286,000 pounds, almost double from the weight allowed before, which is good news for businesses like Stimson to get more products into the lumber industry at a faster rate. The problem is that old rail cannot hold the newer, heavier freight cars. The Seghers Branch project will replace century-old tracks with 113-pound welded rail to correct this. It coincides with a similar restoration project to around eight miles of track between Whiteson and Willamina. Both projects received funds from ConnectOregon, an initiative passed by the Legislature two years ago, allowing $100 million worth of tax credits for short-line railroad companies. There are no plans to add passenger services to both areas, said Bruce Carswell, president of P&W. "When compared to truck transportation, freight trains are three times more fuel efficient, emit less pollution, reduce highway congestion and have a superior safety record," Carswell said. Last Friday, representatives from Stimson and other local lumber companies, along with P&W, the state and City of Cornelius, attended a ceremony in Cornelius to celebrate the repairs. A ceremonial gold spike was driven into a new rail line that replaces the obsolete track.
How is running from Cornelius to Hillsboro gonna help unless you upgrade the line all the way out to Gaston? What I really don't understand is why they don't remove the tracks to Forest Grove that parallel the Ex SP branch to Gaston. There must be online customers prior to Forest Grove. Or maybe they can't get the land to build a connection near Cornelius
