This was posted on the Trains Newswire yesterday..... Railroads prepare for Ike September 11, 2008 HOUSTON - U.S. railroads are preparing to cut back operations on the Gulf Coast in preparation for the arrival of Hurricane Ike. Forecasters expect Ike to hit land late tomorrow or early Saturday, possibly as a powerful Category 3 hurricane. Union Pacific Railroad today issued an embargo on all non-intermodal and automotive shipments to and from an area stretching from Beaumont, Texas, through Houston to Gregory, Texas. The railroad also embargoed some hazardous shipments in the area to keep them away from possible storm damage. UP will suspend much of its operations in the area today to allow employees time to evacuate in advance of the storm. BNSF Railway will close its Barbours Cut intermodal yard in La Porte, Texas, at noon tomorrow, and its Houston/Pearland yard at 5 p.m. Its New Orleans intermodal yard will remain open, but the railroad is warning customers that trains in and out of New Orleans could be delayed. All trains through the area could be subject to 24-48 hours of delay, the railroad said. Kansas City Southern could not immediately be reached to comment on its plans for Ike. Amtrak, meanwhile, is cancelling several services. The Chicago-New Orleans City of New Orleans will turn at McComb, Miss., while the New York-New Orleans Crescent will turn at Meridian, Miss. No alternate transportation is being offered on either route. To the west, the Los Angeles-New Orleans Sunset Limited will turn at El Paso, Texas, while the Chicago-San Antonio, Texas, Texas Eagle will turn at Fort Worth, Texas.
It sure is getting exciting around here tonight. My railroad has ceased operations until we get through this.
Hope everything is well with Russ and others in Ike's path this morning. I'm sure Category One is more than enough. I once rode out a storm in Pensacola Beach with only 85 MPH winds. The next morning the motel area was strewn with broken palm trees, the motel sign and many roofs were gone. The beach that had been pristine white the day before was black and oily. The motel owner came around to apologize saying there had been no warning of the storm. No kidding! Ben
From the KCSnotes group at Yahoo, these reports on KCS's plans: KCS issued an embargo yesterday for traffic for the following stations, all in Texas: Beaumont, Port Arthur, Corpus Christi, Robstown, Spear, Alice, Matthews, Realitos, Milepost 74, Hebbronville, Killam, and Laredo. It has also moved equipment out of vulnerable areas and staged MoW equipment and materials to make post-storm repairs. And this: KCS is running SHBH and BHSH detour trains between Shreveport and Birmingham just as quick as possible. Usually 3 or 4 together one way today and the opposite way the next. With Ike now ashore in Texas, its projected path may lead it across east Texas and through Arkansas, which got nailed by the remnants of Gustav a few weeks ago. This WILL affect UP, BNSF and KCS operations, as well as numerous shortlines, should Ike dump as much water as is anticipated.
Tropical Storm IKE blew the Kentucky & Indiana area away yesterday!! We had winds at 80MPH,No electricty for 36 hrs and now they are saying some wont have none until next week...It was a mess and a half up here. Ive never seen anything like this up in indiana!
