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Re: water trains
Author: Bruce Kelly
Date: 07-21-2014 - 12:36
As for staging tank cars close to fire prone areas:
[www.railwayage.com]
As for shipping water by rail to California:
[www.railwayage.com]
The idea of shipping water by rail in an emergency situation is not new. Australia, India, Israel, and one or more African counties have historically used rail tank cars to move water to drought-stricken communities. In the case of California, it's nothing to ship in truckloads of bottled water for human consumption. Happens every day at your local grocery or big box store. But water on a scale to support municipal systems and food production (livestock as well crops) could only be shipped into CA by rail until some other means can be built.
WBR caught the attention of ag folks in the San Joaquin Valley, which led to me being interviewed by a Fresno radio station. Governor Brown's people have also taken WBR into consideration. But there are many hurdles to be overcome, perhaps too many to make it a feasible undertaking.
Car supply is not an issue. DOT-111s that are being replaced by newer tank cars will help fill that void. Railway Age contacted an expert in the railcar biz who says blasting and re-lining the interiors of former crude tankers to make them suitable for water would cost in the range of $10,000-25,000 per car. Pennies. The logistics and capacity for railroads to move unit trains or blocks of water tankers is the next question.
But the biggest hurdle would likely be the red tape involved with determining where, and from whom, those tank cars would be filled. You think people are getting riled over the influx of people through the southern border, and every other social/economic/political dilemma of the day? Just tell some folks in certain states that the "guvmint" has mandated siphoning some of their water to help California.
Plenty of unit train loop facilities along the Columbia River, where gazillions of gallons flow off into the Pacific every day anyway. By that point, those of us in the Northwest have already used what we need for irrigation, power generation, etc., so CA you're welcome to the rest.
[www.railwayage.com]
As for shipping water by rail to California:
[www.railwayage.com]
The idea of shipping water by rail in an emergency situation is not new. Australia, India, Israel, and one or more African counties have historically used rail tank cars to move water to drought-stricken communities. In the case of California, it's nothing to ship in truckloads of bottled water for human consumption. Happens every day at your local grocery or big box store. But water on a scale to support municipal systems and food production (livestock as well crops) could only be shipped into CA by rail until some other means can be built.
WBR caught the attention of ag folks in the San Joaquin Valley, which led to me being interviewed by a Fresno radio station. Governor Brown's people have also taken WBR into consideration. But there are many hurdles to be overcome, perhaps too many to make it a feasible undertaking.
Car supply is not an issue. DOT-111s that are being replaced by newer tank cars will help fill that void. Railway Age contacted an expert in the railcar biz who says blasting and re-lining the interiors of former crude tankers to make them suitable for water would cost in the range of $10,000-25,000 per car. Pennies. The logistics and capacity for railroads to move unit trains or blocks of water tankers is the next question.
But the biggest hurdle would likely be the red tape involved with determining where, and from whom, those tank cars would be filled. You think people are getting riled over the influx of people through the southern border, and every other social/economic/political dilemma of the day? Just tell some folks in certain states that the "guvmint" has mandated siphoning some of their water to help California.
Plenty of unit train loop facilities along the Columbia River, where gazillions of gallons flow off into the Pacific every day anyway. By that point, those of us in the Northwest have already used what we need for irrigation, power generation, etc., so CA you're welcome to the rest.
