Quite familiar with the grades. Capitol Lake to Belmore is 1.7 ruling. Downtown Olympia to the brewery is .4 and brewery to East Olympia is .6 or .8 can't remember exactly. A GP38 type is good for 7-8 loads, 2-3 empties and a caboose in the old BN days. That same train wouldn't need more than notch 3-4 the rest of the way to East Oly.

As to the jackass that made the comment about me knowing more about the people that run the railroad, I never made that claim. I was complaining about more modern power that lacks the personality of the older stuff. If they think its justified, go for it. This is an enthusiast site remember, not an industry forum. I'm entertained by noise and variety, not operating ratios and cost per ton. I deal with that nonsense at work every day. Lighten up.