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Re: Idaho Northern & Pacific (hopper cars)
Author: Northern Snowman
Date: 10-22-2014 - 20:48
Brian Westgate Wrote:
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> Since there's no freight traffic beyond Emmett,
> could the line up to Cascade be abandoned in the
> near future?
Right now, yes. The abandonment fillings were approved way back in 2001 or so when the mills closed. The Thunder Mountain Line and as I understand it the fact the owners fell in love with the "mountain" are what have been keeping the rails in place.
The Cascade to Smiths Ferry section or the whole mountain from Banks north for that matter could be very profitable as a tour train but for some reason they feel the money will come from river rafters. True some river rafters will pay to have a shuttle take them to the put in, but way more tourist will pay more money to ride a train. All the river rats I know are penny pinching people who would prefer to hitchhike over pay for a ride. I could go on for a while about the missed opportunities but it will be of no use.
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> Since there's no freight traffic beyond Emmett,
> could the line up to Cascade be abandoned in the
> near future?
Right now, yes. The abandonment fillings were approved way back in 2001 or so when the mills closed. The Thunder Mountain Line and as I understand it the fact the owners fell in love with the "mountain" are what have been keeping the rails in place.
The Cascade to Smiths Ferry section or the whole mountain from Banks north for that matter could be very profitable as a tour train but for some reason they feel the money will come from river rafters. True some river rafters will pay to have a shuttle take them to the put in, but way more tourist will pay more money to ride a train. All the river rats I know are penny pinching people who would prefer to hitchhike over pay for a ride. I could go on for a while about the missed opportunities but it will be of no use.
