Gun Shy Wrote:
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> I don't know how they do it, but the guys running
> the P&W must be really smart because they seem to
> do EVERYTHING right! The employees don't seem to
> do too much @#$%& about things, they are always
> upgrading tracks and getting new business. They
> are like a model of what a short line should and
> can be.

First of all P&W ain't perfect - they have THREE lines currently under embargo or are otherwise not being used - the Astoria line into Astoria, Rex Hill (former SP Newberg Branch) between Sherwood and Newberg, and the Lower Westside (a.k.a. Bailey Branch) south of Corvallis.

There are willing shippers on the Lower Westside, and Cascade Steel/Schnitzer has to truck scrap metal from Portland to McMinnville because the railroad isn't open.

Secondly, I've heard a few unhappy folks at the P&W. A few years ago the train crews voted in union representation - why would they do that if they were so happy?

Third, much of their track upgrades came only after ConnectOregon funding. The line from Wilsonville to Beaverton is being upgraded thanks to TriMet, not because of the P&W. (The Tigard Yard is being paid for through ConnectOregon.) Many of the lines (i.e. the Willamina Line) have been in deplorable shape for decades; the Westside between McMinnville and Newberg is still in sad shape - 10 MPH top speed, lots of 75-90 pound rail. P&W reduced the top speed Derry-Corvallis from 40 to 25 MPH and trains die on the law on an almost daily basis.

I know a number of shippers in the McMinnville area that no longer use the rails, or at least not as much as they used to.

Yes, P&W is better than the Southern Pacific. They are doing some good things - they are getting tracks upgraded, new locomotives, more maintenance... But they aren't all that they are propped up to be, either.

> If they get the CORP they would cover all of
> Oregon from the Columbia to the border, to the
> coast at Astoria, Newport, and Coos Bay (maybe
> they can operate the POTB for the Port as well).
> That would be so neat to see, would that make them
> the biggest shortline in America?

P&W never successfully opened up the Astoria Line to Astoria - they did spend money to reopen the line, sent a diesel engine out there...sent the Lewis & Clark trains...and that was it. The line washed out (again!) and it's still washed out. There aren't any shippers in Astoria and there won't be.

Let the POTB die. What is your traffic potential in Tillamook - what company will willingly build a major industry IN A FLOOD PLAIN?!!! The lumber industry is going nowhere fast. TCCA is only good for a couple cars of feed a week - and cheese doesn't ship by rail very well. Why locate in Tillamook when you can just as easily locate in Banks or North Plains (or anywhere else in the Portland metro area), have better access to virtually anything and greater availability of skilled workers? If you're concerned about electric rates, Clark County, Forest Grove, McMinnville, Cascade Locks or The Dalles offers electric service at rates far less than Portland does.