 |
Re: Northwest (SP&S/GN/NP/UP) Question
Author: Erik H.
Date: 09-28-2020 - 13:39
Columbia Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> 2. Does the Portland & Western send their outbound
> traffic out of their Rainier area customers like
> the Sause Bros and Teevin loft / barge and USG
> Sheetrock directly towards willbridge / BNSF or
> over the NW hills to Hillsboro the long way. Seems
> strange to send cars all the in just to eventually
> get them back into Portland.
P&W interchanges with BNSF at Willbridge Yard and picks up the inbound traffic at Vancouver. There'd be no reason for A-Line traffic to go over Cornelius Pass if it were being interchanged to BNSF; any traffic originating on the A-Line and heading over Cornelius Pass is either local traffic (including Teevin Brothers traffic to the CORP) or being interchanged to the UP.
However, P&W does have trackage rights on the UP between Willsburg Junction and Union Station inherited from the BNSF, so OE District traffic being interchanged with BNSF can either go via the UP or its own route over Cornelius Pass. The UP route is obviously much shorter, but if UP can't work a P&W train in then they'll go over the hill.
> 3. I see massive modern BNSF units pulling long
> strings of tank cars on the line almost to
> Astoria. Why wouldn’t the P&W pick them up at
> interchange and take them in?
These are unit ethanol trains being handled by BNSF from wherever in the midwest. Easier to just run the power through on the P&W since the entire train will be handled at once to the destination at Port Westward and then the empty unit train back to the BNSF. Also these trains aren't on a regular schedule so P&W would either have to arrange for its own power to be shuttled up to Linnton, or to keep extra engines in Linnton. Easier for everyone involved to just run-through the BNSF power.
-------------------------------------------------------
> 2. Does the Portland & Western send their outbound
> traffic out of their Rainier area customers like
> the Sause Bros and Teevin loft / barge and USG
> Sheetrock directly towards willbridge / BNSF or
> over the NW hills to Hillsboro the long way. Seems
> strange to send cars all the in just to eventually
> get them back into Portland.
P&W interchanges with BNSF at Willbridge Yard and picks up the inbound traffic at Vancouver. There'd be no reason for A-Line traffic to go over Cornelius Pass if it were being interchanged to BNSF; any traffic originating on the A-Line and heading over Cornelius Pass is either local traffic (including Teevin Brothers traffic to the CORP) or being interchanged to the UP.
However, P&W does have trackage rights on the UP between Willsburg Junction and Union Station inherited from the BNSF, so OE District traffic being interchanged with BNSF can either go via the UP or its own route over Cornelius Pass. The UP route is obviously much shorter, but if UP can't work a P&W train in then they'll go over the hill.
> 3. I see massive modern BNSF units pulling long
> strings of tank cars on the line almost to
> Astoria. Why wouldn’t the P&W pick them up at
> interchange and take them in?
These are unit ethanol trains being handled by BNSF from wherever in the midwest. Easier to just run the power through on the P&W since the entire train will be handled at once to the destination at Port Westward and then the empty unit train back to the BNSF. Also these trains aren't on a regular schedule so P&W would either have to arrange for its own power to be shuttled up to Linnton, or to keep extra engines in Linnton. Easier for everyone involved to just run-through the BNSF power.
