Re: UP in the PNW?
Author: Bruce Kelly
Date: 11-20-2023 - 06:04
The oil train that derailed in Mosier was loaded in New Town, ND, and was taken north into Canada by CP; then it re-entered the U.S. when it was handed off to UP at Eastport, ID. Unit oil trains through Eastport used to happen two to three times a week but have been slim to none for most of this year. I can't speak to UP oil or grain trains that enter the PNW via the Blue Mountains, but unit trains of soybeans, corn and sometimes wheat that head northwest out of ND on CP and back into the U.S. at Eastport are a significant part of UP's PNW traffic mix this time of year. Kalama, WA, is a common destination. Some days can see as many as three grain loads come south through Eastport and a like number of empties north, while other days Eastport will see little more than a manifest each way.