Not exactly on the scale of the Berkshire-Hathaway / BNSF deal, but still of interest.
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www.yakima-herald.com]
Perhaps you may recall that freight operations on this line were once operated by Yakima Valley Rail & Steam Museum Association, until the CBRR (the Temple family) saw an opportunity to grab it. Now it appears someone is going to take it away from CBRR.
[
www.nprymuseum.org]
Quoting the Herald:
The new applicant, W&I Railway, a subsidiary of the Burbank, Wash.-based
Frontier Rail, proposed to pay Yakima County $12,000 per year.
It appears that Frontier Rail is the contract switcher of the Railex plant in Burbank, WA. Its not clear to me why their subsidiary name "W&I Railway" is so similar to the "Washington and Idaho Railway" operating out of Marshall, WA, but it doesn't appear as though they are connected.
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www.wirailway.com]