This subject gets to plowing the same ground over and over. When you plow ground,you expose worms. People put worms in cans. Then what do you have. A can of worms, plowed ground and nothing more. For three years or more, this subject has been debated again and again on this site with no solution. Could it be that this is the real answer? This NWP subject is purely political and pandering to developers as usual. If there was any bottom line profit in it, SP and ATSF would have held onto it and so would have UP. MDO who worked for SP for decades,(NWP fell under his area of responsibility) said on this site that it was the thing to do. Get rid of it, it is a loser. You can't get anyone currently who has more history on NWP as an operating entity than that. Speaking of history. Remember that railroad was started before the advancement in the state of the art of roads and the automobile. It was solely begun for the purpose of hauling lumber. Passenger service and freight were secondary. Once the bridge was built and cars took hold, passenger service ceased. Today you can't look at a tree up there crosswise or you will have at least three menacing groups after you. The resident population along the route will not allow the establishment of heavy industry in their environs that is needed to support freight. It's gone. Forget it.
R.E.Rail