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Re: "A Sad Look at the Northwestern Pacific RR Today"
Author: Holly Gibson
Date: 12-22-2010 - 14:53
Joel M Wrote:
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> Back to NWP vs SBVR, the biggest difference I see in about 5 minutes of research is that the SBVR actually has freight to haul.
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The line was most likely a money loser, hence B&O wouldn't have had a desire to get rid of it. Just like the NWP, it is subject to flood damage from the river it parallels, but Robert Byrd money came in handy in having the line rebuilt. Freight traffic has been "built" as new industries have sprung up along the line and shippers have been assured the line will be around for awhile. As for Humboldt County's desire to discourage any type of heavy industry, they may have to re-think that philosophy. Right now, probably the biggest contributor in keeping Humboldt County solvent is the cultivation of marijuana. It's an illegal, underground, unreported, but very profitable economy. That could all change if weed is legalized (probably not a question of "if", but, rather, "when") and the street price of it drops to sensible levels. Like the SBVR, if the line were re-built through Eel River Canyon and potential shippers were assured it had a solid future (and, again, that would take lots of Robert Byrd-style government money), there could be a return of industry to Humboldt County that ships by rail. As for whatever business could be shipped in and out of the port at Humboldt Bay, let's just say that having rail access would be a "feather in the cap" that isn't there if there's no rail access. It's the "if you build it, they will come" approach. And, just for good measure, and just like the SBVR and its "Potomic Eagle" passenger/tourist operation, a tourist train operating through Eel River Canyon, if marketed right, could probably be a success. Hell, if nothing else, rebuild the railroad as part of a project similar to what the Works Progress Administration did during FDR's rein. READ MY LIPS: It would put people to work. And you'd have something useful to show for it afterwards: A neat railroad running through a neat region, offering all the "spillover" benefits that rail transportation has to offer.
Or would throwing government money at such a project just be too socialistic for the Tea Partiers to stomach?
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> Back to NWP vs SBVR, the biggest difference I see in about 5 minutes of research is that the SBVR actually has freight to haul.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The line was most likely a money loser, hence B&O wouldn't have had a desire to get rid of it. Just like the NWP, it is subject to flood damage from the river it parallels, but Robert Byrd money came in handy in having the line rebuilt. Freight traffic has been "built" as new industries have sprung up along the line and shippers have been assured the line will be around for awhile. As for Humboldt County's desire to discourage any type of heavy industry, they may have to re-think that philosophy. Right now, probably the biggest contributor in keeping Humboldt County solvent is the cultivation of marijuana. It's an illegal, underground, unreported, but very profitable economy. That could all change if weed is legalized (probably not a question of "if", but, rather, "when") and the street price of it drops to sensible levels. Like the SBVR, if the line were re-built through Eel River Canyon and potential shippers were assured it had a solid future (and, again, that would take lots of Robert Byrd-style government money), there could be a return of industry to Humboldt County that ships by rail. As for whatever business could be shipped in and out of the port at Humboldt Bay, let's just say that having rail access would be a "feather in the cap" that isn't there if there's no rail access. It's the "if you build it, they will come" approach. And, just for good measure, and just like the SBVR and its "Potomic Eagle" passenger/tourist operation, a tourist train operating through Eel River Canyon, if marketed right, could probably be a success. Hell, if nothing else, rebuild the railroad as part of a project similar to what the Works Progress Administration did during FDR's rein. READ MY LIPS: It would put people to work. And you'd have something useful to show for it afterwards: A neat railroad running through a neat region, offering all the "spillover" benefits that rail transportation has to offer.
Or would throwing government money at such a project just be too socialistic for the Tea Partiers to stomach?
