While I hope that Tillamook finds a way to move its goods out by rail again, lets keep this factual folks. 3000 cars per year -- or even the higher number of 5000 sometimes used -- is a drop in the bucket when you divided it over the nearly 100 track miles. It doesn't meet the industry standards of self-sufficiency, which is part of why the line is now a port operation, not a private one.

Further, the Portland & Western certainly appreciates having an interchange with POTB at Banks, but they are a 520 mile system and the loss is hardly making them bleed red ink. They are not "in trouble" in any way, shape, or form due to the loss of POTB traffic.

The loss *is* playing havoc with Tillamook County. But whether it justifies the investment is still up in the air.

Lastly, I don't know Mike Root, and he doesn't know me, but I *do* know *who* he is -- a veteran railroad operator with a long history of running trains in Oregon. Agree with him. Disagree with him. But he's not a random foamer and his words, bitter or not, deserve fair consideration.