Its not that they cannot run the long trains, just if they do, every other train will have to get clear the main for them. And BNSF isn't going to stop priority intermodal trains for an empty hopper train. Most trains are already close to maxing out sidings. This is why trains are the lengths they are and not longer.
Ya know maybe if the CP had the Cowboy from just west of Van Tassell to Crawford they could take coal for export to Vancouver and avoid Portland anti latte dust nimby people. Also they might have been able to get it faster to export customers...
The potential shipping point that would impact Portland is the Port of St. Helens, and that is because to get to the Port of St. Helens a train needs to pass through Portland. I live near the "rail cut" through North Portland and I don't sip lattes or whatever it is that folks think we do here, and I do like trains, but I have to say I am not crazy about carcinogenic coal dust raining over everything up here. We already have some of the crummiest air quality in the metro area owing to some of the other industries. Our riverfront here is a superfund site because of other industries (creosote plant for one) that went great guns for years, left a huge mess, and then went bankrupt. I am not saying "not in my backyard" but "how about we put some of these impacts in someone else's backyard." Remember - "clean" coal is the coal that's left in the ground.
Oh, I know you weren't trying to get after me, Fitz. I just saw more than one reference in the thread to latte sippers and I just wanted to let people know that there are work-a-day folks here who don't have money for lattes and put our pants on one leg at a time (except for me as I jump up in the air and kick my legs down into the pant-legs at the same time) who have a variety of opinions on this. Sure, I know that if BNSF is going to move a ton of coal trains through here there isn't much I can do about it except see if the dust can be mitigated. So far, BNSF appears kind of lukewarm on the whole thing, and there's still the usual North Portland into Vancouver bottleneck to contend with, and the Port of St. Helens would need some serious modernization in a flash. No worries, Fitz. Some of us are trying to keep the industries but get them to clean up their act a little. The boom-bust-leave a carcinogenic mess for generations to come bit that has been perpetrated on huge chunks of land in my area has made us a little more cautious, but then a lot of people here in this end of town work for a lot of these industries, or have employees of these industries as customers, so we certainly don't want to shut them down. I won't jump out and take a verbal bullet for the City Council. They get pretty much the criticism they deserve, frequently.
Adam points to the real bottleneck. The bridge over the Columbia and the railroad trench. Even if coal were clean, these are big bottlenecks. Part of why BNSF isn't being particularly agresive here as was said.
Most of any dust coming off of a moving coal train is going to do so within the first 100 miles or so- matter of fact, that has caused problems with the roadbeds in the Powder River district. By the time a coal train runs 1000 miles or so (in other words, by the time it gets to Portland), that isn't a problem. Plus, trains don't tend to roll fast thru any town- the coal dust scare is pretty much a bustable myth. If it were a problem, every city along every railroad ROW that sees coal traffic would have a powdery mist on everything next to the tracks, and that just isn't happening. There would be more of a concern with the exhaust from diesel locomotives, automobiles, ships, and people.
I'm sure you're right. But you know how some folks are. If it's big and industrial it's automatically "scary". Instead of waiting for facts they just react out of fear. A dust mitigation study should alleviate most people's fears.
Just saw a commercial about this on our local NBC affiliate, however, whoever did the commercial...FAIL Who knew...with covered hoppers, there's no need for dealing with coal dust
Whenever I visit my in-laws in Roanoke, Virginia, I am forever out trackside chasing trains. If coal dust were a problem it would show up here with all the massive trainloads funneling through town on their way to the tidewater ship loading facilitates around Norfolk. Here the tracks run right through the Carilion medical complex along the Roanoke River, one of the cleanest sections of town.
Yes I should have said that the people not you that are against, Sorry. Anyway they might try to say stuff like extra vibrations breaking buildings, cracks apear after years of settling! Dust will be horrible people near the tracks will get blacklung, And people that listen to thier music so loud you can hear it a block away the "noise polution might hurt thier poor ears" But seriously if they are noise concerned they could do short er er, er er. Or automated crossings like in Gering Ne. I can understand the noise, some of the new horns are kind of loud BUT I love horns anyway!!! Over the Blues would be out of the question. Going out of the PRB and to Joyce then to the hill to Albin, WY then to Cheryenne, WY then to Pocatello, ID and Hinkle, OR to Portland would be too horsepower consuming. Hopefully eventhough we might need coal someday this will be some boost in the long run. Through the funnel looks like about the only option.
