Yankton (SD) Daily Press & Dakotan: http://www.yankton.net/stories/041307/com_162666975.shtml Friday, April 13, 2007 Story last updated at 1:03 am on 4/13/2007 Abandoned Railroad Line West Of Yankton To Platte To Be Restored By: Loretta Sorensen WAGNER SD -- A railroad line running from west of Yankton at Napa Junction to Platte that was abandoned nearly 20 years ago is being restored as part of the construction of a new ethanol plant in Wagner. The State of South Dakota officially announced on April 9 that it had reached an agreement to sell the railroad line for $1.5 million to Wagner Native Energy. Project Coordinator for construction of the plant, Bill Riechers of Volga, said the rejuvenation of the line will benefit the entire Wagner region. "This will restore rail service to the elevators in Wagner, Tyndall, Avon, Tabor and Dante," Riechers said. "That means better prices for the farmers when they sell their commodities and potentially lower costs for products like fertilizer which could be shipped in by rail rather than by truck. That economic benefit will trickle down to farmers who patronize the elevator and for the entire region. We met with some of the elevator managers and they were excited about the opportunity to have rail service again." According to Riechers, the plant in Wagner, because of its location in a rural area, will qualify for some tax breaks. The optimistic outlook for ethanol production, he noted, makes the project a positive development for the community. "The outlook for ethanol is certainly optimistic," Riechers said. "We had record production last year and it will be better this year. We now produce more now than Brazil, and we're going to leave them behind in the dust in the next couple of years." Wagner Native Energy was required to have access to railroad service before they could gain approval to construct their plant. Riechers said the requirement is a standard element for all ethanol plants. "A lot of the distillers grain is hauled out by rail as well as having the corn hauled in," Riechers said. "Wagner is a great location for the plant because there is ample corn here for the plant and it will create jobs for this area. This is the only way to make rail service available." It has been estimated that the cost of restoring the railroad could reach $20 million. Riechers said some of that cost will be offset by sale of the rail that is currently on the track. "There's 60-pound rail on the track right now," Riechers said. "That's pretty light rail and they don't even make it any more. We've been able to find railroad companies who still have that kind of track and who are willing to purchase it from us. We'll be replacing the rail lines with 115-pound rail. It's a lot a heavier." South Dakota Department of Transportation Director of Local Transportation Programs, Bruce Lindholm, at Pierre, said the restoration of the line is not necessarily unusual, but somewhat rare. "It's not really common, but it does happen," Lindholm said. "Part of the process will be installing new railroad ties at the crossings and restoring the crossings that have been removed or covered. If there's been a grade change in the crossing the entity that did the work will have to restore the crossing. That could be a county, township, city or state office. The new rail and ties will be placed by the new owners." Lindholm said there is one other section of railroad in the state, running from Mitchell to Kadoka, that is used very little. Overall, there is heavy usage of rail lines in the state. "The big ones are DM&E and Burlington Northern and Santa Fe," he said. "They ship a lot of products via rail." Riechers said sale and restoration of the railroad line to Wagner Native Energy revives a lifeless asset for the state. "This rail line was pretty much a dead asset," Riechers said. "Reaching the agreement to purchase the line was a divining moment for our project. It's actually been a bigger undertaking than the development of the ethanol plant. But we're not backing away from that. The purchase agreement is done and now we just need to follow through with the restoration when we take possession."
Only 115# rail? With these monster hoppers bringing in grain, they weigh what, 263,000# nowadays? Isn't the max loading increasing to something like 280,000# now? Will 115# rail hold that kind of weight?
I've a thought on this... As it did not say new rail, and as there's a lot of used 115 pound out there... Including old Milw stuff... I've a feeling this ethanol stuff is a bubble that could burst in a few years. :sad: Boxcab E50
That former MILW rail has sat corroding away from 20-plus years--would it be structurally sound? It wasn't maintained hardly at all the last few years of MILW's existance, in the first place.
Actually, sitting has no effect. That would need to be done over many long years. And BN sure made good use of what they ripped up. A lot was used in re-lay and extending sidings, etc. I was thinking of stuff from closer to that area. Such as perhaps rails from where BNSF has been doing upgrades with heavier stuff. Guess we'll find out. If the project does move forward. In the past, there's been other talk of reactivating this line. But nothing happened. Boxcab E50
Ha ha. I think it was back in the late '60's, when Paul Revere and The Raiders sang "Too much talk, and not enough action..." Boxcab E50
Actually, I was thinking of the 90's country version. I cannot for the life of me think of the artist...
Yikes. I started thinking. So had to look it up. 1968. Wow. Almost forty years ago! mg: :sad: Boxcab E50
