Sir Ray wrote:Are you referring to the Knox & Kane? The details don't precisely match what you wrote, but the overall story is close.
Yes, that would be the story. I actually found the issue and re-read it as it has been some time. I see I got my story messed up on the Kinzua viaduct that was actually damaged by a 2003 tornado. The state which owned the bridge decided not to repair it which was a death toll for the tourist operation and eventually for the railroad as a whole as freight was virtually non-existent in 2005 when the article was done. Still, the article mentions that while Lucinda is only 9 miles north of Interstate 80, those 2 lumber cars had to travel more than 100 miles from a Class 1 Railroad line with 50 or more miles of that being down the 10 mile per hour Knox & Kane proving the point of the article as quoted directly from it as follows. " If nothing else, shipping lumber by rail to Lucinda was a testament to the mode's advantages, be it tariff, or, a flatcar's limit, or both." In the case of Garfield Lumber, they probably don't do the volume of business to require carloads. If they do then they're crazy not to at least investigate as a lot of things have changed in the rail industry to make it more competitive with the trucking industry than a lot of people know.
RAILROADS: AMERICA'S MOST IMPORTANT TOOL FOR ENERGY CONSERVATION. REMIND YOUR POLITICIANS HOW YOU WANT YOUR TAX DOLLARS SPENT.