Well, no one else has addressed your query thus far so I'll take a crack at it. A member of the "Pope's Creek Railfans", (An informal group of railfans here in southern Maryland and surrounding environs) who is also a CSX employee, sent out an email to the group a couple of weeks ago stating that rail movements to the 2 power plants on the Pope's Creek subdivision (Chalk Point in Prince George's County and Morgantown in Charles County) would be severly curtailed for the next 3+ months. This is primarily due to the mild winter that this region experienced resulting in a surplus of coal at both power plants.
A switch to natural gas is news to me. I checked the Genon (Current operator of the plants) website and there was no mention of this in the most recent news release. I've seen nothing in the local news either. That's not to say it's not a possibility but if a move is afoot to convert to natural gas it's a pretty well kept secret thus far. Genon news release:
http://www.genon.com/news.aspx
Genon, formerly Mirant, recently (Within the last 5-7 years.) made a huge investment in both plants by installing scrubbers to reduce the emissions coming from the smokestacks at the plants. This has increased the variety of freight traffic on the line. For years trains south of Rosewick Road in La Plata, where there is a large stone facility, consisted of coal loads southbound and empties returning north. Since the implementation of the scrubbers we now also see limestone hoppers, limestone being used in the scrubbers, and gypsum gondolas, gypsum being a product of the scrubbing process. I can't imagine that after this substantial investment that a conversion to natural gas would be made so soon unless the company stands to reap a huge tax writeoff.
I am able to view passing trains through La Plata from my house so this topic is of great interest to me-should I hear or read anything more regarding the natural gas issue I'll be sure to post it here.
EDIT:Just by coincidence I did manage to find this article in Wednesday's (April 11, 2012) issue of the
Maryland Independent regarding the construction of a natural gas power plant in Waldorf, MD, another town on the Pope's Creek sub. Despite the recession and housing slump in other parts of the state, Waldorf continues to grow by leaps and bounds and is rapidly placing a burden on the existing power grid. Article here:
http://www.somdnews.com/article/2012041 ... rnMaryland