Western Railroad Discussion > Mt. Hood RR propane cars gone

I took a drive up to Parkdale yesterday and couldn't find a stored tank car anywhere. Cold winter? Or just moved to Sonoma county?

This is the time of year that LPG is in high demand. Shortlines have been making money by storing LPG cars during the spring and summer when LPG demand is low, then when demand picks up during the fall and winter those cars are distributed to customers. It evens out the production for producers and better handles the fluctuating demands of customers. It's really a win-win for all parties involved.

Ted Curphey
Ontario, OR

There was a report on some board or another about the cars being moved off the property back in mid-summer, only a month or so after they arrived.  I don't know if MH resumed passenger operations to Parkdale or not after they left, I remember there being a lot of time left in the tourist season at the time.

Jeff Moore
Elko, NV

rumor has it that MHRR returns to Parkdale in 2017...........awaiting confirmation.  

A propane pipeline into North Dakota was converted to outbound crude in 2013. That alone drove a big increase in rail car demand.

Grain dealers are extensive users of propane for drying.

Posted from Android

And the grain dealer thing is a total crapshoot as the weather prior to harvest has a huge effect on the
amount of drying required.

Out

They could certainly convert the grain driers to use a
coal stoker furnace too and use more western coal that way.

They would save a ton of money and the CO-OP owner members
will make more money per bushel as it would take less fuel and effort
to dry the grain using a coal fired hot water grain drying system using
an hot water to air heat exchanger to make enough heat to dry grain.   

leonz Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> They could certainly convert the grain driers to
> use a
> coal stoker furnace too and use more western coal
> that way.
>
> They would save a ton of money and the CO-OP owner
> members
> will make more money per bushel as it would take
> less fuel and effort
> to dry the grain using a coal fired hot water
> grain drying system using
> an hot water to air heat exchanger to make enough
> heat to dry grain.   

Don't make me laugh. Wouldn't even be in the same ballpark cost wise. There is no way converting the hot air from coal fire to hot water back to hot air to dry grain is better than just creating hot air with propane. There would be major heat loss at each transfer.
Not even going to get into the costs of single car coal transport, storage, stoker problems, ash disposal, cost to maintain boiler.

Posted from iPhone

Hot water heat exchange is an option that is used in some cases.
Underfed coal stokers in hot air furnaces create as much or more
heat than propane burners.