Western Railroad Discussion > Coos Bay, Ore., port talking to coal shipper

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Would that recently reopened line handle the volume and weight of unit coal trains?

Bob Callahan
Monticello, IN

It would likely take a bunch of dough to upgrade the line, but if you are talking that mcuh business, I bet it would get done fast!

Rob

It may not be too much effort. I remember reading that Espee put in a lot of welded rail and new ties in anticipation of exporting coal in the 1980s, but the business never happened.

Can the branch handle 143 ton cars?

The Siuslaw River draw looks pretty iffy, but as noted above, if there's revenue to be had, capital can be found for upgrades.

The line into Coos Bay is being rebuilt with a TIGER grant to 286K standards. I've been over the line as far as the Siuslaw River, and except for the bridge it looks in pretty good shape. And Coos Bay could sure use the traffic.

One thing to remember is that Coos Bay has been looking for new business and new industry of one sort or another for thirty years or more, generally without much success. It's got a fine port, but its isolation (whether by road or by rail) from the major transportation lines has worked against it. There have been many false alarms during that period.

The worst problem with growth in Coos Bay is all the California-imported NIMBYs that fight EVERY proposal for ANY new industry anyone can come up with!!! They sell their places in CA and move up here to retire, and dont want any changes (read growth) in the area. They've got theirs, and the heck with the locals. Every year school enrollment drops, and the average age increases. Some of these folks look at our bay and think its "pristine", not knowing of its former heavy shipping and industrial use, and all the residual crud exposed at low tides.
Jim



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/22/11 18:24 by WOPRJim.