With most of the coal hoppers used today, they may be converted into grain hoppers by weilding tops onto them. Cause most wont be needed when all the coal power plants will be shut down by 2018.
Comment doesn’y fly…twice.
It is doubtful there will be a total loss of coal mining and transportation as many nations overseas are buying up coal.
And just putting a top on coal car doesn’t make it a hopper for grain, plastics, or anything else. Size, mechanics, and cleanliness as well as ability to be cleaned and kept clean are all factors which many coal hoppers would not be able to meet. Stone and other ores maybe…maybe…but probably not grains.
IC tried putting temporary lids on their coal hoppers to use them in grain service. As far as I know, the plan didn’t work out since the bottom hatches leaked badly and the cars couldn’t be kept clean.
THEY ARE SHUTTING DOWN ALL COAL FIRED POWER PLANTS?
Yep! April 1st. The electrical output lost by shutting down the coal fired plants will be replced by the energy produced by pigs that fly. [sigh]
[:-,] No, the discontinued thermal energy from the coal in our nation’s energy portfolio will be replaced by the huge amount of otherwise useless ‘hot air’ emanating from D.C. and the capital cities of the several states . . . [:-^]
- Paul North.
Political alert!
Political alert!
Political alert!
[bow][2c][#oops]
Not to mention the gas emanating from the swamps of D.C.
[:'(][<:o)][<:o)][banghead][sigh]
LOL!!! No I think we can let that one slide since it’s not specific to any party affiliation and/or ideology.
[(-D]
Perhaps in 100 to 150 years they might have to get out of the coal business, when the coal supply RUNS OUT.
Andrew
NS & CSX have been shipping West Virginia all over the country and overseas for over 100 years - and it is still there.
I’m just curious. Where did you get the information that all the coal power plants will be shut down in six years? Do you know something we don’t know? If so, how do you know it? What B your source?
Do a Google search using the following line:
shut down coal power plants 2018
And enjoy an evening of reading about SOME power plants closing.
The Northwest’s two remaining coal-fired powerplants (located at Centralia, WA, and southwest of Boardman, OR) were targeted by environmental pressure and have both agreed to end their use of coal by 2020-2025. Having smelled success, environmental groups are now going after export coal that rolls through the same territory on its way to Asia via Canadian ports, and they’re vigorously fighting any effort to build new coal ports on U.S. shores. As for those “50,000 coal cars”, if that figure includes rotary -dump gons, I think it’s gonna take more than just a roof with loading hatches to convert those to grain service.
OHH GOD WHAT WILL THE RAILROADS DO? [:'(]
If I was anyone at the EPA right now I would lay LOW for a LONG time after one of the Region heads said he liked to Crucify Companies to get them into Compliance a couple years ago and it came out this year that this is teh EPA’s Enforcement Doctorine. Think about it we have a Goverment Agency that has No Congressional Power by Law yet they can by making a Threat shut down a Industry. Something wrong there. Read the Clean Air Act the EPA Never was given Enforcement Power or Regulatory Power they made that up ThEMSELVES.
There’s probably a Government program looking into that (pig idea) right now. Part of the “green” energy “revolution.”
The other day I did see a spokesperson for some coal group on a right leaning network who said that we have probably seen our last new coal burning plant built. While there might be some truth to that, I think it was more hyperbole for the viewers. Most of whom probably don’t have an aversion to the burning of coal to begin with. I feel that eventually for a few reasons, the price of natural gas will go up enough to make coal viable again. At least to everyone except for those who have bought into or have a vested interest in extreme environmentalism.
Jeff
Losing the coal business would pale in comparison to what traffic would dry up after losing 42% of our country’s electrical output , and what that would do to the economy.
Only the railroad could figure out how to ship something, yet leave it where it was.
[:-^]