Found this nicely done photo on Railpics. I’ve personally never seen a coal train on Tehachapi. Where might it be coming from (York Cyn?) Seems that it would be painfully roundabout for Power River Coal - that would seem more logical to run the trackage rights on the old Rio Grande. Also, any guess where this is going?
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=243971
Thx
Stack
P&M’s York Canyon Coal Mine closed six years ago, in 2002. It received a lot of railfan press because of its proximity to Raton Pass, but the more important rail-served mines for the last 30 years are in west-central New Mexico, in the Gallup and Star Lake fields. This coal train could have originated at:
Peabody Coal Co.'s Lee Ranch Mine near Grants, N.Mex., which produced 6 million tons in 2007. It’s connected by a private railroad with BNSF rights to the BNSF main line at Prewitt, N.Mex.
Chevron Mining’s McKinley Mine north of Gallup, which produced 5.7 million tons in 2006. It’s connected by a BNSF spur to the main line at Gallup.
Less likely is that it’s Colorado, Utah, or PRB coal; while it’s true this is the long way around the trackage rights on the former D&RGW-WP-SP are expensive and train length limited to 105 cars.
Destinations is most likely one of the cogen plants in the Central Valley or less likely Stockton for export.
RWM
Coal over Tehachapi is not rare. Usually they are heading to the Savage plant in Wasco, Ca. I believe they can handle a 150 car train. Here in Hanford, about an hour north, i rarely see any.
I thought that state law in California forbids the use of coal for power plants (though apparently Ca. imports plenty of Kilowatts of coal generated electricity from border states)? I remember reading a magazine article some years back about rail operations at the port of Los Angeles which mentioned that there was some export coal that gets transloaded there for shipment to Asian destinations…
As of February 2007, California prohibits regulated utilities within the state from signing long-term contracts or investing in power plants that emit more than 1,000 lbs. of CO2 per megawatt-hour of production, which essentially prohibits the utilities from buying long-term coal-generated power from out-of-state, too, as well as many of the recently constructed natural-gas fired units. Absent a sequestration method, that will eventually sunset the use of coal-fired power for California.
Export coal off the U.S. West Coast has been intermittant with short periods of heavy movement followed by years of inactivity. U.S. steam coal is expensive compared to Australian, Colombian, and South African coal because of higher cost of labor, environmental compliance, and its much greater distance to tidewater. (Canadian coal exports are primarily metallurgical grades and their much greater value overcomes similar labor, environmetal, and distance burdens.)
At present coal export facilities are located at Long Beach, Stockton, and Richmond, California, though Long Beach is the only high-capacity facility. Alternatively U.S. coal is exported both through Roberts Bank, B.C., and Mississippi River barge terminals such as Cahokia Marine south of East St. Louis.
The third engine in the consist is a KCS loco. What is it doing there? Where did the coal come from? Could it be east coast meteriogical or coking coal?
Chance’s are good it’s just run-through power – and KCS is not an east-coast railroad by any definition nor does KCS originate coal.
It’s highly unlikely this is east-coast metallurgical-quality (coking) coal. There is no reason to haul it across the continent by rail. Also, it takes 4-5 trainloads to fill a Panamax ship so it would be FIVE trainloads required, not one.
RWM
Wasn’t an all coal train called a black snake? or was that a consist of all oil tank cars???
The coal is loaded in Utah (usually in the vicinity of Price/Helper), and travels on UP from there to Barstow, California where it’s interchanged with BNSF for Wasco, California. The train currently runs through with BNSF power, but has used UP power in the past, too.
VM, thanks for clarifying this. It’s embarassing to have overlooked that especially when the information is at my fingertips.
RWM