Editorial: “The oil train blues” from the issue commented above.
I have never been want to comment on a editorial in TRAINS, before. But this one got my attention.
As some other readers know, I live out here in ‘fly-over’ land in South Central Kansas. Between the junctions of two BNSF main arteries. The Ark City Sub and the El Dorado sub. about MP225.5 on the Southern Transcon. I am able to watch the traffic from my windows or the back porch. Hard to miss too much; except when sleeping.[Two crossing about a mile South and 5 going thru town, and then another couple North of town by a couple of miles.] And also, area is double tracked; signaled for both directions on both lines for fast running. Air Horns are a fact of life around here.
[soapbox] My point is, that in that mix, are petroleum tanker movement of all kinds, in blocks, and full trains. I have commented on other Threads about some of the observations I’ve made of train makeup. Train speed over the last couple of weeks has slowed down for trains made up of blocks of tank cars. There are also solid consists of tankers, running at reduced speeds;for these ‘Key Trains’ speeds got slower well in advance of the Railroad and Fed’s announcing their new rules, and regulations for these movements. Better a proactive stance on the part of the BNSF.
I found it a little disconcerting that you seemed to indicate a level of fear(?) or concern as a tank train came into view. To me, it sort of smacked of a level of fear mongering that seems to be a constant theme in more mainstream media (ie:‘…Nothing sells papers like bad news…’.). Witness the Lac Megantic, Que. and derailment and wreck in Cassellton, ND. The media