Something that has always left me entirely bemused is rail spurs to electrical power transformer stations–not electrical generating stations, but just transformer stations. Between Indiana and Illinois, I can think of at least 6 such spurs. Despite coming into regular contact with them as long as I can remember watching trains, I have never once seen a car sitting in one. And, aside from the initial installation of the station and replacing a transformer every 30 years, it is hard for me to think of a reason for the spur being there. Moreover, I imagine the initial installation probably does not yield more than 15 cars.
I take that back, in Newcastle, Indiana, on the Indiana Hi-Rail, they are currently storing auto-carrier cars on such a spur–to the chigrin of residents . . .
Am I missing something, or is it really economically reasonable to have rail spurs leading to such power stations? I just do not understand why anyone would go through the expense of building such a spur for such little traffic.
Think of it this way, Gabe–thirty years down the road, if they do need a transformer, odds are that a truck can’t bring the replacement if it didn’t bring the original. It might make sense to straight-rail the switch for such a spur (assuming that it is not intended or usable for anything else in the meantime) until such time as it is needed, but I’d hate to have to rebuild a spur on short notice if some weather emergency required replacement of the transformer in a hurry (putting the frog back in and unspiking the switch might be easier). I do know that transformers appear to be getting smaller for the same job, so some of these spurs may no longer be needed.
The easiest way (excluding shipping) to move a transformer is by rail, since they tend to be very heavy and bulky. By highway a route has to be devised that avoids bridges with weight limitations, restricted overhead bridges, wires, traffic lights, etc., and overweight permits need to be arranged from the various jurisdictions crossed in what may be a lengthy haul from the manufacturer. Seasonal road restrictions can delay transport for several months. The cost of hiring a trailer with the enormous capacity is also high. And bear in mind that in the past the maximum load limits on the main highways were far lower.
The utility will have arranged and paid for the spur as part of the cost of the transformer station, and its cost was probably a quite minor part of the overall project. (Obviously the railroad would not be interested in paying for the spur, si
In considering whether transformers of major substation size can be moved by road, I have seen more than a few in residential areas. I doubt that those streets can carry the kind of load that might be permitted on a heavily built interstate, nor do they have the width and corner clearances normal to an industrial area.
Once in place, the spur is a minor expense 'way down among the ‘miscellaneous costs’ on the detailed annual financial statement. It’s rather like a fire station. Most of the time, it isn’t really needed - but, when you do need it, you need it NOW!
(1) Most of them are long term insurance based on a technology that has changed.Most are pre-1970’s…
(2) The older contracts that go with those things are like gold now, as long as the utility maintains the basic parts of those contracts. (Public team tracks have all but disappeared)
(3) Instant leverage with the heavy haul truckers (and with highway infrastructure falling apart, maybe the only way to get certain physical plant moved)
(4) If they had only seen the wind energy boom coming (most are inadequate for that purpose)
I’ve seen this question before, related to power stations in British Columbia. That is the correct answer. Perhaps Kootenay Central knows the ones of which I speak.
The items mentioned in the posts above are relevant, but on the business side, the cost of the siding goes into the rate base, i.e., the total of the electrical utility’s capital expenditures. In the regulation era, public utility regulators allowed electric companies to establish base rates that would allow rather substantial returns on invested capital. Pull up the siding and it’s off the balance sheet and not making a profit for the company.
That rate making scheme was a big reason why electric companies with coal fired generators readily went to the ownership of cars that were otherwise provided by the railroads.
If I may, let me summarize the key points of John’s, Jay’s and Mud’s posts:
If someone else is paying for it and is essentially on a force-account basis (a ratepayer), and your friendly regulator emphasizes reliability and stability first, cost second, you are being incentived to build for the worst-case scenario, not the least-expensive scenario.
Once you’ve built something like a track, that gives you not much cash back if you tear it up, and costs you very little to leave in place for years, and would cost you a fortune in time and money and public-works anguish to put back if you did tear it up and later discover you wanted it, what on earth would compel you to tear it out?
Never underestimate the power of a rusty railway spur to keep your truck rates capped.
Never underestimate the cost and difficulty of obtaining a permit to cross a public street with a rail spur, or to obtain a road permit for an extremely heavy load.
You cannot overestimate the time and money you will have obtaining the permits for any construction that requires the approval of city, state, and federal agencies. For every additional agency involved, multiply the cost of obtaining permits by three. 1 agency = 1, 2 agencies = 3, 3 agencies = 9 and so forth.
The private trackwork company I worked for a few years ago regularly built and restored these kinds of sidings to service, whenever the power company had or foresaw a need. Rail access was often a reason that the substation was sited where it was - the transmission lines can go almost anyplace if they need to [OK, a little exaggeration there, but the wires are more flexible than finding a rail siding.]
One of my favorites of those projects was repairing an abandoned [or embargoed, or about to be] branch line for a single move of a replacement transformer. It seems the last train down the line derailed coming out of a curve onto a long tangent, and turned over one of the rails - it just happened to be a 4,000 ft. long Continuous Welded Rail. That derailment may have been enough reason to cause the embargo the line, because there wasn’t much traffic on it anyway that couldn’t be reached by other connections. The power company paid us about 30,000 dollars [as I recall] to get the rail upright, regauge it, replace several hundred ties, and install enough rail anchors to keep it from ‘running’ and buckling, etc. They were happy to do it, as truck access to that site otherwise was a nightmare. For those who are curious, it was the Reading Railroad’s Chester Valley Branch, in the King of Prussia area. The work started just west of what was then the Henderson Road grade crossing, and went west for the 4,000 ft. from there. The transformer was for Phila. Elec. Co. and its substation right near the interchange of the Schuylkill Expressway [I-76] with the Pennsylvania Turnpike [I-76 and I-276], U.S. Route 202, U.S. Route 422, etc. - about 1 mile southwest of the King of Prussia Shopping Mall. Eventually the line was obliterated when the closely parallel ex-PRR Trenton Cut-Off grade crossing of Henderson Road was grade-separated a few years later, and is now part of a rail-trail to the west of our work area.
The electrical transmission company I work for has a storage facility on a mainline with a siding, two major substations on mainlines with sidings and two major substations that are now stranded on abandoned railroad right of ways. All of the substations were built in the early '70’s or earlier, with the storage yard built in the late '80’s. The funny thing is, none of the 3 facilities with sidings have a switch in the mainline now. Not only is it too expensive to keep a switch in the main, it is too expensive to install a switch just for a transformer changeout. When our biggest transformer on the system died, it was more economical to get a 24 axle transport trailer to haul it from the mainline to the pad instead of having BNSF install a switch. BNSF allowed us to tie up the mainline for two hours to lift the transformer off the flatcar and set it on the trailer at a local railroad crossing. Since the cranes are on site to do the lift at the sub anyway, it is a relatively small expense to have them lift another time at the crossing and re
Most of our sub-stations that had rail access the rail has been removed. Cheaper and faster to truck in the transformers unless they are really big like a main unit transformer.
I build a substation once that has no truck access. Had the transformers come by rail from Cannonsburg, PA to Allen Park, MI. Had the control house trucked from Houston, TX to Melvindale, MI. Loaded it on a flat car and draged all three cars out on the NS main Line where a crane unloaded all three cars.
Another time got a transformer out of Montreal, PQ. Since it was a main unit transformer it had to come by rail. Took CN only two days to get it from Montral to River Rouge, MI in regular train service. Was delivered to plant. Plant locomotive spotted it next day, unlaoded it useing “sliders” and the next day had plant locomotive set the car out for interchange to CN.
I’am building a new substation in Southwest Detroit. Found a place on the DTSL to unload the transforemr and would only have to truck it 2000 feet but was over ruled. It is being trucked from Cannonsburg, PA.
Just received a transformer from Cannonsburg for a station in the lower westside of Detroit. Rail would take at least four days and I would still have to truck the transformer from the NS about 3,000 feet to its location. Trucker delivered it in two days, right to the site.
Back in the old days, rail was the only way to move transformers but with the developments in trucks and transformers of the same capicity smaller and railroads not really wanting special shipments it is better to truck it.
Had another transformer coming out of Monroe, MI. Had to wait weeks to get a railcar. Railroad keep saying tomorrow, tomorrow. That went on for over a week.