Came across a story from the Cedar Rapids Gazette this evening that the Iowa Department of Natural Resources has been awarded a 25.7 million dollar grant to construct an all-purpose intermodal facility on the southwest side of town. This is something that has been a LONG, long time in coming and certainly one of the more positive developments on the railroad front in eastern Iowa in sometime.
Beat ya to it, LARG…
Isn’t this something that greyhounds has been advocating for years ? Mainly in the context of processed meat and chicken shipments ?
The Gazette’s article has more details than the KCRG summary, including identifying the serving railroad - CRANDIC. But both are lacking some details, such as the projected traffic volumes.
What continues to amaze me is the ability of legislative drafters to come up with titles of bills that - when reduced to their leading initials - are a short version of the purpose of the bill. This one is a contender for the championship:
" . . . Fostering Advancements in Shipping and Transportation for the Long-term Achievement of National Efficiencies — or FASTLANE".
Note that of the $46.5 million estimated cost, the US DOT is providing $26.7 million; the remaining $21 million will be provided by private partners ( [:-,] none of whom, I trust, will be named Peter Piper, or will have picked a peck of pickled peppers).
- Paul North.
Somehow $46.5 million just doesn’t seem to be much to construct much of a facility. Somebody must be donating the land and it has got to be adjacent to an already existing mainline… maybe it is to be a repurposing of an already existing yard?
Sounds like it’s going in next to the CRANDIC’s 900 yard south of Beverly, Charlie. That farmland isn’t THAT expensive, is it?
And reading the Ceda rabits Kazoo article, I didn’t know one could store
“bulk fright”
When I hear intermodal facility, I think of loading/unloading TOFC/COFC. This sounds like more of a break-bulk/team track type of facility. Something that would help companies that don’t have a rail siding.
Speaking of Beverly, the Beverly yardmaster positions are, or soon will be, abolished. Clinton yardmasters will now supervise Beverly/Cedar Rapids by phone/radio. The general consensus seems to be that this will fly like a lead balloon.
Jeff
So, how many boxes of oatmeal can you get into a 40-foot container?
Seems that all the carriers are floating such lead baloons - in my area of responsibility 5 Yardmaster positions are being consolidated into other locations.
From the map shown. it looks like it’s just west of ADM-Corn Sweeteners. South of where US 30 crosses over both Prairie Creek and the UP main line.
I get the impression that Alliant/Crandic may already own land in that area. Probably obtained originally for future rail needs for ADM.
A question for our Cedar Rapidians, or those near by. I heard that the Crandic may be getting the CN (ex-IC) line up to Manchester. Anyone heard that back there?
Jeff
Will a Cedar Rapids bulk transfer facility be competitive with Mississippi River terminals not that far east?
Outbound eastbound rail, how would most route? Does the Iowa Interstate stand to gain most going to and through Chicago?
I’m not aware that CN has any plans to divest itself of the secondary mainline to Cedar Rapids. They’ve put a lot of money into that over the last few years.
The Crandic had, and I think it’s still in effect, a haulage agreement with the IAIS. On paper, or it’s digital equivalent, the Crandic interchanges with all major Class 1 railroads at either end of the IAIS.
Jeff
I heard it from a co-worker who used to work for the Crandic. He keeps in touch with a couple guys still working there. One of those CIC guys thinks the Iowa Northern may pick it up instead. That’s all I’ve heard, no reason why CN might want to pull out of CR. All local railfan sources haven’t said anything.
Jeff
News to me…
I don’t like it one bit. This seems like nothing but corporate welfare for Alliant Energy.
On a project such as this if it can’t be financed without goverment giving away the peoples’ money it shouldn’t be done because it won’t produce a positive economic gain.
Is the “bulk fright storage and transfer operation” what makes it one of a kind?
Original post quoted to activate the link.
greyhounds: Let’s set aside the government money debate for the moment. (I don’t see how a terminal for intermodal, cross-dock, and bulk transfer would benefit Alliant Energy’s electric and gas utility operations, though it likely would benefit its CRANDIC subsidiary* and enhance the value of the nearby real estate mentioned above).
What I’m really interested in is whether the intermodal portion of this terminal would be a first step or helpful to the processed meat operations you’ve discussed here several times - recent examples:
“Shout “Halleluiah” and haul the meat!” at http://cs.trains.com/trn/f/111/p/231396/2589295.aspx#2589295
“CN lines in Iowa” at http://cs.trains.com/trn/f/111/t/253742.aspx?page=1 January 17, 2016;
"
Sounds like it has benefits far beyond Alliant. Trailers and COFC and intermodal are not in the domain of an electric utility.
They are ‘in the domain of an electric utility’ if they are being handled by the subsidiary of an electric utility. From the quoted article: