From time to time, in my part of the world, SD-MN-IA tri-state area, someone tries to reopen a dormant branch line for seasonal traffic. Seasonal traffic being grain shipment in these parts.
From what I can gather, none of these lines seems to be able to survive without some form of grant or subsidy. After some years they go dormant again.
Are any of the lines carrying seasonal grain traffic self-supporting?
Speaking from a Canadian perspective, what did a lot of branch lines in was the end of the household coal market. There were a number of lines that had small, deep shaft coal mines, along with many elevators along the way. Although both of these commodities were seasonal, having two of them seemed to work. Once the coal traffic was gone many of these branch lines were either abandoned or sold off to shortline operators. I have never been able to get a good handle on how these spin-offs were working in Canada.
I know from my family’s experience it happens fairly quickly. Irricana, AB was on the Langdon Sub. which served the Atlas Coal Mine at East Coulee. Extra coal drags in the fall stopped running about 1961 or '62, all the stations on the line closed in 1965, and the line was abandoned by 1970.
There was a wonderful story in Classic Trains, I think, a few years ago about a Milwaukee Road branch line that met a similar fate.
Bruce
Well, the track is there. And is used every year, year after year. Nobody’'s pulled them up or buried them. Nobody’s made them into HSR rights of way, either. So, what answer are you looking for?
Can we say with any certainty that the lines don’t go dormant as part of priming the pump for another round of grants? Seems like it would make sense, to allow absence make the heart to grow fonder.
Seems like there are a couple branch lines around here that are owned by grain elevator operators, who may haul a few other odds and ends throughout the year, but their primary intent is in serving their parent operation. If you were some such operator, wouldn’t it make sense to periodically raise awareness by threatening to close down unless the state gives you a MOW grant. That way you get ther other shippers on the line to support your cause, with the net effect being that your grain operation reaps the benefit as well. Seems like “Indiana Northeastern” and 'Winamac Southern" are names I hear that may have grainery parentage
…Are any of the lines carrying seasonal grain traffic self-supporting?
It is obvious that they must be! Otherwise they would have been pulled up or not used at all!
OK Maybe I’m not explaining this well. Would they still be able to operate at a profit without grants and subsidies?
Many of these branches lasted as long as they did because it would have been a public relations and political disaster to even propose abandonment, especially when grain shipments were mostly by the carload and trucking was rarely considered as an option. I’ve also noticed that a number of branches that were spun off as short lines wound up being abandoned anyway. The shortline operator was able to postpone the day of reckoning for a couple of years but the traffic still wasn’t there to support the operation, especially when cars got heavier and the necessary maintenance of way got more expensive.
I think this is what Murphy meant in his Original Post.
RWM once observed here to the effect that many of these short lines are ‘running on’/ using up/ depleting/ ‘recovering’ the invested capital in the line’s infrastructure from its original construction and long-ago maintenance and upgrading. When that’s all ‘used up’ - the ties are rotted, the bridges are in danger of falling down, the rail is worn, bent, and breaking frequently - then it’s likely “Game Over !”.
For those marginal operations, the subsidies and grants are likely the difference between a profit or a loss on the operating side, and life-or-death on the capital replacement side. Otherwise, it stands to reason that more money is always better ?
Back in the 1970’s, the ICC and USRA used a presumptive rule of 37 revenue carloads originated and/ or terminated per mile of line per year when evaluating whether a line is an abandonment ‘basket case’, or has a chance to make it. Today, shortline railroad consultant and Trains Columnist Roy Blanchard - http://www.rblanchard.com/TRAINS/index.html / Blanchard Company - http://www.rblanchard.com/index.html - advocates 100 cars/ mile/ year - see: http://www.rblanchard.com/resources/texts/rule100.htm
A couple years ago Trains had an article about the saga and trials and trib
Paul, thanks for the information. I remember when he wrote that article for TRAINS. I meant to do it then but I only just today tried it out on the Langdon Sub. I mentioned above.
It was 94 miles long with ten stations. I am assuming at least two elevators per station. Forget about 37 revenue carloads originated and/or terminated per mile. From what I remember from say 1963 or 64 you would be talking about a number like 22. That is only counting grain cars. Even including the three or four months of coal traffic you would never make it to 37 cars/mile/year.
I tried plugging in his 100 cars/mile/year number, and using the wooden grain elevator technology available at that time it would have been theoretically possible to get to 100, but there simply wouldn’t be enough grain in that part of the country to keep the elevators supplied. Even if you could maintain that 3 or 4 month pace for coal traffic for a whole year, you would still not have enough grain to make it work.
Using that ICC rule, that line would have been toast long before my parents ever moved there.[:(]
Paul,
I use Firefox foe browsing. When I temporarily want to navigate away from the page I’m working I right click on the link and choose ‘open in new tab’. When I’m done there I can just click on the original tab with no loss of data. Hope this helps.
Ahhh, yes that IS annoying. If you would like to embark upon a journey that will ultimately free you from said annoyance, the path starts here…