They weren’t carrying woodchips that afternoon. Looked too lumpy and as far as I know, nobody imports woodchips from the U.S since Northern Ontario, Quebec and BC have plenty of industries that can make it. Domestic woodchip gondolas usually have CN, CP or QOPX reporting marks. The GFSX reporting marks belong to GATX.
I saw those same cars about a month in Palmer, MA on a westbound train heading towards Springfield. They were loaded with construction garbage and debris. Chickenwire was used across the top of the gondola securing the load in.
I wonder where the stuff I was going was heading? If it was to go to the U.S and it came from Buffalo, CN put it on the wrong train. I have a sneaking suspicion that that stuff was heading to the Adam’s Mine in Northern Ontario and to my knowledge, the government had prohibited the use of that site for dumping because there were issues of possible contamination of aquafiers.
CSX and lately NS have been hauling what looks like demolished building debris to the Youngstown, Ohio area. Most of this moves in old woodchip and old coal cars. Much of it comes from the Northeast.
Tra***rains and trucks(semis) were both used to haul NYC trash out to Pa.and other points.I know that trash was going to a site north of Dubois Pa. A BF site. I saw a train load being refused in Illinois or somewhere else winding up in Ohio,from there no idea on where it wound up.NYC had the huge dumps on Staten island,the smell was really bad,I hear it is now closed.They now ship garbage on ocean going scows to somewhere in the carribean?
Chances are pretty good that I know of the train to which you refer that was refused in Illinois. I grew up a town over from the town that rejected it. They raised all kinds of fuss over it, saying they didn’t need NYC garbage smelling up things.
The thing is, that I don’t get, does NYC garbage smell any worse than Illinois grabage that is being put in this dump every day? I think not (the dump is kind of neat–it is a copper mine turned trash dump). I am told that the real issue is the county rather than the town got all of the tax from it.
My idea and wonder why its never been used.Why not replace the coal removed from all the underground mines with trash after the coal is gone?Fill those spaces back up so you do not have sink holes like in southern Indiana lately.i understand about the leaching in to the water aquifer,but there should be a way to slow or limit that process.
Just my 2 cents worth.
Open pit mines have been used as landfills but many of the underground coal mines in the west use long-wall mining equipment where the mine as allowed to collapse as the coal is removed.
The #1 reason is $$$
Who is going to pay for the trash, pay for it to be hauled to the mine, pay to unload it, pay for the special equipment needed to move it underground and compact it, and who will pay for the special liner or to monitor the ground water for possible contamination. The mine owners locked the doors and walked away. They don’t care (and apparently, by law, don’t have to care) about any future sinkholes. If sometime in the future, when the greens have made it physically impossible to open up new territories for landfills, someone will take another look at your idea. I just don’t see it happening in the forseeable future.
You are right on the idea of sending trash underground. Open pits are not that great of an idea either. Uncovering the seam leaves all the material in an unconsolitated state. That’s perfect for leachate migration.
Mining companies used to be able to lock the door a walk away, but now they remain liable for bad things happening, such as subsidence.
In New York state we call em’ “Mini Mobro’s on wheels” and if there trains of them we often say:Look here comes the MOBRO train![:D]By teh way the Mobro 4000 was a barge that was rejected all over the east coast and Gulf of mex. People thought that it had medical waste but it didnt! It was finally returned to Islip long isle where it was burned and buried!
Considering all of the trash semi’s I saw on the 401 and 402 between Toronto and Sarnia last summer, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if they were trash cars. I think the trash is going into Michigan, but don’t begin to know where, etc.
In Utah, there’s a “Transfer Station” for garbage located in South Salt Lake, and one in Ogden. For awhile, it seemed that the Union Pacific ran dedicated garbage trains from Ogden with loaded cars south to the transfer station in SSL. Nowadays, the garbage cars are combined with other freight cars. The garbage cars are long black flat cars with ETTX reporting marks (I think), that carry removable oversized gray dumpsters. An overhead crane at the SSL transfer station is used for unloading the cars, and then placing the empty dumpster back on the flat car.
I think the reporting marks are probably ECXX, which is ECDC Environmental, L.C. according to the National Railroad Historical Society (http://www.nrhs.com/reporting_marks/aar_reporting_marks.htm). ETTX cars are Trailer Train (now TTX Corp) tri-level autocarriers.