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UP plans rail welding facility in Central California
Why Japanese rail when there is American rail available?
Why Japanese rail when there is American rail available?
Why Japanese rail? I live close to Steelton PA that makes rail. Whatever happened to Buy American?
They are Building America, but not buying in the United States.
Actually, there are two competing forces in play here. One is the openness of information available, Be sure that if the UP could have avoided public disclosure of the details, it would have. The other is the matter of price, also known as free trade. Buyers typically gravitate toward the lowest price or bid. Such decisions often lead to unintended consequences, such as premature failure of what was purchased, or, as in the walmart effect, whole main streets of businesses being decimated and a local economy reduced to minimum wage jobs. All the whining about union wage scales being the source of these problems is ideological drivel unsupported by the economic facts. The bottom line is that the UP is making what it considers to be the best, read “rational” decision now. Only time will tell if that is so.
What about the rail welding plant in Laramie, WY? I assume the imported rail will be welded at the Stockton location. Big question is the imported will displace American made rail and the associated welding plant. Who is losing the business in America.
I think one reason for this is that the Japanese rail arrives rolled in 480 ft lengths. All of the rail I have seen produced here for welding was in 80 ft lengths. If that is still the case the 480 ft length means six less welds, which means less cost and less of a chance for weld failure. The big question is can the American rail mills be reworked to roll 480 ft length rail. If that is what they have to do to compete, they will certainly look at it, but it won’t be cheap.
I expect that they are choosing Japanese rail because it is made in non-union shops. Therefore it is less expensive. We began exporting our manufacturing when we allowed union controlled shops to seek higher wages which allowed the union bosses to live higher on the hog. There were even steel plants on the west coast, such as Kaiser.
SP’s rail-welding plant occupied the land of the old Tracy CA yard, about 25 miles south and a little west of the Port of Stockton.
What goes around, comes around ut only a tad different trajectory.
The plant also cut a couple of feet off each end of worn mainline rail, drilled it for angle bars and used it in yards.
I guess other ‘roads did too…anyone?
Easiest money made as a hoghead?
The only train left in what was a very busy (chain-gang frt) Pool 1, we had 4 pools, on the Western Div, was the LABAF routed Tehachapi- Tracy–West Oak instead of up the Coast, LA–Santa Barb—SLO----W.O.
Tracy to Martinez was mostly 60 mph: running time between W.O. and Martinez was on the short side of 40 minutes.
So, and thus, a day’s pay for less than 90 miles running the train and did I mention we got a day’s pay, daily, additionally, another, to deadhead W Oak to Tracy to crew the train?
And did I inform ya’ that the LABAF was a UPS train committed to a trailer-grounding time around 2230 to 2400 hrs.
The train was, and thus we, were hot, not thermonuclear but blistering…
The easy part of earning: called around 1500 hrs or 1600 hrs, deadhead to Tracy by cab, have dinner, mainline change (of crews) highball and 'At the Switch," a time identifying arrival of the train at its terminal for its crew.
Easiest?
Daily get called around three in the afternoon, a deadhead day’s pay, a “do not delay” train for another day’s pay …yes,
home around 1130PM, or a little later.
Next day? repeat!
And do not forget the rail plant in Pueblo, Colorado, formerly Colorado Fuel and Iron. It is still producing rail though owned by a Russian group.
And do not forget the rail plant in Pueblo, Colorado, formerly Colorado Fuel and Iron. It is still producing rail though owned by a Russian group.
And do not forget the rail plant in Pueblo, Colorado, formerly Colorado Fuel and Iron. It is still producing rail though owned by a Russian group.
And do not forget the rail plant in Pueblo, Colorado, formerly Colorado Fuel and Iron. It is still producing rail though owned by a Russian group.
Well to me UP has had phenomenal business profits and shame on them for going abroad for steel. They are big and powerful but in the end it will bite them in the butt. I have been a UP follower most of my life. Shame on them for not employing the citizens from our country. I was going to be excited about the 4014 restoration. Now I will not walk across a street or care about them. Shame on the people who made that decision. This concept will cost them big time.
Better take the stars and stripes off their locos and put the Japanese flag on instead.
Union Pacific: Building America (with Japanese parts).
Horrors! Smoke! Air pollution! Detritus! Trains! We have had an exorbitant number of rail failures on the BNSF “High-Line” this winter. I asked (no reply, yet) if they were attributable to ‘Pacific Rim’ manufactured rail. I remember, just after WWII, when Japanese nails came on the market. US-produced nails weren’t available (thanks, PA). Only one, of three, could be driven without it bending or breaking. Does anyone know how to pound a used nail, straightening it, to be used again?
All you dudes beating up UP for buying jap rail need all the facts before they speak. At least one poster got it right. US rail only comes in 80 ft lengths and jap rail is 480. Its easy math. If 480s were available here we would get them here.
I suspect that UP wants another supplier option than the North American rail duopoly.