Amongst the coal hoppers being unloaded here right now are a number with SOO and MILW reporting marks. The SOO didn’t surprise me, but MILW did.
I’m guessing western coal. Usually we have lots of CSXT with some NYC mixed in, along with a number of ‘private’ cars.
Any thoughts?
SOO and MILW reporting marks together should be no surprise, remember that MILW was absorbed by SOO in the late 1980’s.
What struck me was that they were in relatively fresh paint…
New paint, perhaps, but definitely not new cars. As far as I know, Soo never relettered its MILW freight cars, unless they were converting them to non-revenue service. A lot of the Soo cars, and nearly all of the MILW cars you’d expect to see are secondhand. Since the Soo has divested itself of its line into Indiana (and its primary source of coal revenue), these cars are probably surplus. They don’t make good unit-train cars, so CP isn’t using them in Canada.
Carl
I think you are correct that the MILW and SOO cars would have been for Indiana coal. The MILW cars for sure and perhaps the SOO cars were acquired back when there was still a considerable movement of coal in less than trainload lots. Between the shift to low sulphur PBR coal and the end of life for many mines in the area it is easy to understand why the cars would have become excess. Further, they may also have become excess with a shift to a utility owned car fleet. The establishment of a new unit train service often included that change.
As noted in many previous threads, the service problems for coal out of the PRB along with a general increase in demand for low sulphur coal resulted in an increase in the production of higher cost Appalachian coal. I suspect that both the eastern carriers and the utilities now getting the eastern coal are being very cautious about purchasing new cars to haul that coal as it is likely that the volume wil drop off relatively soon. In the circumstances, excess, but serviceable cars are often just the ticket.
It’s more than obvious that these are not new cars - but the paint is recent. I was mainly wondering where the coal they were carrying came from, and that may well be Indiana, or perhaps southern Illinois?
Larry, don’t be surprised if the coal’s the same stuff you get in your CSXT/NYC cars. These things are probably surplus to CP at the moment.
CP owns the MILW reporting marks and has new cars on the system with those marks.
http://www.incontext.indiana.edu/2006/april/3.html
Guess I’m not on the mark about Indiana coal production. After a long decline they are now forecasting modest growth. Not much indication of where it is going and nothing that gives a clue as to the assignment of the MILW/SOO/CP cars.