The Railroad that Came Out at Night
Author and photographer Frank Kyper recounts stories of railroading around the Boston area between 1957 and 1977. From Union Freight, to Boston & Maine, to South Station, the great Chelsea fire, as well as various short lines and other historic tidbits. You’ll relive railroading in The Hub!
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from countries that hate us and of course, would like to see the U.S. continue to depend on them forever. That latter circumstance very likely will soon be a thing of the past, according to Morgan Stanley whose analysts believe the U.S. will “cease using oil imports quickly.”
Whether through imports or exports, the liquid black gold translates into an increas- ingly brisk business for America’s freight railroads.
As the Obama administration continues
to hold the Keystone Pipeline project in abeyance (much to the consternation of pipeline
interests), the railroads are, energy independence as of
course, only more than willing to fill the void. The 1179-mile Keystone project is widely hailed as a major step toward Amer- ican
described
above, but it has been held back because of political issues involving disputed environ- mental concerns. At the same time, David Garin, BNSF
group Vice President of industrial products argues that the use of rail service “is provid- ing a more flexible, long-term service and economical option to ship crude oil to desti- nation markets on the East, West, and Gulf coasts and along the Mississippi River.
Debunkers’ Tournament? Indeed, the political arguments on rail vs. pipeline have led to a battle of the de- bunkers: The State Department supposedly has “debunked” the notion that there will be an increase in tar sands with or without the pipeline. Meanwhile, Reuters “debunked” the State Department’s notion that without Keystone, the tar sands oil can travel by rail
to the Gulf Coast. While the debate goes on (and on and on),
the railroads continue to build their signifi- cant expansion to meet the energy boom in the U.S.: • BNSF is looking forward to begin mov- ing unit trains of crude oil from a Carlsbad, N.M. transload facility later this year, after an expansion project is completed at that fa- cility. • Operations in the Bakken shale oil re- gion roll right along — figuratively and liter- ally. A dispatch from the Dallas Morning News reports that without the railroads — notably, but not confined to, CN and BNSF — the oil boom in the North Dako- ta/Montana region would not be as big. More crude shipments are being loaded onto trains due to weak pipeline capacity. The view from here: The rails will do just fine regardless of Keystone’s fate.
Grand Central’s Grande Show Your servant spent some time in New York in May to participate in another part of Grand Central Terminal’s centennial year. Among the nearly 20 vintage gilded age- style passenger railroad cars on display were the Kitchi Gammi Club, a Tuscan red 1923 Pullman sleeper for PRR’s “Nickel Plate” train (Virgina Rail Investment Corpo- ration); the Dover Harbor, a 1923 Pullman green sleeper/lounge/diner, (D.C. NRHS); and Berlin, a 1956 sleeper built for Union Pacific’s Lake Placid train (Deep River Rail Ventures).
Wes Vernon is a Washington-based writer and veteran broadcast journalist.
18 JULY 2013 •
RAILFAN.COM
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