Miles of Idled Boxcars Leave Towns Singing the Freight-Train Blues

[babylonsister]

Miles of Idled Boxcars Leave Towns Singing the Freight-Train Blues
As Slumping Railroads Run Out of Parking, an Indiana Hamlet Is Divided by Wall of Cars

By ALEX ROTH


NEW CASTLE, Ind. -- Folks here figured the mile-long stretch of a hundred-plus yellow rail cars, which divides this small town like a graffiti-covered wall, would leave soon after it arrived.

That was a year ago.

"They stayed and they stayed and they stayed," says Bruce Atkinson, a local resident. "Then more moved in."

Tens of thousands of boxcars are sitting idle all over the country, parked indefinitely by railroads whose freight volumes have plummeted along with the economy. And residents of the communities stuck with these newly immobile objects, like the people of New Castle, are hopping mad about it.


Rail cars, idled by the slump in shipping caused by the recession, have sat for months on tracks in New Castle, Ind. Residents complain the cars cast shadows over homes that sit as close as 10 feet from the tracks.
Photo: Alex Roth/The Wall Street Journal

Before February 2008, boxcars were a fleeting sight in this hamlet of 17,500 people 50 miles east of Indianapolis. For decades, no more than one or two trains a day traveled down the sleepy short-haul line that cuts through town.

Then rail cars -- 20-foot-tall yellow behemoths covered with the sort of spray-painted artwork once associated with New York City subway cars -- started rolling in by the dozens and grinding to a halt.

more...

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123535033769344811.html

[jayfish]

What A C#ck!

Spencer Wendelin, an executive with the C&NC Railroad, which owns the tracks, declined to say how much rent the railroad collects for storing the cars, or who owns them. He has little sympathy for the angry residents.

"The railroad, I'll guarantee you, was there a long time before they bought their houses," he says.

Lately some folks have begun to worry that some of the rail cars appear to be listing and might tip over. Mr. Wendelin, the railroad executive, dismisses the fears as "completely unfounded concerns, based on both history and physics."

Folks who want the cars to be on their way, however, shouldn't get their hopes up. Mr. Wendelin won't predict how long the rail cars will remain in New Castle. "If you can tell me when the economy's going to turn around, then I can give you an answer to that question."

This guy needs the taste smacked out of his rude-ass mouth. F'ing prick.

Jay

[grasswire]

1. HOUSING!

We've discussed this before. Retrofit these things for temporary housing. I'd sure like to have a wooden box car home, if wooden ones are sitting idle.

[blues90]

7. that was my first thought. nt

[AZCat]

8. There's a precedent.

Shipping containers have been used as construction for a while, although most of the structures were not very sophisticated. It hasn't been until the last few years that multi-unit, multi-story buildings have been constructed using shipping containers. There are some unique considerations when designing them, but like any engineering problem the first iteration is the most difficult. I don't know why these couldn't be used for similar means, although you do have to do some remediation (they can carry some nasty stuff).

On Edit: Googling for "shipping container house" gives quite a few links. Check it out!

[liberal renegade]

2. Union Pacific Rail Road

parked 49 miles of auto racks, that's what those particular rail cars are in the picture. By March 1st they will have 1/3 of their fleet of locomotives parked, 2000 units.

I live in a small town in Nebraska which is home to the worlds largest rail classification yard, "Bailey Yard". We see , on average, 135 trains every 24 hours pass thru this hamlet. It's not anywhere near that at this time.

Plenty of coal trains, however.

[Brother Buzz]

4. 49 miles of auto racks. WOW!

and I can believe it, too. Our town in the Sacramento Valley is split by the Union Pacific main line, and we had a couple of miles of those auto boxters fly through town every day. We still see them but not near as frequently, and maybe not as long.

[Thothmes]

11. Omaha?

[A HERETIC I AM]

12. The Bailey Yard is at North Platte, NE.

http://www.uprr.com/aboutup/facilities/bailey/index.shtml

[Liberal_in_LA]

3. Who knew they could park them so near homes.

[Lost in CT]

5. If you live ten feet from the railroad tracks

You ought to be thrilled the boxcars are sitting rather than travelling.

I got to admit I half agree on with the railroad on this one.

[appal_jack]

6. K&R

These cars getting moving again would be one sign of a recovery.Until then, I am afraid all bets are off...

-app

[Greyhound]

9. But, all we have to do is keep pouring money into the banks! Once they've had their

fill, boy are things going to turn around quick!
:sarcasm:
Lemme see, millions of idle people with skills and tools, thousands of idle rail cars, millions of homeless people, but the solution lies in hoping the banks will start giving us debt again.
:eyes:

It is entirely up to us, folks.

[Wiley50]

10. Every day, I see again how much we think alike

Honey, contrarry to the "rich yachtie" mystique, you don't have a bunch of money to live on and sail a sailboat.

You just need to have enough back left to scrape and paint the bottom every few years. That's the part that eludes me at the moment.

[PVnRT]

13. We also can't put money into boosting rail freight

That would hurt the truck and trucker lobby. Better to expand highways, which still won't relieve traffic problems. It's not like companies are finally starting to realize that freight trains can transport things much, much cheaper or anything.

[conscious evolution]

14. I am seeing single engine trains

leaving Atlanta a lot lately.
It used to be two or three engines per train,sometimes more.