Patricia Konarski of Tucson, AZ:

So, I am very fascinated about trains and how they affect our lives in so many ways, in short.

Well, I just had to mention great news for railroad infrastructure and Tucson in general: Railroad service in the Tucson region (and ultimately beyond) will benefit from the completion of a new 240,000-square-foot cold storage cross dock facility by the end of this summer ('15) that will be operational at the port of Tucson. With this improvement, the facility will be able to ramp up the shipment of perishable products from the main line of the Union Pacific Railroad in Tucson to seaports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, or receive direct service to Chicago. (From Chicago, trains are taken by CSX to markets in the eastern United States.)

As just an amateur railroad buff, I can appreciate the benefits of this. I just thought I should make a note of it, as I'm not sure how often such upgrades are made to ramp up shipment capabilities via railroad. I sometimes hear that railroad shipment is a dying form of transportation in this age, but I definitely think not, and am glad such an improvement has been made to support the industry.

What do others think?

Patricia Konarski
--Freelance editor and owner of Patricia Konarski Literary Services of Tucson (Ret. Librarian)

I think the moderators should put this thread in cold storage.

I concur.

Thanks!

At worst move it over to Railfanning.

Why not welcome Ms Konarski the forum and simply explain that while many of us have an interest in modern railroading what we're concerned with here is preserving knowledge and the occasional artifact (such as Yours Truly) from its past.

GME

Hi all. I appreciate your opinions. I wasn't exactly sure of the limits of railway preservation with which this post concerns itself. Though, I do believe improved railroad ports goes to the preservation of the railway, but I suppose that is just my opinion. It's up to the moderators how they want to handle this posting, but I submit it is relevant to preservation of our railways.

Patricia Konarski
--Freelance editor and owner of Patricia Konarski Literary Services of Tucson (Ret. Librarian)

As a rule, the subjects at this forum concern preservation of historic railway equipment, buildings, history, and related resources, mostly non-profit but some commercial tourist operations as well.

Except as it may relate to historic equipment or routes, this doesn't expand here to preservation or expansion of modern-day commercial rail services such as freight traffic, short lines, passenger rail service (be it Amtrak, commuter service, light rail, transit, subway, etc.), or high-speed rail. Other forums exist for such discussion, often with an activist bent (National Assn. of Rail Passengers, etc.). The subject of the original post is quite thoroughly about modern freight traffic expansion of a commercial bent.

"Why not welcome Ms Konarski the forum and simply explain that while many of us have an interest in modern railroading what we're concerned with here is preserving knowledge and the occasional artifact (such as Yours Truly) from its past."

Nicely said. I'm more into blunt, though.

Now how about pretending we know how to talk to a woman and engaging in a dialogue with the lady-see where she's going with this?

And we wonder why this avocation has so many lifelong bachelors and is regarded as odd, closed and cliquish..

If there was more of a recognition that the present is the past under construction, there wouldn't be so many scrapped locomotives; demolished stations and lost oral histories.

Fifty years ago it was the same attitude that said "dismals, who cares about diseasals"?

I would say, "You're welcome to come in and visit, but we mostly deal with preserving railroad relics of the past. When it comes to Tucson, the Old Pueblo Trolley is more on our wavelength. But it is true that something we see today may need historic preservation somewhere down the road. I was commenting on another post about the opening of the light rail line in San Diego and how two of their 1981-model light rail cars are now in museums."

I was raised by a woman who bought and ran a newspaper in the early 1950s to treat women the same way I treat men, with appropriate courtesy and respect, until such time that I sensed any inkling of romantic attachment.

The words I typed were a polite explanation of the status quo, and would apply to either a male or female "stranger".

At the risk of posting something actually on topic, without considering either sex or appropriateness of venue, I'd mention that ports no longer are required to be located on water, and many inland ports are now being developed. We're building one at Douglas Field in Charlotte, NC on a sort of wasteland area near the runways which will be an intermodal yard among other things, the total scope of which may have been decided but not yet publicly explained since our media is more interested in sound bites than details.

It can only bode well for all parties concerned in the long term - modern business seems to do best when the ability to connect everything possible in the most convenient and economical way is exploited to the greatest extent possible. I'm actually relieved to discover it applies as much to actual objects with mass and volume as to digital approximations of information.

dave

Dear Patricia,

I encourage you to read through the last 10-20 years of Trains Magazine. They have printed many feature articles on modern rail freight in North America and they are technically accurate and quite well written. That will quickly get you up to date on what the trends and future economic potential are for rail freight. For further information after that, you should really approach various commercial and trade organizations, who will probably be more than eager to discuss their economic development plans, and who will be much more knowledgeable on this topic than people on this board.

This phrase "dying form of transport" is flat out incorrect, and has been for 20 years, and is frequently spread because most modern railroad activity is in industrial locations far from where most people live and shop. People presume because the rail line through their local town is now a bike trail, that railways are no longer a large part of the economy.

I think you will find that a 240,000 sq ft crossdock is a really small development in rail service compared to many huge projects underway (BNSF transcon double track, National Gateway, CREATE, new perishable trains, etc.).

Meanwhile, I do agree that this topic is not within the preservation topic area of this site. Part of the success and support of this site is in maintaining the focused content.

I think we can close this one out now.

Regards,
Steven Harrod

"The words I typed were a polite explanation of the status quo, and would apply to either a male or female "stranger"."

"I was raised by a woman who bought and ran a newspaper in the early 1950s to treat women the same way I treat men, with appropriate courtesy and respect, until such time that I sensed any inkling of romantic attachment."

Except I wasn't writing about what you wrote but this:

"I think the moderators should put this thread in cold storage."

Does this seem particularly courteous to you?-People of good will can disagree as to whether or not something is interesting or relevant, but at least address the poster directly, with some sort of acknowledgement before invoking the moderator to kill the thread.

Being in Tucson, I should point out that the improvements that Patricia speaks of are directly impacting the historic fabric of Tucson. Specifically, older structures such as bridges are being removed and replaced due to the increased costs of maintenance or structural design limitation issues. The most significant change to date was the removal of the 1915 overpass on North Fourth Avenue with a modern precast concrete structure. The underpass required replacement due to the increased weight of modern locomotives and rolling stock and the replacement happened to coincide with the decision of the city to reintroduce streetcars.

That was a quick quip that was too good to pass up. It's the moderator's job to explain list posting policy to people who violate it... heaven knows they are fast enough to shut down useful discussions.

It actually isn't a new thing. During World War II, the U.S. Navy built a supply depot for the Pacific Fleet near Clearfield, Utah (north of Salt Lake City). After World War II, the center became a commercial shipping point for the west coast. Utah revised its tax code to allow no inventory tax on stored items that were destined for out of state sale. The Union Pacific and General Electric coordinated movement of consumer appliances through the center into the 1980s.

On a side note, I'd be interested to see how an above ground cold storage facility in Tucson is insulated. Back in St. Louis, I had a client who owned an underground cold storage facility, built out of a bluff side rock quarry. The owner explained how much energy savings there were locating it underground, as it was easier to maintain temperature.