WATCO moves down under
May 1, 2012 / Updated July 3, 2012
Short Line Railroads
In May, “wagon” loads of grain are expected to be brimming Down Under on trains operated by Pittsburg, KS-based Watco Companies for CBH Group of Western Australia. Trains are moving ahead of schedule and should be in full force once more equipment arrives.
CBH, a farmer-owned cooperative established in 1933, awarded Watco a 10-year grain rail contract in late 2010. Watco is providing logistics, which includes operations and scheduling, tracing, and railcar and locomotive maintenance and inventory control.
In February, 50 of 574 new wagons or cars being produced arrived in Western Australia and went into action sooner than expected.
On March 30, Watco ran the first train from Merredan to Kwinana Terminal. The train consisted of 50 wagons hauling more than 35 tons of wheat.
“Given the record harvest just gone and the need to get better performance from rail to meet our export task, we pushed hard to get on the tracks earlier than the original 1 May commencement date,” said CBH General Manager Operations Colin Tutt. “We are ready, willing and able to get out there and provide more capacity on rail.”
For more on this story, see the May/June 2012 issue of the Cowcatcher Magazine!
Spring is when large-scale model railroaders with their green thumbs plant and prune colorful foliage grown nearly to scale. In some areas, maintaining outdoor layouts is quite challenging because of changing weather. Nancy Norris, an author who builds garden railroads professionally, says some plant varieties have become more difficult to grow in certain Hardiness Zones. In some cases it means garden railroaders having to put more emphasis on growing native plants rather than relying on varieties more susceptible to extreme conditions. She recommends new gardeners consult with their local nurseries for the best choices for an outdoor layout. Norris also has a few recommendations of her own.
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The first rule of railroading is “expect movement on any track at any time in any direction.” This may seem like an overabundance of caution, but railroading is a dangerous sport. Always expect a train when you’re around the tracks. The second rule of railroading is that there is an exception to every rule. The North American freight car fleet in 2023 consisted of 2.03 million rail cars, according to Railinc’s Umler Equipment Index. Rail car fleet management — how empty cars get dispatched to move to their next loading point — is an ever-moving process and often requires fleet car managers to be nimble.
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