Where Would You Spend the Money if You Owned this Railroad?
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- čas přidán 7. 09. 2024
- If you only had so much money to spend, where would you put
the dollars if you owned us?
Today we will find out about some of the history of the mine and railroad
and go over some of the finances that are involved in running an operation
such as we have here at Cumberland Mine.
Operating a coal mine and a railroad involves some major expenses just
to mine and transport the coal. We are making a profit which is fantastic.
Proceeds after the cost of mining the coal and transporting it are
being spend on new capital improvements. And in this video I only went
over a few things they are spending the money on, but they are indeed putting
millions of dollars back into the business. Which is a very healthy business choice.
The game plan is to once again have Cumberland Mine become a world class
coal mine like it used to be. Our management team is committed to achieving
that goal. That will happen, but it takes time and and a lot of money to get there.
But we will do it.
Here is the link to the article in Coal Age magazine about Mr. Thompson
and Cumberland Mine. It is a very good read to find out more behind the
scenes info about Cumberland Mine:
www.coalage.co...
Here is the link to Iron Synergy web site: They are currently hiring new
employees for under ground and for foremen. This is a good place to work,
the work is steady, pay and benefits are good. We need folks who want to
be part of and help build a winning team.
ironsenergy.com/
Made February 28 and March 20, 2023
Disclaimer: I am an employee of Iron Senergy at Cumberland
Mine. My job is railroad track maintenance. I am very fortunate to
have this job and everyone at the mine is very fortunate to have
Iron Senergy as it's current owner. Our past owners had every
intention of shutting this mine down, but Iron Senergy took
over and have kept this mine alive.
Please understand: I am NOT in any way an official or unofficial
spokes person for Iron Senergy or Cumberland Mine. Any viewpoints,
opinions or anything that I show in the videos, or write in the video
descriptions or any answer to any comment, should NEVER be
misconstrued or interpreted as being in any way shape or form,
any kind of official or unofficial statement from Iron Senergy,
Iron Cumberland, Cumberland Mine, any of the mine's management,
any of the contractors that may be shown in any video, nor of
any of my fellow co-workers.
Any viewpoints or opinions I may make in the videos, in the
descriptions, or in any answer to a comment is strictly that of my
own and NOT an official or unofficial statement or viewpoint that
Iron Synergy or any one at Iron Senergy or Cumberland Mine
necessarily has or makes.
Again, we are very fortunate to have Iron Senergy as our current
owners. Please, when making a comment be respectful of Iron Senergy,
Cumberland Mine, my fellow coworkers and also any contractors
that may be shown. Thank You, Dave
#WhereSpendMoney#SpendMoney#IronSynergy#CumberlandMine
That was an excellent explanation of fiscal spending. The meat of the mining operation is in the ability to remove the coal from underground efficiently and safely and transporting as expediently as possible to the customer. When I was in freight service time = money. Our goal was to deliver the goods on time. If the supply (coal) falls short due to problems at the initial stage then the profit margin is affected. I understand that the emphasis is placed at improving the supply stage operation.
Excellent comment Gary! You are so right in all aspects of
your synopsis. Thank you so much my good friend for taking
the time to visit with us and write in. May you have a most
blessed day.
Even a smart child could have understood your explanation of how Cumberland and railroad operated. Using the percentage broke it down pretty much. Glad they let you be a spokesperson in there behalf. Sounds like the owner is the real deal. Thanks for explaining.
You Dave, are a BIG part of the reason that the track only accounts for 0.1% of total downtime for the entire Cumberland Mine operation. Your dedication keeps the coal rolling down to the harbor!
I was thinking the whole time. That his work is why the track is such a low effect on overall down time. Lets hope he gets a bigger budget. Because according to how funding gets pushed around. He would need to let the track fall into disrepair in order to get needed funds. So hey management, maybe give them a higher budget for a single year to get some things done.
Thank you for the very kind comment John. That was most thoughtful of you to say that. Do remember that I am only 1 cog
in the wheel. Much thanks also goes to co workers, management,
contractors and also to several good men who worked track
before and have since retired. Appreciate very much your taking the time to watch and write in. May you have a most blessed day my friend.
@@ccrx6700 Yes, 1 cog, but you hustle and make it work to get the most done in the time you can get between those cogs in front & back that are always pushing & pulling you, scheduled or not, rain snow & shine. Thanks for the info. Also, thanks to Mr JT for seeing that your videos are valuable to the company and the YT & coal world!
I can't stress strongly enough how much I appreciate and enjoy your channel and your posts. The information we get from you is almost certainly not something we would be hearing from any other source, given that few of us are either miners or railroad personnel.
Thank you Bob for the very nice comment, so kind of you to say that.
Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and write in. May
you have a most blessed day my friend.
It is refreshing to hear of a CEO who lets you do what you do, for most railroad lawyers would have fits seeing what you post
Major railroads would have a fit seeing the things you post, but about their railroad
You might do a video on such costs as one rail, one rail tie, and so on so we could see how the incidentals add up fast
Yeah I was wondering how he gets away with this.
@@madtrucker0983 ditto..its rare to see anyone youtubing while still on the company payroll
Thank you Ken for sharing your thoughts. Management here
knows I make these videos. It comes with some stipulations one
of which I must get my work done. This company now is big ono
public relations and I am doing a good job at promoting not
only this company but the coal industry, so they like that.
Best part is, my videos are down to earth, sincere and honest and not a PR campaign designed to blow smoke. I tell it like it is and
people like that. Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video. May you have a most blessed day my friend.
You might like to read the reply I gave to Ken about what
you said Mad Trucker. I am doing the company a big service
in public relations, or at least that's the way they see it. Also
what I did not say to Ken is my videos are also looked at
as training films for the guys in the future that will replace me.
A win win situation.
@@ccrx6700 👍
Great story Dave. I notice how you refer to the mine, plant, trains and tracks as our, we and us. Employees taking ownership of the company and the company assets is a major part of success. It’s pretty cool that after 40+ years you still get excited about every aspect of the job.
Thank you Blessed and Happy for the kind words, so glad you enjoyed and took notice about the pronouns. You are indeed right.
I love your username! Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video. May you have a most blessed day my friend.
We all know why the track only accounts for 0.1% of the downtime Dave! It's your skilled work and attention to detail. Great job sir 😊
Thank you Mojo for the very kind words. However, I am only 1 cog in
the wheel, one of many co workers, management and contractors
that have made it all possible, plus can't forget to mention several in the past who worked on the RR that have since retired. May you have a most blessed day my friend.
There's a 2 track spur that makes up the property line at the back of our land. A month or so ago, an inspection crew was out there looking things over and now, many of the rails have ASAP painted on them. I assume that they're planning some work soon. One interesting thing I've noticed over 30+ years on our property is that many of the rails have Illinois-Ohio and 1925 forged into them. Some also have Carnegie forged into them.
That's pretty cool to hear Mike. Lot's of old Carnegie rail still
out there, I have never heard of Illinois Ohio. Cool to learn.
Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video. May you have a most blessed day my friend.
Don't know if it's worth mentioning, but that steel marked at 1925 is actually worth more than scrap value. Why? Because it was made before nuclear testing was started. It is truly pure iron... without radioactive contamination. Manufacturers of extremely sensitive radiation detection equipment need this kind of metal because it does not have background radiation skewing the results of the measurements they are trying to take.
Dave , your question of how you would spend the money for maintenance. First I would spend more on ballast. Instead of lime stone I would buy at least one unit train of Granite Ballast. By doing this you would cut out lots of mud and swing ties, low and broken joint bars . Better track alignment. Which also less rail wear . Then you could have a long lunch every now and then.
We had a coal power plant 30 miles from our house in Florida and another one 45 miles from us and they tore them down. And they got rid of one of the old nuke plants. Now we get nothing but power bumps. The power company is FPL. And now we have a million more people living here and the grid can't take it. Real good planning.
Thank you Howard for sharing your thoughts. I hear you
very well on that my friend. Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video. May you have a most blessed day.
It is true Dave. You are so positive and such a good example of an employee to this company. They do not know what a treasure you are. I certainly hope though that they do.
Thank you Scott for very the nice comment, so kind of you
to say that. Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and write in. May you have a most blessed day my friend.
Your CEO Justin has the right attitude meeting you guys in person making everyone feel they are part of the team. Great to see how much is done for the community as well. I am glad he has seen some of these videos and does not mind what you show us. The thing I would invest in is new cars, those you have are petty old now, the couplers are worn, truck pivot bearings or something cause rolling side to side on some and as you said recently their doors are operated far more times than those on long hauls and are failing to lock properly, when they are closed some coal is still dropping out clogging the ballast. It keeps you busy digging out but your time could be better spent tamping and replacing ballast where drainage is poor as you showed us last time.
Thank you Cedarcam for the very nice comment, You are totally
right in your observation of Mr. Thomson. He is a good man and
is trying his best. Hopefully we will see some newer cars in
the future, it's on the list I do know that for a fact, just when it
will happen is up in the air for now. May you have a most blessed
day my friend.
Sounds like you got a really awesome CEO there Dave. Not only does it take a lot of money to run a rail line like that but also hard-working dedicated employees like you!
Thank you William for the really nice comment. This a great company to work for now and yes they are trying their best to
make this a world class mine again. Appreciate very much your taking the time to watch and write in. May you have a most blessed day my friend.
Thanks Dave! I don't know much about modern day coal mining, but I would imagine the company could always put more funds into mine safety and ways to increase production. For the railroad end of it, the record speaks for itself. Minimal down time equals top notch maintenance and employees. When you have those two ingredients you can get by with older equipment for some time. As long as you are willing to upgrade when necessary and as funds allow. It sounds like the company is doing that and it seems to be working very well. Kudos to you the rest of the railroad employees. Stay safe my friend and have a great weekend.
Your welcome Rick. Excellent how well you stated your comment,
you hit the nail on the head with that one. Couldn't agree more
with you on everything. Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and write in. May you have a most blessed day my friend.
Dave, if it was my money to spend, you would get a nice raise. I don’t think anyone loves their job more than you do.😎
Thank you Jim for the nice comment. Actually new owners
are doing a very good job at taking care of their employees,
I have no complaints at all about that. Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and write in. May you have a most blessed day my friend.
What a great success story. Solid top down leadership with bottom up inputs. I am so glad they support your contributions to the company and the professionalism you demonstrate to the public with all your wonderful videos. So much appreciated. Cheers Rob
Thank you Rob for the nice comment. Yes it is so good to have
excellent top level management here now from what we used to have. Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and write in. May you have a most blessed day my friend.
Great company update.. thanks! If your CEO is reading this, hopefully he will let you take the training needed so you can show us other areas of the mine work... the barges, and the mine itself. That would be a nice treat! :)
Your very welcome Mike, will be some videos out there in the future
on different aspects of the operation, however I am not allowed
underground, unless they happen to give a tour sometime. Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video.
May you have a most blessed day my friend.
The CEO is right. All of your videos have always been positive. And thanks for all the information on Iron Synergy. Sounds like a great company. But I do have one question. When will you be featured in the company magazine? You're a pretty popular guy and you should be highlighted.
Thank you John for the kind words, that was very thoughtful of
you to say that. Several others have said I do a better job at
public relations than a professional PR department would. I
don't know about that but if they ever do feature me in the
mag will be sure and make a video on it!. Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the presentation.
May you have a most blessed day my friend.
Wonderful first hand insight on Cumberland Mine and the industry as a whole. I can't really name any other 16 mile long "industrial" railroads that do not have a direct outside rail connection keep the track as nice as you guys do!
Thank you Matt for the really kind comment. In railroading the
saying goes, you ignore your infrastructure at your own peril.
You can mine all the coal you want but you have to maintain
your transportation system to get it to market. Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video. May you have a most blessed day my friend.
Nice insight on how the mine is working Dave. I can tell by the downtime numbers you and your crew (employees and contractors) are flat taking care of business with the track. Being in a support role like yours can be a lot of pressure, but what I've seen from watching your videos is you do the best you can with what you have - and it really shows.
When you started talking about the numbers I already knew where you were going with the conversation. Great job! Sounds like you have a good place to work again with leaders running it who are smart enough to care about safety, people and long term goals instead of short sided profits.
Really glad you enjoyed gofastwclass. Thank you for the totally awesome comment. That was most thoughtful of you to say that. This a a great company to work for now and yes they are trying their best to make this a world class mine again. Appreciate very much your taking the time to watch and write in. May you have a most blessed day my friend.
It's fun to watch trains haul coal, track work, etc. but also getting to know about the way the actual company works, the finances, etc. just adds a little extra depth of feel about the operation and I personally REALLY enjoy that. I also smiled like a big kid when you mentioned how the CEO has seen your videos and recognized you and came over and shook your hand. That is a huge gesture and you can tell he's engaged from the top to the bottom, not just the bottom line. It looks like Iron Senergy is actually taking care of the business not just trying to scoop up, squeeze, and then dump it like is often the case in company and industry buyouts these days.
Really glad you enjoyed Shane. Thank you for the totally awesome comment. That was most thoughtful of you to say that. This a a great company to work for now and yes they are trying their best to
make this a world class mine again. Appreciate very much your taking the time to watch and write in. May you have a most blessed day my friend.
Hi Dave, another fantastic video as always. It's great to see a company that is willing to put money into improvements to make the mine safer and more efficient. But, I must say I think the reason you have so little down time because of track issues is because of you and your partners dedication to maintaining your railroad. Keep up the great work and as always keepem on the rails. 😊
Thank you Gary for the awesome comment. Yes they are doing
that. And yes while I am only 1 cog in the wheel, albeit an
important one we also must give credit to co workers, management, contractors and several good men who worked track that
have since retired. Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video. May you have a most blessed day my friend.
Good for you Dave! It's because of devoted employees like you that help make a company successful. Glad the upper management realizes the importance of you and your coworkers.
Thank you Mark for the very kind words, that was so
thoughtful of you to say that. Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video. May you have a most blessed day my friend.
Infrastructure and MOW equipment, updated locomotives and rolling stock, I’d definitely ask for CWR to replace the jointed rails it will definitely eliminate a big bulk of the defects associated with jointed rails.
Thank you Jason for sharing your thoughts. I would love to see
all of that, wow how much nicer CWR would be here, these
new owners are progressive so all of the above you mention
will at some point in the future have a feasibility study done on them..
Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and write in. May
you have a most blessed day my friend.
Hey Dave, you are the man. You have a firm grasp of your surroundings in the company climate. Excellent explanation, you sir again, are a master of your craft and a 1st class representation of the American railroad worker!
Thank you quit57strat for the really kind comment. That was most
thoughtful of you to say that. Appreciate very much your taking the time to watch and write in. May you have a most blessed
day my friend.
Great to hear about a terrific company to work for. Their decisions about where to invest the money are very logical. I couldn't help thinking, though, that if they brought the other parts of the operation to the same efficiency as the rail part, you would have no down time to do your track maintenance.
Thank you Jon for saying that. That is their goal to bring
the other parts of the operation's down time down from what
it is. Very much appreciate your taking the time to tune in and watch.
May you have a most blessed day my friend.
The undercover boss here on your channel, watches this. I'm sure he appreciates how you explain everything. The bad thing is Dave, when you do decide to retire, you will..along with your knowledge, will be most certainly missed. So don't retire! Please...... BTW it's not me, just stating I'm positive he appreciates all of you.
Thank you for the really kind comment You know me. That was most
thoughtful of you to say that. I hope Mr. Undercover does watch these, I am a big advocate for coal, this company and RR's. Appreciate very much your taking the time to watch and write in. May you have a most blessed day my friend.
Nice, Dave! I'm so happy to see things have turned around for the company and to see that the future is looking bright for everyone associated with it, especially the employees and their families and the community. 🌞😎
Thank you Scotty for saying that. Yes it certainly is a blessing
to have really good owners now. Very much appreciate your taking the time to tune in and watch. May you have a most blessed day my friend.
Food for thought indeed! Safety and maintenance are of great importance in going forward to continue production. Having a good rapport with the workers and the locals is a must. Trust is earned and built up slowly, but just one bad incident can shatter all the hard work gained. I pray things will safely grow for the mine, and that the proper needed balance for safety and productivity is maintained. Thank you for bringing us these videos!
Thank you Trena for the very nice comment. You are certainly right
in your synopsis. So true how 1 bad incident can ruin a hard earned
reputation. Thank you for watching the videos my friend and
may you have a most blessed day.
Love you and your videos and God bless you and the miners.
Thank you bare foot for the nice comment, glad you are enjoying
all the home movies! Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and write in. May you have a most blessed day my friend.
CONGRATULATIONS DAVE !!! Your Company is one of the very few to claim success in today's "CORPORATE" dominated world ! We ail know that's it's because of people like YOU !!!
Thank you for the really nice comment Captain Tom. This is a good
company to work for now and it has a lot of good people.
Appreciate very much your taking the time to watch and write in. May you have a most blessed day my friend.
Thanks for keeping the lights on!! I also heat my house and do metalwork with coal. Pennsylvania strong!
Your very welcome James. Good for you on the coal usage.
I am a huge advocate for the coal industry as well as this
company and RR's. Big thumbs up on the Pa. strong! Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video. May you have a most blessed day my friend.
I believe that one of the best parts of this channel is the fact that you give the straight scoop on how the railroad is run, and you explain in a way that anyone should understand. I also enjoy how you take us into the operators seat be it the tamper, or a locomotive.
Really glad you are enjoying the videos ivanoffw. Thank you for the awesome comment. That was most thoughtful of you to say that. Appreciate very much your taking the time to watch and write in. May you have a most blessed day my friend.
Cheers to you Dave and the company approval of your doings on YT. The world needs good teachers and inspiring figures, which you are.
Thank you The Gooj for writing in with the kind words. Appreciate
your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video.
May you have a most blessed day my friend.
A successful railroad is ran by those who make it one. You all are a mighty success in my book. Thank you for your time, effort and teaching us these things. God Bless all of you.
I keep confusing Massey with Blankenship....oh forgive me.
Thank God that man is gone from the coal business. Whew what a mess.
I think my decision on the money spent would be first taking care of the equipment and the employees. They must be maintained properly or they can't rail the coal out. But I can see what your saying about where to allocate the funds and which project pays off better.
I would love to work on the train or transport side of it.
Don't get me started Douglas on Blankenship.... he was gone
when Contura bought them, but Upper Big Branch was so, so,
so very sad because of him
This is a very interesting and introspective look at the situation there. I think some people who watch the channel forget that this isn't a class 1 railroad. This is a short line that is owned by the industry it services. Therefore, the line itself is part of the overall budget of the mine as it is just another component of the transport network, similar to trucks, loaders, and conveyors. Props to the new owners for still investing in keeping up with the track and doing their best to keep its downtime where it is. It is far too easy to take for granted something that has been no issues. I definitely understand the need to replace the old neglected equipment, but have been very glad to see them also paying attention to the fact that the tracks don't just last forever and taking proper steps to help ensure that the rails are the least of their worries.
Thank you Kahn for the very nice and thoughtful comment.
You have a level thinking head, wish you were in management here! Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video. May you have a most blessed day my friend.
Fascinating information, Dave! I love seeing good news when it comes to this fabulous little railroad!
Thank you Pete, yes what wonderful news for the mine and RR
here to know we are now under very good ownership. Appreciate very much your taking the time to watch and write in. May you have a most blessed day my friend.
Happy to see the improved management over the years, Justin seems more human then corporate robot if you know what I mean. Most companies would not allow you to show the good, bad and most importantly the ugly. I have meant for a while now to say thanks to your management for allowing you to tell the truth and the whole story as Paul Harvey would say. Community involvement A+ in my book and yes you have to think safety with every step in life and as the saying goes Safety is job 1. A company and management that has the ability to "listen" is going places...
Thank you for the totally awesome comment Curiosity. That was most thoughtful of you to say that. This a a great company to work for now and yes Justin is down to earth and will listen to you.
We all are so thankful for his appearing on the scene and the
ideals and goals that are in place for the future of our mine
and RR. Appreciate very much your taking the time to watch and write in. May you have a most blessed day my friend.
Hi Dave, it's good to see they are working to a budget to improve what needs improving working forward, certainly better than chucking bucket loads of cash at the whole company & hope it gets to where its needed, good to meet the man you work for as well, mate. Glad he likes your videos too as we do.
Thank you Alf George for the kind words. Yes we are fortunate to
have Mr. Thompson as our leader now, so much better than it
used to be now. Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video. May you have a most blessed day my friend.
Great video Dave. I love that you appear to have management support for you continuing your videos. Your doing your job so well is probably the main reason that track down time is so low. Have a great day my friend.
Thank you Lewis for the very kind words. As far as track goes, I am only one cog in the wheel, albeit a most important one. Credit also goes to co workers, management, contractors and a few good men who used to work track and since have retired. Appreciate
your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video.
May you have a most blessed day my friend.
Thanks for the great, detailed explanation of the financial issues, Dave! I’ve had the experience of running a (very small) company that was gradually starving for operating revenue, so I can really empathize. It sounds like they’re gradually making headway, good for them and good luck to them!
And wow, huge props to you that track problems only account for 0.1% of their downtime!
Thank you Dave for the very nice comment and kind words. Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video. May you have a most blessed day my friend.
Hi Dave. You bring a smile to my face with your enthusiasm and love of the railroad. Enjoyed the video.
Really glad you enjoyed Steve. Thank you for the very nice comment. Appreciate very much your taking the time to watch and write in. May you have a most blessed day my friend.
I don't know anything about this company and its history. But your video makes them appear very wholesome and trying to do the right things. Not a corperation is also a big positive. In short I hope they use your video/videos either in training or for hiring. Because you do far better than any human resources or marketing team could do in sharing your company's image.
Well golly Geronimo! Thank you for the totally awesome comment.
What a very kind and thoughtful thing to say. Appreciate
your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video.
May you have a most blessed day my friend.
It's an interesting question to ask. You've got to mine the coal but that's useless without a way to transport it, and the other way round. A couple weeks ago you mentioned the huge cost of new rail sections, it blew my mind.
Thank you Ken for sharing your thoughts. In railroading the
saying goes, you ignore your infrastructure at your own peril.
You can mine all the coal you want but you have to maintain
your transportation system to get it to market. Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video. May you have a most blessed day my friend.
Thanks to you for the video, and also to Mr. Justin Thompson and all those who work making Iron Synergy viable and the video possible.
Owned the railroad: spend it on the railroad. Owned Iron Senergy: spend it on Iron Senergy (only a small slice of that pie for the railroad).
Your very welcome Robin, thank you for the really kind words.
Things are so much better here now with Mr. Thompson in charge. Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video. May you have a most blessed day my friend.
you don't need rail grinding "period". what you do need is a once every 16 years ballast cleaning, where all the ballast gets pulled out, and relaid with cleaned ballast. that might cut your track problems down to 50% right away.
worn out rail is worn out rail, no idea on the costs and the 1/4 mile sticks might help reduce rack problems down to 25% over all, but not sure if it's worth the expense.
as for money being spent...so long as those guys underground are being kept safe, and their machines are operating well, that's where i'd put the bulk to the money being spent no if's ands or buts!
Thank you april generic for taking the time to share your
thoughts. No doubt about it we do need ballast cleaning!!!
And we need to be able to do it quick and not 1 tie at a time
like I do when I crib ties. Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video. May you have a most blessed day my friend.
Great content Dave….The high level of maintenance you and your department provide….Equally improves safety…
Thank you JB for the very kind words. Appreciate
your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video.
May you have a most blessed day my friend.
For me, this is an example of how difficult it is to run a business. I had a few businesses in my career, and some issues that drained all the money each time So the old axiom of "if it was easy, anyone could do it" applies here :) I am pleased that some responsible folks stepped up to save the mine. It helps that Mr. Thompson is a no-nonsense gentleman who puts it on the line in terms of dedication and work ethic and only asks everyone else to do the same to make the company better, safer, and more profitable :) If the mine has more employees that are as professional and have such a great work ethic as yourself - I see great things in the future!
Thank you Brian for the very nice and well thought out comment.
You are so right in your views. Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video. May you have a most blessed day my friend.
Dave, thanks so much for your explanation of the financial situation; it was extremely interesting. I'm glad, as I'm sure you are, that your new owners realize the importance of the track and the railroad in general. Another fab video; keep up the great work, my friend!
Thank you Mike for the really nice comment, so glad you
enjoyed the video. Very much appreciate your taking the time to tune in and watch. May you have a most blessed day my friend.
Excellent explanations! Thanks, Dave! CEOs always have a difficult time balancing fiscal and physical responsibilities. Glad that yours is employee-oriented!
Thank you Paul for the excellent comment. You are so right
in that and yes we are lucky to have such good owners as
we now have that have a a great vision for the future here. Really appreciate your taking the time to watch. May you have a most blessed day my friend.
@@ccrx6700 Prayers are Answered, Dreams come True, Miracles Happen!
Thank you Dave for all the hard work and effort you put into your videos. The content is interesting and informative. Keep up your good work and bringing us all great railroading content.
Thank you for the exceptionally kind words Daniel. So glad to
hear you are enjoying the home movies. Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and watch them. May you have a most blessed day my friend.
The dedication to keeping trains running is amazing. Equally impressive and mind boggling is how much coal being mined .
Thank you for the nice comment Steven, you are right. Appreciate very much your dropping by to check out the video on spending money my friend.
Thank you for sharing and appreciating the efforts being made by the new owners, this is a fantastic story. Happening while so many people talk negatively of coal. A much needed resource.
Thank you for the very kind comment Jon. Really appreciate
your paying us a visit and checking out the video my friend.
Dave, having worked for large companies I am surprised that your management gives you the freedom to create the videos you do and I think that speaks highly of them. Most industries have public relations departments who pride themselves in controlling the information that goes public and would surly be very upset that someone like you was allowed to speak so openly and directly to the public about what is happening at Cumberland. They see that as their job and your activities as a complication. This attitude is one of the things that I dislike about most PR 'hacks'. I hope your management appreciates how your honest approach to what is happening at Cumberland puts them in a positive light no media and PR 'pros' could equal!
Thank you for the totally awesome comment Keith. That was most thoughtful of you to say that. This a great company to work for now and public relations are important to them. I am providing a
positive public relations appearance for this company and also
for coal and RR's. What is cool about that, is all of my stuff is
off the cuff and honest and not someone in an office writing a script
feeding the public a bunch of "what the public wants to hear"
We have problems here and I show that also, all companies
and industry has problems. Appreciate very much your taking the time to watch and write in. May you have a most blessed day my friend.
You should be extremely proud of your achievement in keeping the track operational.
Thank you MB for the kind words. Appreciate very much your
taking the time to watch and writing in. May you have a most blessed
day my friend.
Hi Dave. In todays environment you are very fortunate to work for a company that works thanks to an understanding and dedicated owner.
You are so right in that William! We are very blessed here to
have such good owners as we now have. They have a great
vision for the future and despite a lot of adversity we are
going to once again become a world class coal mine.
Thank you for the nice comment. We really appreciate your taking
the time to watch. May you have a most blessed day my friend.
Your comments are true for every industry and even our personal lives.
Thank you Matt for the terrific comment. You are absolutely
right in that. Appreciate very much your taking the time to watch and write in. May you have a most blessed day my friend.
The good news is that because your part of the operation is so reliable (given the amount of funding you are allocated) you're not the one everyone's mad at for constantly blocking production
You're absolutely true in that statement Sean! And thank goodness
the pressures not on me. Thank you very much for taking the time to watch and writing in. May you have a most blessed day my friend.
Dave...I was a Safety Focal for a firm I worked for......I had a supervisor come up and ask me why i was using his tubing end caps on handles of carts!.....
I asked him "Is our firm not self insured under State Industrial Insurance?'....his Reply 'was yes it is!'
I then explained that "since a Hand Cut that cost about $1000 to the company when all was said and done is not a 25 cent end cap a cheaper and safer option to prevent an injury?"
He thought a few seconds and replied "point taken" and turned and walked away!
Thank you irongoatrocky for writing in and sharing that with us.
Very good thinking on your part I must say! We need more folks like you who exercise good common sense! Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us. May you have a most blessed day my friend.
49 years is a long life for most mines. May you have many more.
Yes it certainly is B Laquisha, thank you for the well wishes. We
very much appreciate your taking the time to tune in and watch.
May you have a most blessed day my friend.
I thank you for your honesty and for sharing the economics of this industry. The transit of the coal is the riskiest part outside of your terminal properties. The line is the most important part. It must be kept safe. Details on either end are other issues, the rails must run true.
Really glad you enjoyed Thomas. Thank you for the very nice
and true comment. Appreciate very much your taking the time to watch and write in. May you have a most blessed day my friend.
I really appreciate you taking the time to give us all those insights into the organization and the railroad.
Thank you zephryboy for saying that. Glad you enjoyed. We
very much appreciate your taking the time to tune in and watch.
May you have a most blessed day my friend.
I ABSOLUTELY would buy the land to connect the track to the Class 1 railroads, CSX, NS, and build a yard, or have them build a yard, and buy at least 2 more trains of cars
The amount of coal you could sell if you had the ability to bring forty or fifty cars up to a yard for CSX or NS to pick up and bring to a power plant would be endless
No need to unload
Just bring them up and put them on one of the yard tracks and when you have 80 or 90 or 100 cars whatever the railroad needs they can take out a train a day or two trains a day or however much you can produce in a day
Have them drop off the empties and pick those up and bring them back to be filled
If the mine was only going to be open for another five or ten years it would be one thing but you're looking at a hundred years
You're absolutely going to need that yard and that connection and it's better to do it now before it gets harder to buy the land and before the cost of the land goes up
Even if they don't make the connection just buy the land and secure it so nobody else can buy it and do something that forever eliminates the ability to make the connection
That's not a bad idea, and it's not very far to the closest connection. There's also a small possibility if money was no object, could build a new railroad bridge over the Monongahela River and connect to CSX line literally right across the river from the Harbor.
And then you could have customers that want to buy coal? Fine, you supply your own cars, and send them to the prep plant to be loaded, and you pay for the power to come get the loaded cars. And then you could use your existing loco's the SD38-2 etc for switching duty.
@@brnmcc01 that's what I thought as soon as I saw it
The other closest line is way up North if you follow 79 North you'll see it and that's a long ways to run track but to go straight across the river where that old cement plant is that has the road that goes right up to the track you could just put it real bed in and a switch and go straight across the river and build a yard over there on the other side of the river
If they can get a customer to front them the money for it that would be the best way to go
Connect it to the national rail system then the FRA becomes involved and Dave’s CZcams channel goes bye bye.
@@MFXdump ok, but if it means more money, more jobs, it is a good idea. If the salary increase is tied to the increase in sales, it is worth it.
Hi Dave. We had a good interaction the other day. Just want to let you know that I am LISTENING and whatever happens, the workers and the local community need to be looked after.
Thank you S M G for sharing that with me. Different views
are what makes the world go round, but no matter our individual views may be, we are all in this world together and we can all
learn something from everyone else.
Dave, railroading is a science all to itself. Nothing like it at all. Appreciate all of the videos.
Really glad you are enjoying them Charles. Thank you for the really nice comment. Appreciate very much your taking the time to watch and write in. May you have a most blessed day my friend.
As usual, thank you for the in-depth nuts and bolts analysis of this topic. Great job my friend. Keep them coming 👍
Thank you Cold Water Jimmy for saying that. Glad you enjoyed. We
very much appreciate your taking the time to tune in and watch.
May you have a most blessed day my friend.
Have a wonderful Sunday Dave and family.
You do the company proud sir.
Cheers 🇨🇦
Thank you James for the nice comment, glad you enjoyed.
Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and write in. May
you have a most blessed day my friend.
Very interesting. Glad you all are still here.
Thank you Robert, glad you enjoyed. We are all glad to still
be here also as you can imagine! Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video. May you have a most blessed day my friend.
Excellent vid. I really enjoyed it. Here's hoping that the Cumberland Mine is in operation for many decades to come.
Thank you for the nice comment Neal. Glad you enjoyed. New owners are in it for the long haul, the are doing remarkably
well for all the adversity they bought into to, but it takes time.
I'm very encouraged about the future here. Appreciate your checking the video out my friend.
Great company Dave ... I retired from a good one after 40 yrs in 2015 and love it ... Thx ...
Yes it is Eddy from what we have had in the past. Very encouraging
for all of us here to know management is dedicated to building
a great future here. Glad you also had a good experience, that
is wonderful and I'm so happy for you. may you have a most
blessed day my friend.
Good job. Many have no idea the money and time it takes to keep up with the basics. This applies to everything not just the railroads. Good video
Thank you john Doe for the nice comment, glad you enjoyed.
You are so right in your thoughts about what you said.
Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and write in. May
you have a most blessed day my friend.
Thank you, sir, for this most interesting video presentation. The information contained therein is fascinating and a great way of telling the story of the mine and it's railroad. The tie up between mine and railroad goes way back to the very beginning of the railroads and indeed they almost invariably went from colliery to rivers or sea for onward transportation. It is no surprise that they do not spend too much on the railroad as it is not a high speed passenger railroad and so long as the coal can be transported at a reasonable speed and in a safe way for those who are train crew and those who work on or near the track. This the railroad does thanks to the work that you and your colleagues put into it. Long may the Cumberland Mine, railroad and coal barges continue.
Wow John, what a totally awesome comment. That was very
well thought out and totally reasonable thing to say. Appreciate very much your taking the time to watch and write in. May you have a most blessed day my friend.
I think this is what happen to the mines around Washington County no money was placed in the mines for upgrades and they started to fall behind. Also when P&LE took over the Montour RR they never did maintenance and had a hard time moving coal because of the rough track and differed maintenance. Also it didn’t help when they flooded out the mines.
Thank you Mike for taking the time to watch the video
and share your thoughts with us. it is amazing how many coal
mines in Washington and Greene counties have shut down over
the past 20 years. May you have a most blessed
day my friend.
Hey it's the bone 69 here the most important thing is on railroads is to keep it up keep the rails up in the Machinery that's what the money should be spent on
Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us Karl. We do appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and watch the show my friend.
I am so happy the future is bright for some of Americas hardest working people. I enjoy your channel and wish you a safe and prosperous future. Please keep up the great work !!
Thank you Bob for the very kind words. So glad to hear you
are having a good time with us. We really appreciate your taking
the time to watch. May you have a most blessed day my friend.
It is not the big picture, but there are lots of maintenance events and trips that could be recorded and tracked on moving and static equipment. The detector events catch things, but maybe they could be caught earlier. In any case, it's not my field. Railroad parts are well made, but they do wear out, and failure is somewhat predictable. I would suggest tracking the parts failures by vendor. I can see from the videos that this RR doesn't cut corners, and runs a safe operation. My 2 cents. Thanks for asking.
Thank you Thomas for the well thought out comment. Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video.
May you have a most blessed day my friend.
Dave, thanks for a fantastic video as always my friend. I hope you get to enjoy the Spring on the track.
your welcome Zach, glad you enjoyed. We are in a big shut down
right now for a new long wall move, lot's of track time and
getting a lot done. Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and write in. May you have a most blessed day my friend.
One of my favorite textbooks we had to read was "How to LIE with CHARTS" by Gerald E. Jones. You scared me with your pie charts. BTW, the book is always within reach so I can check the method if I think someone is trying to draw attention away from the real NOT SO GOOD facts with charts.
On the one-owner thing. That makes him the indispensable person. What do you do with an indispensable person? You fire them or train someone else to be able to do the Job. Why? because that indispensable person could walk out in front of a Mack Truck and your business suffers.
Great videos. Glad you got your photo in the company magazine.
Thank you Big'un for taking the time to write in and share your
thoughts. You are right about an indispensable person. But they do have a team at the high level so if Mr. Thompson checks out, I'm sure things will continue, albeit maybe not with the same skills. Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video.
May you have a most blessed day my friend.
I love this guy!!! Always with a happy face and smile! Love ya brother!!
Thank you Silverknife for the really nice comment. That was most thoughtful of you to say that. Appreciate very much your taking the time to watch and write in. May you have a most blessed day my friend.
To be honest, I am far more impressed by how much they HAVE put in. I look at your situation at the Cumberland mine, and YOUR situation as the "United States" from the perspective of the United Kingdom. In the 'Eighties we had a lot of strikes, the biggest being the Miner's Strike. At the time most of our Electricity came from Coal Fired plants, and they brought the country to a standstill. Fast forward 40 years, the few Coal Fired plants we have left are slated for closure, they sometimes get put on "Standby" and practically never get used. There are now just 4 'Pits' and 3 Open Cast mines in the UK.
"Carbon Capture & Storage" (CCS), is the new mantra that is set to clean up the burning of whatever fuel you may look at. But the money is NOT being put into developing it into a commercial, industrial scale reality. Even if it does (magically) appear, the rapid development in renewable generation sources, and, crucially, development in energy STORAGE, that is dropping the price of generation to less than that of Coal and gas. There are a number of fields where Coal is likely to still be needed, (Steel Production, for example), but the number of mines that will be commercially viable to supply them will be few.
I take no joy in mines being closed. I really wish we still had steam locomotives rather than diesels running on rails. I mourn the loss of steam ships that were replaced first by turbines, (Nothing to see here, folks, it's ALL inside a box 😞), then by diesels whose pistons are the size of a small CAR! And whose bunker fuel makes Coal look like perfume!
But it still happened. Ironically, disused mines are now being looked at as part of the solution: Drill down a bit further and you can get useable heat for heating water, stick solar panels and wind turbines on top of the old slack heaps, and use the shafts for gravity storage: A big HEAVY weight at the top, as it goes down, it runs a generator, when there is surplus electricity, use it to wind the weight back up.
Thank you Dave for a good explanation. You are a realist. You have a good employer, (in an industry not exactly known as 'caring'), and I hope that they can survive.
Thank you Con Cahill for writing in and sharing your thoughts.
Mrs. Thatcher got quite upset over those strikes, and thus
was born the do away with coal policy.
This will interest you: last fall a coal broker from the UK
approached our neighbor mine Baily. He offered them 600 a
ton to deliver coal to UK. Baily already has many contracts and so went o some of their buyers and offered those buyers 50 a
ton NOT to buy Baily's coal so they could ship it to UK. I do
not know if any of those buyers went for the deal or not. Appreciate
your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video.
May you have a most blessed day my friend.
Can you imagine buying a bankrupt coal mine and transportation system with the present anti fossil fuel policy leadership in Washington DC? Justin has nerves of steel and I hope he has a deep pocket partner! Best of luck all!
Very good point Tim, yes this guy has nerves but also a vision and
determination, all 3 combine for a winning combination. Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video.
May you have a most blessed day my friend.
Thanks Dave. We appreciate all your doing. I’m sure you effect outcome of a lot of things. ❤️👍
Thank you Don for the very kind words and you are welcome.
I'm only one of many who are tying to make this a world class
coal mine like we once had here. We really appreciate your taking
the time to watch. May you have a most blessed day my friend.
I'm always impressed with how much you get done with the resources available to you. Thanks for the video, happy rails!
Thank you Jeff for the kind words, that was very thoughtful of
you to say that. Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video. May you have a most blessed day my friend.
03:06, The word "dilapidated" was pronounced correctly as many people say "delapatated" for some reason? Hello from TEXAS as always. Thank you for keeping us informed.
Thank you JY G for the nice comment. Glad you enjoyed. Appreciate very much your taking the time to watch and write in. May you have a most blessed day my friend.
@@ccrx6700 THANK YOU. J.
What a great story to share about your outfit, you’re a great ambassador for the company!
Thank you Zulu Bravo for the really kind comment. That was most
thoughtful of you to say that. Appreciate very much your taking the time to watch and write in. May you have a most blessed
day my friend.
Great videos, You all have a very interesting but difficult job!! Love the hands on detail discussions... Working heavy machinery..WOW That's Railroading... I was just reading your Why the Derailment at Curve 18 Happened and there were some good comments.. It's hard to get engineering/technical consensus on web... but better than nothing. High Density Poly Florine bowl plastic liner probably does not need lube. check supplier. Rusty metal will grind plastic bowl liner and liner rim.. the bowl rim HDPF and metal takes a lot of car brake loads and rocking sway forces so maintenance should check rim dimensions/integrity and car mate dimensions. You did not mention the 'king' pin... Looseness should not jam truck steering but looseness may increase bowl loads, cracking of plastic liner, rim wear, car wear, etc
Thank you Marv for sharing the very well thought out comment.
Great to hear you are enjoying the videos. Appreciate your taking
the time to visit with us and check out them out. May you have a most blessed day my friend.
I would give you huge raise!!!!!!!! You deserve it
Thank you Eugene for the kind words, that was very thoughtful
of you to say that. Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video. May you have a most blessed day my friend.
I've often wondered about a long term cost comparison of running traditional rails on wooden ties with its ongoing maintenance costs vs running rail on concrete ties. These seem common in some places such as parts of Europe and are often installed as pre-assembled sections. About three years ago the street running section of track in La Grange KY was dug up out of the asphalt and replaced. For speed of install, they used long pre-assembled track sections on wooden ties and then paved over again with new asphalt. It seemed that it would be a perfect place to use the concrete tie sections, just for that short distance through town. Once they were buried under the new asphalt they should have the maximum life span.
Concrete ties don’t last as long as you think.
Yes there are numerous studies that have been done Wade,
here is a very good one
www.rta.org/assets/docs/RTASponsoredResearch/WoodCrosstieEconomics/063%20concrete%20vs.%20wood%20ties%201993.pdf
Great video Dave, learned a lot! A lot more respect of the company!
Thank you Dave for the kind words, yes we are so much
better off now than we were before, it's a good feeling to know
these guys are determined and dedicated. Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video. May you have a most blessed day my friend.
Wow, wish my company cared about its employees and community like that, they only care about their share holders.. that all sounds fantastic Dave.. the money part is like any part of regular life, like your house.. you have to decide where best to spend the money to keep the roof over your head.. sounds like they are making great decisions.. thanks for the leaf thru the news letter, always fun when you make it in the color pages..
Thank you Pappy for sharing your thoughts. yes you are right,
business decisions are much the same as what you and I do
at our homes. Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video. May you have a most blessed day my friend.
It is so nice to get the story “ from the horses mouth” we on the out side do not know all the events that
impact any company.like any business they want to be safe, and keep efficiency at the highest possible,
where the bottle necks are, that is where the key points that need change, and the funds are directed there.
Having a set budget helps to keep the tracks in a safe and maintained, but like you said investment capital
is limited, and has to be put where it has the biggest impact. Dave you do such a wonderful job showing
the inside story, and you know what is going on seeing it all first hand. good management makes such
a large impact upon the day to day operations of any company. they give good or a bad direction the
company is directed into the future! great video Dave, thank you for your time informing us what is on going
on with in Cumberland mine.
Thank you Barry for the awesome and well thought out comment. Always appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video. May you have a most blessed day my friend.
@@ccrx6700 Dave I just want to wish for you and yours all the best
over Easter, hope you and your family are able to celebrate
together. God bless and keep up the wonderful work. barry
@@artillerest43rdva7 👍😊❤️
@@ccrx6700 Hay Dave: just want to wish for you and yours all the best
over the Easter weekend, wishes for a wonderful time with yours all together with your
family. Have a wonderful celebration. God bless and take care. barry
Very interesting. It's good to see that a management and owner change is improving your life
Thank you Melvin for the nice comment. Yes indeed our new
owners are making significant improvements and are dedicated
to making this a world class operation once again.
Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and write in. May
you have a most blessed day my friend.
Great budget and down time explanation Dave hopefully people understand great video thanks
Thank you Gary for writing in with the excellent comment.
Very glad you enjoyed. Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video. May you have a most blessed day my friend.
Yeah, a 'short-line' that carries product in one direction has a pretty definite limit on income. I mean, the mine can only produce coal so fast, and in your case, barge movements limit the amount of 'demand'. And you have to run empties back to the mine where you don't get paid for that. Large inter-city frieght, especially from a seaport has a whole different sort of business model. Products going both directions, international markets to create huge demand means a whole lot more 'product' to carry. Whole different economics, where down-time would be a lot more costly.
So yeah, only so much money to go around, and if the track is not costing a lot of down time...
A great explanation of the issues that have you limited on what can be done.
Thank you Mike for the really great comment, you are so right
in your analysis of our situation compared to others. Glad you enjoyed. Appreciate your taking the time to tune in and watch.
May you have a most blessed day my friend.
You are a big part the rail is such a small portion of down time. You take pride in keeping the track maintained. That have a gem of an employee with you Dave.
Thank you Beverly for the totally awesome comment. That was most thoughtful of you to say that. But I am only 1 cog in the wheel, much credit also goes to co workers, management, contractors and
a few good men who used to work on track that are now retired. Appreciate very much your taking the time to watch and write in. May you have a most blessed day my friend.
Since I started out in railroading in the Division Engineer's Office, this is where the track and ROW maintenance is planned and administered, I know very well where, how, and on what the money is spent on the track.
Thank you Roy for sharing that. There's for sure a lot that
goes into planning and figuring ROI. Appreciate your taking
the time to visit with us and check out the video.
May you have a most blessed day my friend.
I would agree with your new owner that everything about you and your company is positive. Keep up the good work and the great videos👌
Thank you Paul for really kind words. That was quite thoughtful of
you to say that. Appreciate your taking the time to tune in and watch.
May you have a most blessed day my friend.
Well Mr. Dave since you do maintenance and see where the infrastructure needs work I would hire a guy like yourself and get your input of where I should spend my money. I don't know where I would spend it and where it needs to go. I would say a goal would be more safety for rail workers and the public. Safety falls under so many sub categories so even track maintenance is part of it. You are the expert my friend so I'm sure you know where money needs to be spent. Say a won a lot of money with the lottery and donated a million to fix the railroad, we both know that money would be gone the next day because everything costs so much. Like you said there isn’t enough money to go around for the things that need work.
Thank you David for writing in with the awesome comment. You are right, we could spend a million over night on track and that safety
is vital and most important. Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video. May you have a most blessed day my friend.
As a businessman, the majority of the money will be spent underground. As for the railroad, some of the money would be allocated for improvements - either to the locomotives, or to the track. The goal would be to have enough money to make the track emulate a BNSF track with concrete sleepers.
Yes sir fitch, very well thought out statement, you are correct.
BNSF is top of the line in track maintenance from my way of
thinking. Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video. May you have a most blessed day my friend.
Very good lessons. It’s good for people to hear the real world.
Really glad you enjoyed David. Thank you for the very nice comment. Appreciate very much your taking the time to watch and write in. May you have a most blessed day my friend.
Bargerstok Hollow Road, you can take the line and make a switch where the old road is it looks like it used to be a cement plant that's no longer in operation you can come up that road with a new rail bed and go right across the river with a new bridge and connect to the class 1 Rail Road, with a bridge just below Whiteley Creek and put a new yard right next to
Fish and Game Club Road
With 2 or 3 or even 4 tracks. NS or CSX can take the cars and drop off the empties whenever they can.
Up the river across from Vestaburg, on that same line, there is what looks like a coal mine of some sort with a huge pile of coal and they load cars there
Up from Vestaburg is a fairly new facility we own, I will sometime
do a much future video on that. it was built about 7 or so years ago.
We barge coal there, it is unloaded and put on CSX trains for
transport. Currently they have only loaded 1 train there this year.
it was originally built to fulfill the orders from our sister mine
emerald which had shut down. We used to sell coal to S. America
and Korea and coal from there went to Baltimore for overseas.
Now we sell a couple of unit trains to a cement plant in Florida
from there and I do not know what all else it goes to from there.
But it's not much currently. They can also load barges in that facility.
That facility is at LaBelle and at the time was their solution to us not interchanging. it works well however the biggest drawback with not interchanging is us getting newer rolling stock in here. They spent millions on this LaBelle facility. It's way, way far cheaper to barge
coal down to LaBelle than to build new track to interchange
at Waynesburg or Poland Mines since they already put the
millions into LaBelle.
Back in the early 1980's US Steel wanted to build a belt line
across the river to load trains at our harbor facility, that track was then owned by Monongahela RR. However the RR nixed that plan, they didn't want the business! Imagine that.
South of LaBelle is the old Vestaburg mine, there once was a bridge over the river where miners from the little coal village of Vestaburg would walk across the river to get to the mine.
@@ccrx6700 I don't know what the maximum span distance is between pillars
And I don't know how wide the river is at that old cement plant
If you can spend the river without having to put in a pillar in the river, just build up the embankment and pour cement foundations for the bridge and put it in place across the river, that would be great
If you need a pillar in the river, I would recommend putting 2 in, just in from the shore on each side, so the center of the river would stay open.
The Lehigh Valley railroad that goes up along the river North from Bethlehem put in a bridge across the river and they are not that big. They are a short line railroad.
I think their bridge doesn't have a pillar in the river, just the 2 foundations on each bank
Knowing the numbers of what it would cost to build the bridge and what it would cost to put in the track, and the cost of each load of coal per car, with those numbers you can see how many cars of coal it would take to pay for the bridge
so if it costs 30 million dollars to put in the bridge 500 per ton, each car holds 30 T, 15,000 per car, 2000 cars of coal to pay off the bridge
I don't know if that's even close to what a car holds, but if it is, 50 trains would pay off the loan
It would be quickly paid off
If you did half the cost per load than 100 trains of 40 cars
10% 500 trains
5% 1000 trains
I don't know what the profit margin is
But even if you were just deducting 5% off the cost of each car you would have 1000 trains of 40 cars
If CSX was pulling out 120 cars a day, 333 days and it would be paid off
Maybe your best video to date! As a life-long railfan, it is easy to just think of trains as an entertainment source, but you do a wonderful job in this video reminding us that these are living breathing organizations that requires an economic reason to exist. So whether big or small, each railroad has these challenges to survive. Is your railroad connected to one of the Class I railroads, or is it a stand alone, single product (coal) line? Are there ways to expand your customer base to serve other businesses along the existing line?
Thank you Champster for the kind words, so glad to hear you are
enjoying the home movies. No sir we do not interchange with
another RR, we are stand alone. We do truck some coal to
local power plants but that is our only other source of revenue/
transportation. Appreciate your visiting with us and checking out the video. May you have a most blessed day my friend.