NS Peavine talk

[midland sub]

Yes but it's served by CSX. New iron ore plant in Indiana sends pellets to it. Steel from Middletown still shipped over via Cincy by CSX to be processed there too.

SINCE THIS IS ABOUT THE PORTSMOUTH AREA - MY QUESTION IS ...

ARE THE BLAST FURNACES [AK STEEL ? ] NEAR ASHLAND STILL ACTIVE?

I STAYED AT THE COMFORT NORTH SIDE OF PTMOUTH ON FRI 12/12 AND ABOUT A DOZEN NS TRAINS CAME BY BETWEEN 6PM AND MIDNIGHT.
VERY BUSY THAT EVENING.

[redside20]

SINCE THIS IS ABOUT THE PORTSMOUTH AREA - MY QUESTION IS ...

ARE THE BLAST FURNACES [AK STEEL ? ] NEAR ASHLAND STILL ACTIVE?

I STAYED AT THE COMFORT NORTH SIDE OF PTMOUTH ON FRI 12/12 AND ABOUT A DOZEN NS TRAINS CAME BY BETWEEN 6PM AND MIDNIGHT.
VERY BUSY THAT EVENING.

Yes the blast furnaces on the west side of Ashland are still there and active...however the coke plant on the east side was closed and quickly demolished about a year ago..

[tommaphet]

Papers were filed yesterday (January 22) to open the Peavine from Williamsburg to Seaman. Trains will be coming soon.

[60Tonner]

Papers were filed yesterday (January 22) to open the Peavine from Williamsburg to Seaman. Trains will be coming soon.

Keep working at it and we'll eventually get it all up and running.

[cumbres]

Papers were filed yesterday (January 22) to open the Peavine from Williamsburg to Seaman. Trains will be coming soon.

Where were the papers filed? Do you have any links to the info?

[cumbres]

Here is the link for all who are interested. It would appear that the CCET is gaining about 29 miles of track.

http://www.stb.dot.gov/filings/all.nsf/ ... 237601.pdf

Could this just be the beginning of the whole line reopening? Only time will tell. It appears that the start date is approximately 2/21/15 by the paperwork that has been filed. We shall see.

[StupidFlee​t]

Here is the link for all who are interested. It would appear that the CCET is gaining about 29 miles of track.

http://www.stb.dot.gov/filings/all.nsf/ ... 237601.pdf

Could this just be the beginning of the whole line reopening? Only time will tell. It appears that the start date is approximately 2/21/15 by the paperwork that has been filed. We shall see.

http://www.stb.dot.gov/filings/all.nsf/ ... 237601.pdf

[heypal6878]

Well it appears like some egg got tossed in a few faces. Never say never when it comes to NS. Sure NS doesn't want any part of the Peavine yet the CCET is moving forward picking up some business and wants more of the line open. NS opened a few more miles for the Short Line.

Now that being said NS has no intention of selling off the rights to SORTA in Cincinnati who wants to add a commuter rail to the Peavine. What does that say? Well NS knows that business is only going to get better in the next five years. Their rails are booming with business up north. Soon the east coast is going to play a major impact on NS and CSX. More fright less places to go with it. The rails need to go west and to get product to go west the Peavine may come into play.

Sure at the present time NS doesn't need the Peavine. The CCET has it and is taking good care of the line. Yet time will tell if and when the Peavine will be open. Currently I'm happy to see NS opening an additional few miles to Seaman. If the CCET gets more contracts down the road NS may open the rail a few more miles up east. So boys never say never.

[bdconrail29]

Two sentences here:

The first you say: "Well it appears like some egg got tossed in a few faces."

Then later: "Sure at the present time NS doesn't need the Peavine."

In summary we're back to the same conclusion: Right now NS doesn't need the Peavine.

[heypal6878]

Sure a few eggs were tossed as a few here said that the line is dead in the water. And yes NS doesn't want the line right now yet they did open a few more miles of track. For months it has been said that NS is not going to open any more track and they filed for discontinuance yet it wasn't long after the filing that they now opened up some more track. The CCET is getting their act together getting contracts on the line that NS didn't want to service. Now NS granted permission to open more track to the CCET.

Currently NS doesn't need the Peavine but they still own it and are not going to let close all of it. Thank God for the CCET as they are keeping the tracks in shape and running weekly freight on the line.

[cbehr91]

Here is the link for all who are interested. It would appear that the CCET is gaining about 29 miles of track.

http://www.stb.dot.gov/filings/all.nsf/ ... 237601.pdf

Could this just be the beginning of the whole line reopening? Only time will tell. It appears that the start date is approximately 2/21/15 by the paperwork that has been filed. We shall see.

It means CCET is extending service to Seaman.

[heypal6878]

Correct and if they get more business out east of Seaman NS will most likely extend the line to Peebles. Really nothing in Peebles if the tie place is closed. Not sure about that and don't think the CCET will transport ties to NS maybe they will not sure how that works. Not sure what business is in Seaman any more that needs rail. Most transportation done by trucking now. I don't get out that way much so don't know what business is along the tracks out that way anymore.

[midland sub]

CCET extended the lease to Seamen to access Winchester Grain. NS wanted nothing to do with the grain traffic so they priced it so high Winchester trucked it instead. Obviously the three came up with an agreement that works.

The lumber company sold company ties to NS. I'm under the impression NS got them to move the loading operation from Peebles to over to Piketon over on the old line into the atomic plant.

Correct and if they get more business out east of Seaman NS will most likely extend the line to Peebles. Really nothing in Peebles if the tie place is closed. Not sure about that and don't think the CCET will transport ties to NS maybe they will not sure how that works. Not sure what business is in Seaman any more that needs rail. Most transportation done by trucking now. I don't get out that way much so don't know what business is along the tracks out that way anymore.

[heypal6878]

Correct sounds good. The only hope for the Peavine for the next two years is the CCET

[brc0227]

The only hope in the near future for service east of seaman is Plum Run. At one point CCET was in talks with Plum Run. Where those talks went. Or if they're still talking with them. I personally don't know.

[midland sub]

A person involved with the CCET start up and current operations explained somewhere else the issue with Plum Run. There's just not enough demand to justify rail service. There's some pretty strong competition already in the Cincy market for stone. JRJ owns Melvin Stone and has been using the I&O to ship stone into Cincy for the past four years plus you have whatever still comes via the Ohio River.

[brc0227]

So basically CCET would have to haul stone east on the peavine. Which isn't likely to happen anytime soon. I know currently Conley Trucking hauls stone east at least 5 days a week. Always see them on state route 73 during the week.

[heypal6878]

Has Conley Trucking always hauled the stone there or is this since NS stop using the line and least it to the CCET. I would think they would be able to haul more stone on rail and it would be more cost effective.

[cumbres]

It has been rumored that Evans wants to start getting stone delivered to them down in Newtown via rail so that could be another option, just sayin`. In the big scheme of things, the best hope the Peavine has of completely reopening will hinge directly on the economy improving and the reopening of the Panama Canal after the widening project is done early next year or so they say. When that happens, the larger freighters will be coming to the East coast via the PC because the route is 700 miles shorter and as it stands from what is being posted on the web, the Port of Virginia at Norfolk is the only port South of NYC that can handle these ships in its current configuration because the harbor is deep enough for them. Norfolk is also the only port on the East coast that has the ability for large areas of expansion to accommodate more ships. One other fact that is being touted is that over 50% of the US population is within one days driving time of Norfolk. That is being seen as an advantage to importers as it reduces transportation costs once the goods arrive to our shores to get them to the majority of the US population. Some of these new ships that will be coming into port can carry as many as 7,000 containers that will have to be moved out of there. Trucks cannot get this done on their own, rail transport will be a big part of this situation. NS and CSX are likely going to need more track capacity they can get once this begins and the Peavine may come into play because it is an East / West route that could be used to take some of the load off the Heartland Corridor by running the slower stuff on it. NS hasn`t pulled up the tracks for a reason and this could quite possibly be it. Like I`ve said before, when I see it open, I`ll believe it, but NS hasn`t pulled the rails and they have had 10 plus years to do it. So they must see the need arising to use it again at some point down the road.

[brc0227]

I don't know for sure how long Conley has hauled stone from Plum Run. But they've been hauling it out if there for quite a while though. NS stopped servicing plum run along time ago. I always assumed that NS stopped servicing them when they shut the line down to through traffic in 2003. But it may have been before that even. Maybe Midland Sub or someone else knows exactly when NS stopped servicing them. I'm also assuming that Conley trucking started hauling from Plum Run when NS stopped. But not sure on that either. They may have hauled out of plum run simultaneously for a while. At one point it was rumored that Conley offered to buy the Peavine so he could haul the stone by rail. But NS wouldn't sell. And again rumors are rumors. You never know how true they are. But have heard that from multiple people. So take it for what it's worth.