Tacoma to Mt. Rainier line to be sold?

[CHamilton]

Train to the Mountain can finally rest in peace

Tacoma is negotiating to sell some of the track it acquired two decades ago to create the excursion train. The proceeds will help pay off the debt incurred over the years.

...In the early decades of the 20th century, the Tacoma Eastern Railroad (later purchased by the Milwaukee Road) ran excursion trains to its National Park Inn.

...Based on that history, the proposal to restore passenger service emerged from a period in Tacoma when there was no such thing as a dumb idea, even though in hindsight many fit into that particular file folder.

...RIP Train to the Mountain. It would have been a cool thing if only someone else would have paid for it. Let its passing call attention to where we were and how far we’ve come. It is a reminder that while creativity is to be encouraged, we can have the confidence to reject dumb ideas, regardless of whose brains they emerge from.

I'm speechless. This is so wrong, in so many ways.

 

[CHamilton]

Here's the original news article that the above commentary was apparently based on.

Tacoma Rail in talks to unload part of money-draining rail line

Tacoma Rail is in talks with three prospective suitors to sell and lease parts of the Mountain Division – a 132-mile, city-owned railway once envisioned as a tourist boon that instead has become a drain on city coffers.

The biggest deal in the works involves selling a 1.3-mile stretch in the Dome District to Sound Transit, “at a price that could wipe out the Mountain Division’s debt,” Tacoma Rail Superintendent Dale King recently told the City Council.

King, who disclosed only general details about the deal-making during an Oct. 9 meeting, didn’t cite a figure for the potential sale to Sound Transit. The Mountain Division now carries about $6.25 million in debt, according to records and interviews.

“I would think that I could get at least that,” King said in a recent interview.

Two other negotiations involving the railway also are under way. They include leasing seven miles of the line from Centralia to Chehalis to a switching company, and leasing its Eatonville to Morton spur to the Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad, which already uses part of the line for its excursion and tour trains.

 

[The Davy Crockett]

Train to the Mountain can finally rest in peace

Tacoma is negotiating to sell some of the track it acquired two decades ago to create the excursion train. The proceeds will help pay off the debt incurred over the years.

...In the early decades of the 20th century, the Tacoma Eastern Railroad (later purchased by the Milwaukee Road) ran excursion trains to its National Park Inn.

...Based on that history, the proposal to restore passenger service emerged from a period in Tacoma when there was no such thing as a dumb idea, even though in hindsight many fit into that particular file folder.

...RIP Train to the Mountain. It would have been a cool thing if only someone else would have paid for it. Let its passing call attention to where we were and how far we’ve come. It is a reminder that while creativity is to be encouraged, we can have the confidence to reject dumb ideas, regardless of whose brains they emerge from.

I'm speechless. This is so wrong, in so many ways.

In reading this, and other stories by the author, Peter Callaghan, he sure seems like a real hack. Thanks for the artcile, but thank you more for finding a different source Charlie! :lol:

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

Oh, well. They weren't going to start it anyway. I remember hearing about this a long time ago and then forgot about it.

 

[CHamilton]

Tacoma Rail rolls past hard times

As the City of Tacoma grapples with its $63-million recession hangover with layoffs and cutbacks, one branch of city government, its municipal railroad, Tacoma Rail, may be putting hard times behind it.

Credit a combination of a rush of new business as well as timely deals to shed expenses for the turnaround.

While the city plans to lay off 217 workers in other departments, Tacoma Rail is hiring. While general government revenues have declined, Tacoma Rail’s are rising.

Tacoma Rail is a rarity, a city-owned railroad. With 204 miles of track, Tacoma Rail is the largest municipally-owned and operated freight railroad in the country. Tacoma Rail is part of Tacoma’s Public Utilities operation that includes Tacoma Power and Tacoma Water. Tacoma Rail serves industrial customers on the Tacoma Tideflats, in the Frederickson Industrial Development in south Pierce County and in the Nalley Valley in South Tacoma. It also provides switching service for the ports of Olympia and Tacoma and their terminals.

It is the Port of Tacoma’s burgeoning business that has improved the railroad’s fortunes in recent months.

“We had our best month ever in July,” said Tacoma Rail Superintendent Dale King. “Then August was even better. September didn’t exceed August, but it was our best September ever,” he said. “October is shaping up to be another record-setter.”

The arrival of a handful of new shipping lines at the Port of Tacoma beginning in July is largely responsible for that boost in Tacoma Rail’s business. The Grand Alliance consortium of shipping lines helped the Port of Tacoma raise its benchmark container shipping volumes by 37 percent in September compared with September 2011.

 

[No.6]

Incredible! The city of Tacoma yet again making a permanent decision to fix a temporary problem. If they don't want the potential value capture opportunities the line represents, I imagine private interests in the fashion of Iowa Pacific will happily relieve them of the burden.

 

[Nathanael]

It's a decent idea to sell the 1.3 mile segment to Sound Transit, the government agency and passenger rail operator which will soon be the primary user.

As for the other bits... well, if I were running Tacoma I would certainly not sell them to privateers. The proposals, however, speak of *leasing* them, which wouldn't be that bad. The excursion train operator, a non-profit, would be a decent owner, but I doubt they can afford it.