Reading Eagle (PA), 04/21/2002
By Tony Lucia
Apr. 21--To say the Reading Blue
Mountain & Northern Railroad is operating under a full head of steam would
be an understatement.
(Note: Also see their
Press Release on their Website)
The Port Clinton-based railroad has since June purchased 20 locomotives from two
larger companies, doubling its number of engines in the process.
"We got a great deal," said Daren Geschwindt, manager of operating rules for the
Schuylkill County firm. "We took advantage of the market at the time to
supplement our fleet and get ourselves ready for any new business that comes
along."
Geschwindt said that in June, the firm bought four locomotives at an auction
conducted by Norfolk Southern at its Altoona, Blair County, facility.
Then, between August and March, it bought 16 more from Union Pacific Railroad.
The timing was opportune to be in the market for used engines, Geschwindt said,
noting that Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern were selling large numbers of
locomotives as they modernized their fleets, while the fallow economy depressed
prices for the secondhand trains.
Geschwindt said engines that normally sell for $500,000 to $700,000 were bought
by Reading Blue Mountain & Northern for less than $100,000 apiece.
That enabled the company to buy many more engines than it had budgeted, he said,
even if some of them require parts or servicing.
Models purchased included General Electric C30-7 and C36-7 engines, and SD40-2
and SD50 engines made by EMD, a division of General Motors. All are newer and
more efficient that many of the firm's other engines, offering improved speed
and efficiency.
"For a regional railroad our size, these are very good locomotives," he said.
"Larger railroads, like Conrail or Union Pacific, were traditionally the only
ones that had these. For us to get these high-horsepower locomotives is a great
opportunity."
The railroad has sold two older engines and now has ample replacements if any
others need to be retired.
The Reading Blue Mountain & Northern owns about 300 miles of track running from
Reading to Port Clinton and other Schuylkill County sites, north through Luzerne
and Lackawanna counties into the Scranton area.
Part of its track in Leesport is leased to the Reading Co. Technical and
Historical Society, which keeps several dozen cars and pieces of equipment from
the defunct railroad on the site.
With more than 600 open-top cars to transport it, coal is a large portion of its
business, and Geschwindt said several of the new locomotives will be used in
that service. The firm also moves plastics, lumber, pet feed and some
perishables, and also services the Yuengling breweries in Pottsville and near
Port Carbon in Schuylkill County.
Geschwindt said that as a regional provider of rail transport, the Reading Blue
Mountain & Northern can provide better customer service than larger, national
lines.
"That goes along with why we're buying these additional locomotives: We can
raise the bar a little bit," he said.
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(c) 2002, Reading Eagle, Pa. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune