Spring 2001
Volume 109 - No. 1
Spring 2001
Volume 109 - No. 1
BLE Focus
Commodities
As in Casey's time, railroads today transport all sorts of goods around the country. Each day, North America's railroads deliver everything from lumber to vegetables, from coal to orange juice, from grain to automobiles, from chemicals to scrap iron. The work of locomotive engineers impacts the economy by ensuring that these goods are efficiently and safely transported from place to place around the continent. The railroads - especially their locomotive engineers - are vital to the economic lifeblood of the continent.
There are more than 600 freight railroads operating today in Canada,
Mexico, and the United States. The system that they form provides the world's
most efficient, cost-effective freight service. In the U.S., railroads account
for more than 40 percent of all freight transportation - more than trucks,
boats, barges or planes. In fact, U.S. railroads move more than four times
as much freight as do all of Western Europe's freight railroads combined.
In Casey's day, railroads provided people with goods that they would not have been able to get without this means of transportation. Today, North America continues to be touched by the work of its locomotive engineers. From eating breakfast (grain) to turning off the lights (coal generated electricity) before going to bed, the work of locomotive engineers impacts the lives of North American citizens each and every day - all day long.
Coal
One hundred years ago, locomotives were powered by coal-generated steam. While today's railroad are fueled by diesel and electric-power, they still rely on coal for power - financial power.
Railroads deliver approximately two-thirds of all coal to coal-burning power plants. Coal's domination of the electric market is due to its inexpensive and efficient delivery. The electricity generated from coal delivered by railroads is sufficient to meet the electricity needs of every home in America.
The relationship between the coal miners who dig up this commodity and
the locomotive engineers who deliver it has linked the fates of these two
groups of workers. This relationship was a key portion of the speech delivered
by Cecil Roberts, President of the United Mine Workers of America, at the
BLE's Seventh Quinquennial Convention in Miami (portions of which were reprinted
in the Winter 2001 Locomotive Engineers Journal).
Coal is by far the most important single commodity carried by rail - in 2000, it accounted for 44 percent of railroad tonnage and 21 percent of revenue.
Railroads transport coal, which is mined in several areas throughout the U.S., to areas all across the continent While all modes of transportation are used to transport coal, railroads transported 65 percent of all coal to its final destination in 1999.
Locomotive engineers are responsible for the safe transportation of all of this coal. Each day the members of the BLE make it possible for millions of people to have electricity and heat.
Coal mining generally takes place in three major coal-producing areas. Appalachian coal is mined mainly in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee, Alabama, Ohio, and eastern Kentucky; Interior coal in Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Texas, and western Kentucky; and Western coal in Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, Utah, North Dakota, New Mexico, and Arizona. Coal generated in these areas must be transported throughout the country, which is done mainly by rail.
Today, most Western coal originates in the Powder River Basin (PRB) of
northeast Wyoming and southeast Montana. Over the past two decades, PRB
coal has seen a huge surge in output. PRB coal is generally very low in
sulfur content and is therefore prized by many utilities that must operate
under increasingly stringent clean air laws.
© 2002 Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers