BLE Focus

Grain

While coal may provide the power to our homes, grain provides the fuel for our bodies. Grain is another important commodity for U.S. railroads, accounting for 7.4 percent of Class I tonnage and 6.7 percent of Class I revenue in 2000. Thanks to locomotive engineers, railroads move enough wheat to provide every man, woman and child a fresh loaf of bread six days a week.

If locomotive engineers did not deliver these products, then the people of North America would know about it almost immediately. Not only is the grain carried by locomotive engineers used to make things like breads and cereals, it is also used to feed livestock, which is another important source of food for the people of this continent.

Grain is also one of North America's biggest exports, so people around the world feel the impact of the work of locomotive engineers. The U.S. is the world's top grain producer and the largest grain exporter. The grain that is transported often needs to be rushed to ports for export because of changing conditions in the market, making the work of today's Casey Jones felt around the globe.

Other commodities

From televisions to toasters, railroads carry a myriad of other commodities that did not exist in the day of Casey Jones.

Two of the most controversial of these commodities transported are nuclear and hazardous wastes. Locomotive engineers carry these dangerous commodities every day through our cities and towns with few incidents. However, the public outcry over this transportation is immense, especially when accidents occur. It is a testament to the skills of the locomotive engineer that a major accident has not endangered the lives of the citizens of our continent.

Perhaps the most important commodity that railroads carry -which has been the case since the time of Casey Jones - are people.

Railroads carry passengers over distances both long and short. They carry people going on cross-country trips and those going across town to work. Millions of people each year utilize rail transportation.

Each day North America's railroads carry millions of commuters and travelers. On an average week day, commuter railroads in the U.S. carry over one million passengers on trips that average 22.1 miles. In fiscal year 2000, Amtrak served more than 22.5 million guests. Each day, approximately 61,000 guests travel on Amtrak.

The importance of rail transportation was seen after the events of September 11. Those events demonstrated the necessity of having various means of mass transportation. When the airports shut down, passenger rail became more important than it had been in decades. When weather shuts down the highways and airports, railroads usually stay open to get people to where they need to go.

The railroads and their operating employees have an impact on society like no other form of transportation. Over the past century and a half, the North American people have been effected by hundreds of thousands of real-life Casey Jones's.

Commodities Carried & Tons Originated by Class I Railroads in 2001

Coal	757,790,000
Chemicals & allied products	156,524,000
Farm products	135,696,000
Non-metallic minerals	125,940,000
Misc. mixed shipments*	101,036,000
Food & kindred products	93,899,000
Metals & products	60,572,000
Lumber & wood products	48,928,000
Stone, clay & glass products	48,270,000
Petroleum & coke	40,765,000
Waste & scrap materials	40,060,000
Motor vehicles & equipment	39,346,000
Pulp, paper & allied products	36,146,000
Metallic ores	31,552,000
All other commodities	21,858,000
Total	1,738,383,000

Continued on Page 8

Back to Spring 2002 Journal

© 2002 Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers