Tank cars carrying OIL spill in Illinois

[Bob]

20 Tank Cars from the Canadian National Railway derailed on Friday near 7PM outside of Plainfield's business district resulting in closed roads and contamination.

Estimated amount of crude which was spilled is about 45,000 gallons or about 1072 barrels (bbls)..

20 out of a total of 115 cars derailed, with 2 possibly 3 of the derailed cars were leaking their contents into the environment.


Two major concerns after the derailment were the possibility the oil would catch fire or leak into the nearby DuPage River.

"The DuPage River is in the near vicinity. At this point, none of the crude oil had made it to the river, it has been barricaded off. All efforts are being made right now to make sure that continues," said Plainfield Police Sergeant Mike Fisher.

An official from the EPA said Saturday no off-site impact has been found.

No injuries to humans were reported.

ref: AP, ABC assorted local papers


http://www.theherald-news.com/_internal/cimg!0/3fu7h0a7fzozcxgw9xseqqbioskjzp5

[Bob]

Crews worked through the weekend and managed to re-open the track, replacing the damaged sections (pre-fab'd like 'lego blocks') quickly.


http://www.theherald-news.com/_internal/cimg!0/cc0pnhjeu1lqucqk66vf8mwmnmpofk5

Rail traffic was again flowing, with "business as usual" as early as Monday. The spill was largely (ironically) contained by a deep trench for a natural gas pipeline which was close to the rail tracks. Leading one to again question, "Rail Safety" for hazardous transport, or the use of safer buried "Pipelines" for transport. Special interests against "Pipelines" have insisted to use rail-train-transport tanker railcars instead of pipelines.

Bill Gates is the largest shareholder (https://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/bill-gates-largest-shareholder-in-canadian-national/article4359592/) of Canadian National Railway Company (TSX: CNR)(NYSE: CNI), with a massive 13% stake in Canada?s flagship railroad operator.

Burlington Northern Santa Fe (NYSE: BNI) is the second-largest U.S. railroad company with over 6,300 locomotives and 32,000 route miles. Warren Buffett through his Berkshire Hathaway Inc. company bought Burlington Northern Santa Fe for $26.5 billion back in 2010.

Both companies ship crude oil, and clearly are opposed to PIPELINE transport.


The growth at Burlington Northern has been helped by the boom in oil production. The oil pipelines haven’t been able to keep pace with the capacity coming out of the major shale plays, like the Bakken Shale. They’ve turned to Burlington Northern and other railroads.

However, with oil hovering around $50 a barrel, there’s some worry that the major oil transporters could be in for a rough ride. Even with the concerns over declining oil production, which means lower oil to be transported, certain railroad stocks are still very enticing investments.

That’s because these guys not only have vast networks, but also impressive pricing power. This allows many of them to enjoy double-digit profit margins.

Much of the economy is driven by consumer spending. So more money in their pockets, thanks to lower energy costs, should help increase demand for major products that rail companies move, which include autos, electronics and lumber.

Buffett has said before, “As long as more goods move from place to place in this country, rails are going to get their share and it should be a very profitable business.”

If you own shares of Berkshire Hathaway, than you already have some exposure to the railroad sector.

Conjecture - if one wanted to find out WHO really is behind stopping pipelines, consider the railway shipping companies. They stand a LOT to loose from shipments going through pipelines.

references: http://www.businessinsider.com/why-bill-gates-and-warren-buffett-are-railroad-rivals-2014-9 - why Gates and Buffett butt heads in Railway energy products transport


http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/540729e269bedda85d5326f0-480/bill-gates-warren-buffett.jpg


Canadian National Railway Co. (CNR) is beating benchmark stock indexes as profits and shipments surge, a boost for Gates, the largest shareholder....

BNSF Railway Co., (Burlington Northern/Santa Fe) owned by Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK/B), is struggling. North America’s biggest railroad by sales is grappling with slow traffic and is being scrutinized by U.S. regulators for poor service, spurring concern that it risks a permanent loss of some customers.

It seems perfectly logical for Buffett to own a railroad company. His much-lauded investment philosophy hinges on putting money only into businesses he can understand — in terms of operations, products, and, crucially, opportunities.

and for Canadian National Railway


Oil companies are increasingly using railways as a means to move the crude oil to markets where they can sell the oil at the higher WTI or Brent Crude prices. Canadian oil companies also rely heavily on Canadian National Railway to deliver their crude to refineries.

Another big development in the oil and gas industry has been the boom in shale gas production using hydraulic fracturing. The process works by pumping a mix of water and sand under high pressure into the shale formations to create fissures that allow trapped natural gas to be released.

Canadian National delivers the large volumes of sand required by the companies producing the shale gas.

[Axman]

Thats funny I did not even knew it happened and thats right by me. nothing on local MSM about it.

Thanks Bob

The Axman




Crews worked through the weekend and managed to re-open the track, replacing the damaged sections (pre-fab'd like 'lego blocks') quickly.


http://www.theherald-news.com/_internal/cimg!0/cc0pnhjeu1lqucqk66vf8mwmnmpofk5

Rail traffic was again flowing, with "business as usual" as early as Monday. The spill was largely (ironically) contained by a deep trench for a natural gas pipeline which was close to the rail tracks. Leading one to again question, "Rail Safety" for hazardous transport, or the use of safer buried "Pipelines" for transport. Special interests against "Pipelines" have insisted to use rail-train-transport tanker railcars instead of pipelines.

Bill Gates is the largest shareholder (https://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/bill-gates-largest-shareholder-in-canadian-national/article4359592/) of Canadian National Railway Company (TSX: CNR)(NYSE: CNI), with a massive 13% stake in Canada?s flagship railroad operator.

Burlington Northern Santa Fe (NYSE: BNI) is the second-largest U.S. railroad company with over 6,300 locomotives and 32,000 route miles. Warren Buffett through his Berkshire Hathaway Inc. company bought Burlington Northern Santa Fe for $26.5 billion back in 2010.

Both companies ship crude oil, and clearly are opposed to PIPELINE transport.


The growth at Burlington Northern has been helped by the boom in oil production. The oil pipelines haven’t been able to keep pace with the capacity coming out of the major shale plays, like the Bakken Shale. They’ve turned to Burlington Northern and other railroads.

However, with oil hovering around $50 a barrel, there’s some worry that the major oil transporters could be in for a rough ride. Even with the concerns over declining oil production, which means lower oil to be transported, certain railroad stocks are still very enticing investments.

That’s because these guys not only have vast networks, but also impressive pricing power. This allows many of them to enjoy double-digit profit margins.

Much of the economy is driven by consumer spending. So more money in their pockets, thanks to lower energy costs, should help increase demand for major products that rail companies move, which include autos, electronics and lumber.

Buffett has said before, “As long as more goods move from place to place in this country, rails are going to get their share and it should be a very profitable business.”

If you own shares of Berkshire Hathaway, than you already have some exposure to the railroad sector.

Conjecture - if one wanted to find out WHO really is behind stopping pipelines, consider the railway shipping companies. They stand a LOT to loose from shipments going through pipelines.

references: http://www.businessinsider.com/why-bill-gates-and-warren-buffett-are-railroad-rivals-2014-9 - why Gates and Buffett butt heads in Railway energy products transport


http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/540729e269bedda85d5326f0-480/bill-gates-warren-buffett.jpg


Canadian National Railway Co. (CNR) is beating benchmark stock indexes as profits and shipments surge, a boost for Gates, the largest shareholder....

BNSF Railway Co., (Burlington Northern/Santa Fe) owned by Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK/B), is struggling. North America’s biggest railroad by sales is grappling with slow traffic and is being scrutinized by U.S. regulators for poor service, spurring concern that it risks a permanent loss of some customers.

It seems perfectly logical for Buffett to own a railroad company. His much-lauded investment philosophy hinges on putting money only into businesses he can understand — in terms of operations, products, and, crucially, opportunities.

and for Canadian National Railway


Oil companies are increasingly using railways as a means to move the crude oil to markets where they can sell the oil at the higher WTI or Brent Crude prices. Canadian oil companies also rely heavily on Canadian National Railway to deliver their crude to refineries.

Another big development in the oil and gas industry has been the boom in shale gas production using hydraulic fracturing. The process works by pumping a mix of water and sand under high pressure into the shale formations to create fissures that allow trapped natural gas to be released.

Canadian National delivers the large volumes of sand required by the companies producing the shale gas.

[Bob]

Hi Axman - up in Chicago news up there says: "near Route 59 and Riverwalk Court, near the village's downtown business district."

Possibly you drive by there and could report on what you see as far as remaining oil?

I can't imagine that it would be cleaned up as fast as they said it was having being "cleaned.." thereby leaving crude to have sunk into the sands, possibly lingering and traveling eventually into the river with some strong rains... searching for Route 59 and Riverwalk Court appears to put the spill pretty close to some locally significant structures (seen on Maps satellite view).

From DOT111 - http://dot111.info/category/recent-derailments/ recent rail derailments

The "fireworks" that could have ensued could have been staggering had there been an explosion. Under the carpet again, out of mind, out of sight?

Interactive Map page: http://earthjustice.org/features/map-crude-by-rail


(Scroll down to locate the map on the above link (http://earthjustice.org/features/map-crude-by-rail), then click on the highlight)

How safe are these tracks which the Crude Tanker rail cars travel?

http://www.kgw.com/news/local/inspectors-find-24k-defects-in-oil-train-tracks-nationwide/428823752 - Inspectors find 24,000 defects in oil train tracks nationwide


Such issues are not uncommon across the nation's 140,000-mile freight rail network. But they've received heightened attention after rail shipments of crude oil increased and the number of major derailments spiked following a surge in domestic energy production.

A violation recommendation occurs when an inspector finds something serious enough to warrant a potential penalty, or a railroad fails to address a defect that's been found. Federal officials declined to say how many penalties had been issued under the crude-by-rail inspection program.

A former senior official at the Federal Railroad Administration, Steven Ditmeyer, reviewed the inspection data obtained by the AP. He said it reinforces the need for railroads to stay on top of regular maintenance for their sprawling networks of track.

Many of the defects found by inspectors posed serious safety issues, Ditmeyer said, adding that it can be difficult for railroads to know when a seemingly small problem will result in a derailment.

"All of this is a call for continued vigilance," said Ditmeyer, who directed the railroad administration's Office of Research and Development for eight years. "One defect or one violation of the right kind can cause a derailment. These statistics give a good indication of the track quality, but most (defects) won't cause a derailment."

[Axman]

Well Bob I could do that its down the road from where I work and they just started using these tracks a lot in the last 2 years which created a lot of grumbling since it crosses a major road so they built a over pass to alleviate the congestion. I will take a ride down and take a look and report back what I see.


The Axman