Data points:
- Gavin Yard, east of Minot
- in Minot, not Williston
- first new BNSF facility in quite some time
- $30 million project
- has now opened
- new car shop and two (2) 9,200-foot inspection tracks
"This is the first new facility we've built on our entire system in a long time. It just goes to show how much activity and how much potential there is in this part of the world," said Roger Nober, BNSF executive vice president from Fort Worth, Texas, where BNSF has its headquarters.Another indication that the Bakken boom is having effect/impact outside of Williston.
Nober said BNSF expects activity in this area will ramp up even more than it is now.
I would say building a bridge over a river solves a problem.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvreQfcv-Hw
ReplyDeletePretty impressive video of oil train leaving Williston. Apparently this is preferrred over the Keystone XL pipeline.
And we are talking thousands of trains. 120-unit trains. Ten or more such trains a day. Thousands of miles. Absolutely ridiculous. And the faux-environmentalists will be the first to cry "foul" when there's a derailment.
ReplyDeleteFolks have no idea how big a deal these unit trains are.
And, we're not even thinking about all the trucks that will be on the road when pipelines aren't built. Truly incredible.
Oh, speaking of which, I was sent a very nice investment article on investing in pipelines, through master limited partnerships. The first thing I noticed were all the pipelines currently running underground in Nebraska, including over the sacrosanct Ogallala Aquifer.
Good to know Mr Buffet's Secretary won't have to go on assistance any time soon. :-)
ReplyDeleteEven at $500,000/year as some are suggesting, she is grossly underpaid.
DeleteAnd I can guarantee you Buffett and staff were working every tax angle for the past 50 years. And if he's got his stockholders' interests at heart (his fund) he better continue to work every tax angle, otherwise it's fiduciary irresponsibility.
It's hard for me to believe that investors would want to stick with a "fund" whose CEO feels "we" should all be paying more in taxes. Doe this affect his investing decisions?
Thank you for taking time to comment.
Warren Buffett and Barack Obama textbook examples of crony capitalism. North Dakota should work very hard to open up as many takeaway avenues as possible. I think Buffett is trying to recreate a modern day James J. Hill in himself. In the end that wouldn't be good for the state.
ReplyDeleteGot to laugh at the faux-environmentalist thinking they were doing something wonderful. Train diesels spewing CO2 down to the Gulf Coast and back with empties to be filled again. Buffett played them for all they were worth. One heck of a self serving old coot. When it is too late Nebraska will wake up as it puts up with all the trains coming and going they will say, "I didn't know we would have this". Too bad it is a done deal.
All those 110-unit trains converge on Omaha; I'm sure the folks can't be a bit happy. It has to be one huge mess.
ReplyDeleteYes, I find it incredible. Scores of unit trains daily; this is not trivial.