Trains operating on Union Pacific Railroad lines through Lewis and Thurston counties could be carrying 1 million gallons of Bakken crude oil weekly, according to a notification issued in early December and highlighted by Lewis County Emergency Management last week.
The rail line previously didn’t report transporting that much oil per train.Thurston/Lewis county are in western Washington state with Seattle, Tacoma, and Olympia in the area. Lewis County is south of Thurston County, sort of in between Seattle-Tacoma-Olympia (to the north) and Portland (to the south).
I track the "Look West!" series here.
Again, this is an interesting way for an anti-oil newspaper to post the numbers. NO ONE measures the amount of oil being transported by rail (CBR) in gallons. In barrels, one million gallons = 24,000 bbls -- a pittance in the big scheme of things. The Bakken produces 1 million bbls//day.
A typical unit train has 118 the tank cars. Each tank car holds about 714 bbls --> 85,000 bbls/unit train. If that is accurate, it won't even take a unit train to transport 24,000 bbls. Maybe 30 tank cars. The Olympians won't even notice them.
And the article continues:
Union Pacific lines expect no more than one train per week carrying 1 million gallons of oil or more to pass through Lewis and Thurston counties. Most trains are enroute to the Portland-Vancouver area.
Union Pacific issued a notification in June 2014, stating the company did not transport enough Bakken crude oil to meet the threshold at that time.
Burlington Northern Santa Fe’s last notification was released in September, stating it was transporting an estimated 10 to 18 trains carrying 1 million gallons or more of Bakken oil through Thurston and Lewis counties.Hardly worth noting except .... the "Look West!" saga continues.
A DOT-111 tank car carries upwards of 35,000 gallons (830 bbls). One million gallons / 30,000 gallons = 33 tank cars.
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