ACACSONovember 2011

Memphis, TN

Tacoma RailYesterday

A Streetcar named Tacoma…• Tacoma Railway & Motor Company – 1889 • Tacoma Railway & Power Company – 1899• Tacoma Municipal Street Railway• Built a tideflats “street railway for the workingman”• 1914: Agreement

– City built track over bridge & maintained– TR&PC provided streetcars & conductors– City lost money

11th Street in Tacoma - 1908

War Added Business• Shipbuilding

– Workers needed transportation to tideflats

• Streetcars excessively overcrowded– “Honest man’s car line”

• Tacoma Railway & Power Co.– Wanted out

• January 1, 1919; City official owners/operators of the transit and freight operations

Tacoma Municipal Street Railway

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Disaster Strikes• Buyouts, defaults, takeovers, worker strikes and

tragedies• July 4th, 1900 – trolley derailment killed 43• Dec 30, 1925 – streetcar plunged off bridge killing

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• June 24, 1928 – 3 alarm blaze destroyed trolley barns and 22 streetcars

• July 1929 – fire destroyed bridge trestle

1920’s: Tacoma Municipal Belt Line

• 1918: Freight service began – 40% logs• 1924: Freight negotiations with

connecting carriers – contract established Nov 1924

• Switching revenue nearly doubled within one year

• 1925: (April 8) Name changed to Tacoma Municipal Belt Line -TMBL

• TMBL control shifted to Public Utilities• Freight continued to grow• Passengers continued to decline

Demise of Passenger Service

• 1924 - 1947: two different jobs – switching freight and moving people

• 1937: Streetcar fleet converted to buses• 1938: April 8 last street cars ran in Tacoma • 1941 – 1945: 17 million passengers carried

on buses• 1947: Discontinued passenger service

– Entire bus fleet needed replacement– Chamber of Commerce urged City Council to

discontinue– Turned over to Tacoma Transit Co. (Pierce

Transit)

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History in Print• The story of the Tacoma Municipal

Belt Line Railway: Proudly serving Tacoma since 1914 - John S. Ott

• History from 1885 - 1993

Tacoma RailToday

1998: Tacoma Rail

1998

20042005

2005

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Cost of service approach

BNSF & UPIntermodal

Rate

=

BNSF & UPCommercial

Rate=

TaxesLaborMisc. RevenueDebt ServiceSuppliesServicesAssessments

Cost# of

Platforms

Cost# of

Railcars

Our Hierarchy

City Council

Tacoma Rail

Washington UtilitiesTransportation Commission

General GovernmentTRMW

Tacoma Public UtilitiesBoard

Federal Railroad Administration Requirements

Traffic Types

• Intermodal Traffic– Serve 4 main intermodal

yards/terminals

• Commercial Traffic– Serve 41 commercial

customers

• Rail vs. Truck– Port of Tacoma moves roughly

60% of containers by rail• 1 train = approximately 250

trucks

• Mainline partners: BNSF and UP

• Train Operations 24/7• 5 Rail lines /3 Divisions• 94 Employees• Crew Assignments• Locomotive Power• Mechanics• Track/Maintenance• Administration

– Safety– Regulations Compliance– Customer Interactions

Organization

Tacoma Rail Divisions

TMBL– Tidelands Division– Capital Division

TRMW– Mountain Division

Mountain

Tidelands

Capital

Track Infrastructure: Tidelands 1979

Track Infrastructure: Tidelands 2007

Capital Division• 3 Rail Lines

– Olympia/Belmore– Quadlok– Lakeview

• Separated by the BNSF Mainline

• Started Service 11/16/2004

• Over 35 miles of track

Capital

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Mountain Division

• Tacoma to Frederickson

• Frederickson to:– Chehalis– Morton

• 13 line haul customers

• 142 track miles

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Locomotive Fleet  Year Built Purchased  HP  Make ModelTMBL 1521 1982 5/3/2003   1,500 EMD MP-1500

TMBL 1522 1982 5/3/2003   1,500 EMD MP-1500

TMBL 1523 1982 5/3/2003   1,500 EMD MP-1500

TMBL 1524 1982 5/3/2003   1,500 EMD MP-1500

TMBL 2001 1960 6/1/1992   2,000 EMD GP-20

TMBL 2100 2011 8/26/2011   2,100 NRE 3GS21B-DE

TMBL 2005 1956 5/31/2001   2,000 EMD GP-20

TMBL 2006 1956 2/25/1998   2,000 EMD GP-20

TMBL 3000 1968 5/26/1999   3,000 EMD SD-40

TMBL 3001 1985 6/11/2001   3,000 EMD SD-40-2

TMBL 3801 1979 5/3/2005   2,000 EMD GP 38-2

TMBL 3802 1979 6/29/2005   2,000 EMD GP 38-2

TMBL 4001 1965 9/30/2005   2,300 EMD GP-40-M

TMBL 4002 1965 12/30/2005   2,300 EMD GP-40-M

• 2011 Project– Two EMD 710 ECO– One NRE Gen Set

Locomotive• Multiple engine layout

• Grant Partnership– EPA & Puget Sound Clean

Air Agency $2.5 Million grant

– WSDOT $450,000 zero interest loan

• $4.3 million project

Locomotive Repowers

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Benefits• Fuel savings: Anticipated reduced fuel

consumption (35 – 55% activity driven)• Automatic engine start/stop control (Idle

reduction technology)• “GREEN”: Ultra low emissions from diesel

engines which meet EPA Tier 2 standards– Nitrous Oxide and particulate matter

emissions reduced by 85%-95%• Tractive effort– Microprocessor controlled traction– Pull more tonnage with less horsepower

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TMBL 2100

Statistics• Started September

2006 135 locomotives per month 5,900 locomotives total

• 736,000 gallons of fuel Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel

• Saving 4-6 hours per UP train

New facility Complete 2012 Grant funded

Union Pacific Locomotive Servicing

Community Partnerships

• Tacoma Rail Open House - Annually

• Educational Institutions

• Customer Workshops

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Open House - 2011

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Special Excursions / Events• Wolf Haven Train• Tall Ships Train• Grand Luxe• NW Trek Train • LRIW Conference

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Special Excursions / Events

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Questions• Janene Franklin: (253)396-3293• http://www.tacomarail.com