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RE: (erielack) Fuel prices

   Fasciinating seeing the discussion here - and it's definetly RR related. Which brings to mind working as night hostler in Conklin (DL&W) yard. Someone had propped the 'gun' open on 2 geeps from the syracuse job and then got involved in another job. The overflow drained into the turntable pit and since leaves & twigs plugged the drain there, we wound up with about 2 or 3 of diesel feet in the turntable pit. It really smelled, but luckily didn't catch fire. Mr. Lavelle, the night RH foreman was not too worried & advised me that "The Company pays 8 or 18 cents a gallon."
     I guess it all eventually went into the nearby Susquehanna since there was no EPA or cleanup booms to gather it up. THOSE WERE THE DAYS!!! I heard another funny story along those lines - that the DL&W had a water intake near the river bridge at the west end of the yard and in addition to the steam engines, it supplied the water taps in the RH & yardoffices. The only strainer was a wire mesh which by the early 60s had worn out (no more 1100 class or big 0-8-0s to slake their thirst...just the employees. One day someone was washiing their hands and a pollywog came out of the tap. Management attitude was "Well, we used it for the locomotives - what's all the fuss about?"
 
Regards,
 
Walt Smith> From: Hhaines_@_aol.com> Date: Sun, 30 Mar 2008 23:14:18 -0400> Subject: Re: (erielack) Fuel prices> To: erielack@lists.railfan.net> > > In a message dated 3/30/2008 2:15:31 P.M. Mountain Standard Time, > toddsyr@twcny.rr.com writes:> > This must be affecting the railroads too, though > maybe slightly less. They probably get a bulk discount.> > > Not exactly as you would think, although railroads do pay an amount that > differs from "clear on-road diesel." > > First, all the diesel you see at your retail stations has road tax included > in the price---state and federal, and sales tax, for those states that have > sales tax (Montana does not have a sales tax). Just the federal tax of $0.24 > per gallon up to a combined high of about $0.52 per gallon, as in Montana--New > Jersey is a low state tax, but NY is higher. > > Railroads are not charged the on-road tax. So if they do use clear diesel, > they get the tax back--eventually. Also, most railroads have long-term > purchase agreements with suppliers, kind of like your utilities for electric, so > some price fluctuations do not hit the railroads quite as hard, unless they use > more than their agreements cover. > > What the country is seeing now (this "spring") is due to the normal shut > down of refineries for annual maintenance, reducing availability. Prices have > gone up a bit to help the build-up of petroleum stocks for later processing. > The maintenance (and home heating fuel) have caused the price of diesel to rise > this spring. As with the above information, your federally funded Energy > Information Administration (EIA) estimates a spring peak of diesel around $4.50 > per gallon average for the nation. They expect the cost of diesel to drop a > bit in early summer before rising again due to processing the higher-cost > ($100-112 per barrel) petroleum. (That will also affect gasoline this summer > with new nationally-high peaks, but our favorite railroads don't use much of > that). > > One other thing that raises the cost of diesel--it!
  is not 
the same diesel > that the EL used. You will no longer be able to "smell the sulfur." (or > benzene or 17-other aromatic compounds) at the levels experienced in 1976 and > earlier.> > Air quality concerns have lowered the amount of sulfur, aromatics and other > diesel constituents that were used in the fuel before 1972. Crude oil also > has changed to "lower grades" that are not as sweet as those available to our > favorite roads. All this means is that fewer gallons of diesel come from a > barrel of today's petroleum. And the diesel we use is "cleaner." > On the one hand, this means folks are again looking at the Oil City area to > extract more of that sweet Pennsylvania crude once carried by Erie and > others. (Estimated that only 5-to-15-percent was extracted).> > And I suspect ALCOs would still produce black smoke, but possibly of a > different intensity/color hue. With lower sulfur (down to 15 PPM), there is less > lubricity (compared to the 650 PPM sulfur or thereabouts in 1972). Off-road > diesel will be reduced to 50 PPM by 2010, and 15 PPM by 2012, so even today's > diesel will smell different by then. > > Rest assured your pre-1972 ALCOs will still be able to produce smoke, as the > EPA has grand-fathered them from upgrades during engine re-builds. But > everything produced from 1972 forward will be required to have retrofits added > during engine rebuilds or overhauls to reduce emissions. And more regulations > are coming. > I do not expect a time in my life time if there will be a time when we > cannot get the "proper" fuel to run the "antique" engines of the pre-1972 EL Era. > I know these changes have been affecting antique automobiles (and spawned a > whole new industry). Locomotives will not have the luxury of numbers to help > offset such retrofit costs. > Off my soap-box for the time being. > > Howard Haines> Helena Montana > > > > **************Create a Home Theater Like the Pros. Watch the video on AOL > Home. > (http://home.aol.com/diy/home-improvement-eric-stromer?video=15&ncid=aolh!
 om000300
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