WNY&PRR lands coal business

WNY&PRR lands coal business
FALCONER, NY — The Western New York & PennsylvaniaRailroad (WNYP) has been designated to handle a newcoal movement between Emporium, Pennsylvania andJamestown, New York.
The Jamestown Board of Public Utilities, whichoperates an electric generating station at Jamestown,has awarded a competitively- bid contract toAllegheny Enterprises of Sterling Run, Pennsylvania tosupply 32,000 tons of coal over a one-year periodstarting in November. The coal will be transported bythe Western New York & Pennsylvania Railroad (WNYP) atthe rate of 6 to 10 cars per week.
"This new rail business demonstrates the advantages ofWNYP's recent lease of the Buffalo Line," said WilliamD Burt, president. "The Southern Tiergets lower costs for generating electricity. TheNorthern Tier gets new outlets for its products."
The line, which extends from Machias, New York throughOlean and Emporium to Driftwood, Pennsylvania, wasleased to WNYP by the Norfolk Southern Railway onAugust 3.
"Combining the Buffalo Line with WNYP's existingEast-West main line allowed us to make Olean Yard intoa hub," Burt explained. "The result is efficientrail transportation that makes our region's industrialemployers more competitive, preserving jobs and taxbase. This new coal traffic will behandled by our Driftwood trains to Olean, then betransferred to our Olean-Meadville trains for movementto Jamestown, where our Falconer-basedcrew will spot the cars."
Allegheny Enterprises had previously bid on theJamestown BPU business but found that trucking costsposed a formidable obstacle, according to WNYPMarketing & Sales Vice President Daniel E. Eagan. "Weare excited to partnerwith Allegheny Enterprises to open new markets forthem while offering theJamestown BPU a new source of competitively pricedlow-sulfur, high-BTU coal."
Eagan noted that WNYP and Allegheny Enterprises areexploring other potential markets, including some thatreach beyond WNYP to include destinations onconnecting Norfolk Southern lines. Allegheny has bothlow and high sulfur coal. The latter is often used bypower plants equipped with scrubbers.
Burt noted that the first contact with AlleghenyEnterprises was made by a new WNYP employee, tracksupervisor Howard Uber of Emporium. "I appreciateHoward's taking the initiative," said Burt, "and hewill be seeing some evidence of that shortly."