Page 83 - PC Living Jan-Feb 2017

"Where weand tanks. Over the years, that’s changed, with new technology, new EPA standards and new types of more e cient/lighter cars. Some of the cars we still use are close to 40 years old now.”see growthThe individual railcars parked at the port or moving along Highway 231 are often owned by third parties. “Some companies lease them to di erent railroads or customers,” says Anderson. “Sometimes a company will own their own eet. Individual railroads will have some of their own, as well. The Bay Line owns and leases its cars.” How about where those cars get their power? “Well, the railcar itself doesn’t have a generated power system. It’s a free rolling car with its own brake system, being pulled by a diesel locomotive.”opportunitiesin Florida, wesee them inthe Bay Line railroad."Anderson says the Bay Line alone employs close to 70 full-time workers who handle everything from engineering track structures to maintaining the track, inspecting signals and crossings, manning the locomotive maintenance and rebuilding shop, all the way to the transportation department, which is responsible for all switching and movement on the Bay Line. At the railroad’s two main terminals in Dothan and Panama City, customers are serviced, as trains bring in commodities for interchange to larger railroads (like CSX) or loaded onto ships. The terminals also provide a place to switch out cars, deliver loads or “empties” to customers, as well as numerous other services.And what about the passenger cars that transported the people of Bay County more than 100 years ago? “Many of them have been sold or donated to museums. Others were bought by individuals for personal property,” says Anderson. I asked Dziwulski if there were plans to bring passenger trains back to the area, as there were in the early days of the Bay Line. Unfortunately, his answer was “Probably not...” considering the logistics and lack of need for such an undertaking. “The Bay Line track is a 30-mile-per- hour track,” Dziwulski says. “A high-speed excursion from Dothan, Alabama to Panama City Beach, for example, wouldn’t exactly make sense...”While the Bay Line seems to have no immediate plans for passenger travel, it should be noted that The Gulf Coast Rail Service Working Group (that includes members of Amtrak, CSX), and the West Florida Regional Planning Council has been looking into restoring passenger service between New Orleans, Louisiana and Orlando, Florida since 2015.**Human transport aside, Anderson and Dziwulski agree the Bay Line provides an invaluable service to the economy of Panama City and surrounding areas. Not only is rail cheaper, it’s more e cient than the alternatives (imagine three times as many trucks blocking your morning commute). The existence of the Bay Line has in uenced Bay County’s industrial infrastructure for the last 111 years and makes a vital di erence for many businesses that make their home here. It continues to be what makes Panama City a commercial competitor in the global economic arena.Sources:* fra.dot.gov // Freight Rail Today // “The Freight Rail Network” ** West Florida Regional Planning Council // “Restoration of Gulf Coast Passenger Rail”Rob Anderson, General Manager of the Bay Line, Genesee & Wyoming.rail network. “We, as a short line [not a larger Class 1 railroad, like CSX], are an integral partner with our customers, trying to provide service where they need it, exactly how they need it.”On a local level, Rob Anderson, the Bay Line’s General Manager, handles the part of the railroad that citizens of Bay County see every day. Perhaps on their way to work. “We often hear from people who get stuck at train crossings,” he says, “and the thing I want to tell them is that every one of our railcars is equal to about three or four standard truckloads. Now imagine what it would be like if there were that many more trucks on Highway 231...” I asked about the types of cars that have been used throughout the years and how they compare to today’s cars. “Historically, the Bay Line has used your standard boxcars, open top containers,www.PanamaCityLiving.com • January - February 2017 • 83