ACACSO
November 2011
Memphis, TN
Tacoma Rail
Yesterday
A Streetcar named Tacoma…
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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
Disaster Strikes
• Buyouts, defaults, takeovers, worker strikes and tragedies
• July 4th, 1900 – trolley derailment killed 43
• Dec 30, 1925 – streetcar plunged off bridge killing 5
• June 24, 1928 – 3 alarm blaze destroyed trolley barns and
22 streetcars
• July 1929 – fire destroyed bridge trestle
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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)
History in Print
• The story of the Tacoma Municipal Belt Line
Railway: Proudly serving Tacoma since 1914 John S. Ott
• History from
1885 - 1993
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Tacoma Rail
Today
1998: Tacoma Rail
2005
1998
2005
2004
Cost of service approach
Cost
# of
Platforms
Taxes
Labor
Misc. Revenue
Debt Service
Supplies
Services
Assessments
Cost
# of
Railcars
12
BNSF & UP
= Intermodal
Rate
BNSF & UP
= Commercial
Rate
Our Hierarchy
City Council
Tacoma Public Utilities
Board
Federal Railroad
Administration
Requirements
General Government
TRMW
Washington Utilities
Transportation Commission
Tacoma Rail
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
Organization
• Train Operations 24/7
• 5 Rail lines /3 Divisions
• 94 Employees
• Crew Assignments
• Locomotive Power
• Mechanics
• Track/Maintenance
• Administration
– Safety
– Regulations Compliance
– Customer Interactions
Tacoma Rail Divisions
TMBL
– Tidelands Division
– Capital Division
TRMW
– Mountain Division
Tidelands
Mountain
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
Mountain Division
• Tacoma to
Frederickson
• Frederickson to:
– Chehalis
– Morton
• 13 line haul
customers
• 142 track miles
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Locomotive Fleet
TMBL 1521
Year Built
1982
21
Purchased
5/3/2003
HP
1,500
Make
EMD
Model
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
NRE
3GS21B-DE
TMBL 2100
2011
8/26/2011
2,100
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
Locomotive Repowers
• 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
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
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Union Pacific Locomotive Servicing
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
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Complete 2012
Grant funded
Community Partnerships
• Tacoma Rail Open
House - Annually
• Educational
Institutions
• Customer Workshops
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
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