The Little Line That Could (With Addendum)

How much to you want to bet that this what Eric really wants to be driving?  From Ben Dobbin, the Associated Press:

(AP Photo/David Duprey)

AVON, N.Y. — After an hour of shunting rail cars aside, a 1964-vintage locomotive operated by Tim “Brown Dog” Carney nudges six hopper-loads down an embankment into a pasta factory. It’s a routine delivery: 540 tons of semolina flour milled in St. Louis from durum wheat grown in North Dakota.

The Livonia, Avon & Lakeville Railroad, a scrappy private firm with 30 employees and $4.5 million in sales, owns just 27 miles of track in a pocket of rural western New York. But it offers bulk freight shippers like Parma, Italy-based Barilla Group customized access to America’s 140,000-mile rail network

Hat tip photo: (AP Photo/David Duprey)

Notice the economics are classic Adam Smith and Milton Friedman.    The government philosophy which inspired the LA&L was classic Gipper,  Ronald Reagan, deregulation, and not Barack Obama taxpayer subsidies and state control.   South Dakota wheat, milled in St. Louis and made into pasta in Avon, New York.   All done by greedy businessmen and not centralized state planners.

ADDENDUM: (Eric)

Indeed. I know the line well.  I know their history.

Let’s illustrate David’s point, here, by virtue of a para from the company website:

Faced with the Erie Lackawanna’s abandonment of the Livonia-Lakeville spur, the Livonia community pulls together to “save the railroad” under the leadership of local bank president Chester Haak and other interested citizens. Following a spirited fundraising campaign, the new Livonia, Avon and Lakeville Railroad Corporation (incorporated on May 15) buys the Livonia-Lakeville Spur from EL for $13,000, or $1,000 a mile

Like the man said.. nothing governmental about it.  Indeed, the govermentw as a problem, not the solution. Note the very next line, (emph is mine):

After threading federal paperwork, the LA&L restarts freight service in 1965 with freight carloadings of fewer than 50 for the year.

LA&L#38, circa 1966 at Livonia, NY

It’s amazing what happens when government gets the hell out of the way.

I have memories of riding that line, years ago, when they owned #38, a 2-8-2 steamer, and were running it as an excursion service. I still have a photo of that train running over US 15, just south of where 15 now intersects with I-390 at exit 9.

That power was eventually moved to the Knox Kane and Kinzua railroad where it served until the high bridge down there blew over in a tornado a couple years ago, after which (March of 2008) some yahoo set fire to the barn all their power was stored in. Totaled all that steam power, all those cars being restored, all that history. True, you can’t melt steam engines, but the metal was too brittle over that to be used. (You can see pics of the resulting mess here.. a sad sight)

The 425 you see pictured here is an ALCO 425 Centrury class, one of 91 sold by American Locomotive Company between 1964 and 1966. Most of them were sold to the Pennsy. This one was originally built for the old New Haven railroad where it bore the number 2557.   ALCO closed the  Schenectady NY plant a couple years after this one left the barn. LAL is a rarity, because they’re an all ALCO line... their entire roster of motive power is ALCO built, and 425, being built in 1964 is the newest of the whole lot.  It’s very rare indeed to see ALCO power being still used in revenue service at all, much less it being the featured… and sole… type of power on a railroad.

And they make it not only work, but look good.