The 116-year-old wooden trestle in Tuscaloosa, Ala., long a town landmark, is now anathema to many local residents. Similarly, the 116-year-old-steel trestle in Martinez (later some what updated), was never designed to carry anything like the tonnage of 100-tank-car trains. Yet for the last few years, that’s the burden both have had to bear.
In his wide-ranging article, “Trains Plus Crude Oil Equals Trouble Down the Track,” Curtis Tate sketches the origins of the crude oil and natural gas boom from the Bakken shale of North Dakota, one which hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) has made possible. Through maps, photos, and focused discussions, he traces the growing network of routes followed by crude oil trains, focusing on recent train wrecks and exploring their causes. In several cases, the prevalence of notorious fragile DOT-111 tank cars has worsened the consequences—yet the new models also present hazards.
In his wide-ranging article, “Trains Plus Crude Oil Equals Trouble Down the Track,” Curtis Tate sketches the origins of the crude oil and natural gas boom from the Bakken shale of North Dakota, one which hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) has made possible. Through maps, photos, and focused discussions, he traces the growing network of routes followed by crude oil trains, focusing on recent train wrecks and exploring their causes. In several cases, the prevalence of notorious fragile DOT-111 tank cars has worsened the consequences—yet the new models also present hazards.