Port of Coos Bay release – The Coos Bay Rail Line (CBRL) welcomed its first official CBRL locomotive online this month! This locomotive is one of four EMD GP38-2 locomotives that the Port has purchased. The other three units are currently being refurbished and painted, coming online later this year. The GP-38 locomotives are known as haulers because they have the horsepower to haul cargo from one end to another. CBRL also has two additional locomotives called switchers. Switchers are smaller locomotives not intended to move trains over long distances but for assembling and disassembling railcar consist. The ones on the line are MP-15 locomotives and will also be repainted CBRL blue and green later in the year. The Coos Bay Rail Line requires a total of six locomotive, four haulers and two switchers, to safely and efficiently operate the railroad. This is the fifth month since the Port has taken over operations of the Coos Bay Rail Line. Since then, the Port has welcomed 17 Coos Bay Rail Line employees, increasing the number of Port staff by 50%. Besides regular maintenance, the Port is also working on three capital improvement projects to rehabilitate line infrastructure. These include tunnel, timber bridge and swing span rehabilitation projects.
