The rail cars are marked with load weights/limits, and commonly you'll find the cars marked as gross weight of about 220,000# and light weight - tare - about 55-60,000#. Round it up and down and back and forth - and each car carries around 70-80 tons of freight.
Up here the iron mining trains are about 60 cars long - long distance trains are more like 100 cars.
Enough data for now.
Does any of this really matter when the long term "supply" of rail cars is: "endless"? ?
The salient issue is that: Mining, of any type, is an "extractive" industry. The resource is REMOVED, never to be seen again at its' original location. And, even if the "resource" has the appearance of being "historically endless", modern computational methods can now PROVE that any planetary resource is FINITE.
And for those who "disagree" with my "assessment" of the situation, I respectfully suggest this:
A/ Check up on the current number of Redwood trees left standing, both regular and Giant, Vs the "historical number". Go back at least 100 years . . . . . .
2/ Dig up some data on species extinction, say the number of species gone extinct in say, the 20th century. Has anyone seen a Passenger Pigeon lately? Where might Homo Sapiens be on that list? ?
d/ Check up on the Amazon Rainforest fires. Think we don't need the world's most diverse ecosystem? ? Yeah, oxygen is so . . . . . over-rated . . . . .
Our "race" is "done". My concern is for our children and grandchildren, etc. This is their "reality":
As usual I made it home with about a pound or so of salt.... My powered weed sprayer and 20 gallons of water took care of most of it on the truck, another 10 got the golf cart and trailer.
My guess is those rail cars hold 50-75 tons.... each.... so the 20 or so I saw probably haul a lot more than me and Slim... and our children.... and grandchildren ...and great grandchildren ... and great great grandchildren ... and great great great grandchildren..... Well the next 10 generations if they get to race that long on the Bonneville Dry Lake.... salt or dirt.... whatever is left when the strip mining is finished
I realize most of you guys get this. Thanks for letting me vent . . . . . .
Hey Slim, check my grammar and punctuation. Just as a favor to Sister Justilla . . . . .