(The Associated Press circulated the following on August 12, 2009.)
HELENA, Mont. — BNSF Railway plans to begin moving rail cars to unused track on the east end of Butte.
Spokesman Gus Melonas says a total of 54 62-foot-long flat cars are expected to be stored on the old Northern Pacific Homestake line. The first 23 cars are scheduled to arrive Tuesday afternoon.
Melonas says the rest of the cars will arrive over the next two weeks. He says the cars will be chained to the tracks and will not block crossings or significant views.
Melonas has said that because of the economic downturn, the company has 35,000 rail cars systemwide that are not in use. The company is storing about 3,000 cars on unused track in Montana.