Volume 13 Number 4 March 9, 1983

Solid Trains Open New Market

Enroute: The first of six solid trains of fertilizer winds its way out of Medicine Hat, Alberta, enroute to St. Louis, Missouri.

Medicine Hat Alberta - Some 45,000 tons (40,824 metric tons) of Canadian fertilizer has found a market in the United States, thanks to CP Rail's Solid Train marketing concept.

When CF Industries identified a need for a large volume of fertilizer in the St. Louis, Missouri, area, one of the sources considered was the company's Canadian Fertilizers Limited plant at Medicine Hat.

NEGOTIATIONS

Negotiations involving CP Rail, the Soo Line, and CF Industries created the economics for selection of Medicine Hat as the source for the fertilizer. The key was arranging for movement of the product in six solid trains consisting of 75 rail cars each.

Utilizing a combination of Soo Line and CP Rail covered hoppers, the trains moved on CP Rail lines to North Portal, Saskatchewan, where the Soo Line took over.

The first train left Medicine Hat on 27 Jan 1983, and by 19 Feb 1983 train number 6 was on its way.