Today, while on Nicollet Island, is saw a TC&W train headed Eastbound, with about half of the train being double door boxcars, with reporting marks, NOKL. Why were there so many of them, I understand the grain cars. Where are they headed?

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Taylor P.
Lake Elmo, MN
Route of the "400"

my train pictures.

I can help you with the reporting marks: NOKL is Northwestern Oklahoma Railroad Company.

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The railfan side

My pictures

Those cars were storage cars. That's strange that some left the property since just a couple days ago I saw a few more arrive.

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NOKL only operates in one town, yet they have 1,361 rail cars. (As of 1997.) I wonder if this reporting mark was available to a rail car lessor, or what?

According to Wikipedia, 8 mile-long Hartford and Slocomb Railroad of Alabama has been defunct since 2005. However, you still see hundreds of HS boxcars around.

If my memory's correct, NOKL has more cars than they could fit on their own rails. They've got good sized fleets of covered hoppers and I-beam cars - they more or less act as a lessor, I believe. I think there are some CN Trinity covered hoppers that have NOKL marks but the CN worm logo.

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Nick Benson | | |

NOKL is a shortline railroad and they own as reported a large fleet of railcars. They lease these cars to specific customers and make revenue from the lease as well as the operation of their railroad marked cars on other railroads. NOKL marked covered hoppers are common on the CP as they have been leased when CP needs additional covered hoppers, OR when those cars have been leased by a customer on the CP to guarantee car supply. The centerbeam cars are similiarly used.

The storage of big numbers of boxcars is interesting, but not surprising that the cars are coming in for short periods of time.

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Joe Fehr
Progressive Rail/Rail Retrievers

Comments made are my personal opinion and, unless otherwise stated, are NOT the official position of Progressive Rail, any of it's subsidaries, or any officer or board member of Progressive Rail.