Four Lakes grain terminal busy moving product

Less than a year since the silos began to rise on the horizon at Highline Grain's Four Lakes terminal, the newest activity is product actually being moved.

"It's going very well," Keith Bailey, general manager and CEO of Ag Ventures, and the operations officer for Highline Grain, said.

For a start-up things have gone surprisingly well with just minor tune-ups and final punch-list items currently being worked on.

"Once we got started we found things that needed to be tightened, things that needed to be adjusted, that sort of thing," Bailey said.

The operation, "knock on wood" according to Bailey, has had very few problems as more grain is coming into the facility from other elevators to the west than is headed out to the main line of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe.

Passers by who travel Interstate 90 will often see the circular track filled with a grain train on a regular basis. But Bailey said the majority of those cars are coming from destinations to the west in the Highline Grain operation that extends to Coulee City.

Regarding any perception that there is more traffic on the line, Bailey said, "We've waited 18–20 months to move grain on that line and it's kind of like a big log jam that broke loose. That should settle out shortly and become more regular," he said.

"Most of the grain that arrives is from our own company locations," Bailey added. "We call those 'scoot trains,' and they are coming from as far away as Coulee City and picking up grain all along the way."

In addition, there has been one train carrying hard red winter wheat for use by Archer Daniels Midland and is destined for the steel silo. "We'll anticipate another train here soon," Bailey said.

The train full of red winter was unloaded and cars refilled with white wheat that is destined for export. The effort is to be as efficient as possible so that there are full trains traveling the tracks as much as possible.

"We're working on schedules but sometimes we kind of get tangled up with ourselves," Bailey said. Truck deliveries go out two days a week and we have received a few truck deliveries, he added. Most products arrive by rail.

While it would appear, with trains constantly encircling the Four Lakes facility, that there is a significant uptick in traffic on the rails of the Eastern Washington Gateway, that is not the case, Bailey said.

"We've been shipping for seven or eight years on that line and I don't think people really noticed it before, but once that elevator went up I think everyone's taking notice," Bailey said.

Because of track upgrades allowing larger cars, there are smaller trains on the line. Most trains travel at night.

While the site is pretty close to completion, a giant crane still services some of the project. The crane is property of the contractor and Bailey said, "He would love to see that go away," but it will remain for a month or two.

Operating around the clock, the Four Lakes terminal will have an official unveiling soon, Bailey said. "We have a tentative date," but he is not at liberty to reveal it at this time.

Paul Delaney can be reached at [email protected].