Oil by Rail or Pipeline?

If crude oil isn't going to make its way across the interior of North America by pipeline, it will do so by rail.

And in fact that is the recent trend.

Someday soon I may work on a detailed statement of the pros and cons of these two methods of transporting the stuff. For the moment, though, I'll just collect some potentially useful links here. I'll make a related observation, though one on a higher plane of abstraction, tomorrow.

Here's an article from the early days of oil pipelines, when they were considered "marvels." A 1937 issue of Popular Science. Each of the following links is a good deal more recent than that.

From an oil-industry trade journal, more than a year ago. Each of the following links is a good deal more recent than that, too.

Safety issues with pipelines.

For the basics on TransCanada's Keystone Pipeline System, start here. For a discussion of the proposed extension, the Keystone XL, start here.

For criticism of Keystone XL, you may of course look in many places, such as this one.

Safety problems with oil trains.

Warren Buffett's comments on the oil-transporting business of the RR he controls.

The Streetwise Professor critiques Buffett, here.

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