Port of Longview puts wind turbine blades onto railcars

Situated in Washington state, the Port of Longview has become the first port in the United States to move wind turbine blades directly from a ship to on-dock railcars.    The Port of Longview in Washington state has become the first port in the United States move wind turbine blades directly from a ship to on-dock railcars, the port said.
   To do this, the port used its two Liehberr mobile harbor cranes in tandem to discharge the 160-foot-long blades from the ship and onto the waiting railcars. Due to their lengths, each blade required two railcars.
   Wind turbine blades are generally moved by trucks from quayside and taken to offsite staging areas where they will be later trucked to wind farm sites or transported by railcar to another staging area farther away.
   The Port of Longview has made significant investments in its terminal equipment, on-dock rail and labor training to handle these types of breakbulk cargoes. “Executing this ground breaking operation really emphasizes our capabilities to our customers,” said Laurie Nelson-Cooley, the port’s business development manager, in a statement.
   The wind turbine blades were manufactured by Denmark-based Vestas and bound for a wind farm in Illinois.