Check your gasoline supply

Steve Martin - November 28, 2022

Rail strike is a remote possibility on December 9th. I doubt it will be allowed to go that far but if the commenting Im hearing from railroaders is to be believed, they’re ready to force the issue….and that could make for a gas shortage in some areas of the country.

https://www.politico.com/news/2022/11/28/freight-rail-shutdown-fuel-supply-00070980

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Definitely smart to store some things that you may be short on, gas included. I too thought that gasoline might be affected by rail strikes, and over in The Prepared’s Discord I asked about that during the previous possible rail strike in September and someone did some research and said that only about 3% of our fuel is transported by rail and most is moved by pipeline. 

Great news, but it sill could affect gas prices and prices for everything else. 

 

Most crude oil moves by rail to the refinery….that’s where the trouble may be. 

 

We have sheds. Plenty of 6 gallon gas cans. Generator.

I don’t bother anymore. Well over a month, no power, after Katrina. You run through gas quickly enough. The roads were impassable for some time due to downed trees, power poles, power lines…. so many…. Tore up.

I keep enough for a rototiller to get gardening going after a catastrophic long-term grid collapse, should that day arrive.  Some for chain saws. That’s about it. Vehicles are always full with an approaching storm. In the latter there is no going out until after the roads are cleared and power going at gas stations.

We have considered a hefty Generac with an underground tank. Might do that for convenience and comfort for storms.

Otherwise it is to canned and dry foods. Butane stove. Lithium fans with BigBlue solar chargers for power banks. Hand pump as aux. on water well, though we have many 5 gallon buckets and they get filled inside the house before a storm.

Now when a storm comes we do a partial practice for when/in case our U.S. grid is attacked and the power gone for months…. years…. Surrounded by forest so there is plenty of wood for a cinder block cooking affair in case of a grid/doomsday scenario, after butane runs out.

I’ve done the gas cans on shelves, runs to the gas stations once they are up and running again…. they always get electricity long before we get it where I am… to feed generator, mambo. Too many times. Not for me at this stage of the game, this stage of life.

But you all do you and take care of you and yours. Best to all.

 

A major part of the issue is that there is no simple fix. The rail companies can’t just say “ok we’ll hire more people so you can have a normal work schedule.” They’ve been trying to recruit people for years and the younger people just aren’t interested, even tho it pays well. Union Pacific has constant help wanted ads in the rail trade publications and on line but not helping. I live in a railroading town, so I hear a lot about this. 

 

A less remote possibility is electric outages due to storms.  Tomorrow we have a high risk of heavy storms & high possibility of tornadoes for here and much of the south.  All my 5 gallon containers of gasoline & diesel are now full as are all of my LP tanks.

If you own a generator, now is the time to get your fuel… not after the storm.

 

I’ve actually written to most of my friends and told them to prepare as though a big storm is coming – plenty of food, water, medicine, gas, and batteries/flashlights. They all think I’m nuts. But it’s better to have those things and not need them than the other way around! Thanks to The Prepared all I really have to do is top off my gas tank – pretty much everything else I need, I have.  Even if the rail strike is only for a few days it can cause a lot of disruption in unexpected places. 

 

Fantastic job M.E.! That makes me so happy to hear people being prepared and not getting worried when disasters come their way. 

But it’s better to have those things and not need them than the other way around! – couldn’t agree with you more!