Starting in late October, BNSF delivered several trains worth of empty TTX 40' well cars (mostly 5-packs and singles) for storage on the former MoPac Towner Line. The first train went out on the ex-MP the 23rd, the second on the 26th, and third on the 29th.

Currently, the empty wells stretch from Crowley on the east end to nearly Olney Springs on the west.

A&K/V&S are still pursuing abandonment, and a company called KCVN, LLC (representing one of the large ranches along the route if I remember correctly) is putting together an OFA. OFAs are Offers of Financial Assistance - basically notifying the Surface Transportation Board that there's a party interested in purchasing the line. The deadline for the OFA was to be October 20, but in typical A&K/V&S style, they forgot that the line passes through Otero County again and did not include it in the abandonment filing. (This is the second time they've forgotten this in STB filings, I might add...) With that realization, the deadline and timetable is now void, and the Board will set a new timetable once A&K/V&S completes the necessary paperwork for their forgotten county.

In addition, the rail loading equipment was removed mid-October (before the empties began arriving) and SMNR 3518 was moved out the west switch at Ordway. Ordway is the eastern end of reliable track. East from Ordway, the track structure has been seriously compromised by A&K pulling spikes out of 80% of the ties in August 2014.