Ahh ... hear the all too typical call from NIMBYs nationwide:

We are not against business and transportation in our community, but trains are noisy (especially with those blasted whistles waking me from my golden slumbers at 0300 hours, and you know how much I need my beauty sleep) and unsafe (after all, my inquisitive three year old may trip over the rail, fall, and rupture his spleen) and carry all sorts of hazardous materials (like dirty dirt, and chlorine, and explosives ... oh, my!) through MY beloved city (which is probably the same banal, economically depressed, and decaying municipality they've been threatening to leave for five years!) and past MY backyard (complete with the Martha Stewart inspired bird bath, $1000 stainless steel gas grill, and little Johnnie's prized swing set and sand box ... which, in the case of the latter recreational device, has been the favorite dumping ground for the neighborhood's stray cats for months)!

Chris Goepel ...