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Railroad Newsline for Thursday, January 25, 2007

Compiled by Larry W. Grant

In Memory of Rob Carlson, 1952 – 2006

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Rail News

BNSF ISSUES WEEKLY PRB COAL UPDATE FOR January 23, 2007

Train Flows Continue to Recover from Winter Weather

For the last 10 days, train flows have continued to improve, recovering from the impact of ice storms south and east of Kansas City. The storms affected train movements on BNSF and other railroads as well as utilities' ability to unload trains. The reduced pace of unloading led to increased focus on returning empty trains to Powder River Basin (PRB) mines. Some unplanned mine outages have extended into the current week as expected, but are anticipated to be resolved later this week.

As a result of these issues, average BNSF daily train loadings for the PRB, including Wyoming and Montana mines, totaled 48.4 trains per day the week ended January 21, 2007, comparable with the same 2006 period.

Year-to-date through January 21, 2007, BNSF has loaded a total daily average of 47.4 trains in the PRB, up 1 percent from the 46.9 average trains per day loaded through the same period in 2006.

Systemwide, BNSF has loaded a total of 15.7 million tons of coal through January 21, 2007, unchanged from the same 2006 period total.

Construction Projects Update

Bridge work has begun for 15 miles of new third main line on BNSF trackage between Donkey Creek and Caballo, Wyoming. Track laying is scheduled to begin in March, and the new track is expected to go into service in May, with crossovers to follow later in the year.

Track laying for three additional yard tracks at the Donkey Creek Yard near Rozet, Wyoming, will be completed this week, and the three new tracks are scheduled to go into service in March after turnouts are installed and the track is surfaced. - BNSF Service Advisory

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TRAIN DERAILS: HOUCK OFFICIAL WORRIED ABOUT RESPONSE ABILITIES

HOUCK, AZ -- BNSF Railway Company crews and contractors were working around the clock to clear a train derailment that blocked off both east and westbound tracks early Monday morning.

Local BNSF officials did not return messages requesting comment. But according to Lena Kent, a company spokeswoman out of San Bernardino, California, five double-stacked cars on an L.A.-bound train from Chicago went off the tracks at approximately 03:20 just west of Houck, Arizona.

Photo here: [www.gallupindependent.com]

Caption reads: Workers from GandyDancer LLC, an Albuquerque-based railroad contractor, work to clean up the damage Monday after a five-car train derailment early in the morning blocked both sets of tracks in Houck, Arizona. [Photo by Jeffery Jones/Independent]

BNSF reported no injuries, according to Kent, and did not yet know the cause of the accident.

"The incident is still under investigation," she said.

Depots up and down the line were brought to a halt. As of Monday afternoon, trains were still backed up both east and west of the derailment.

"It is our main (transcontinental line), so it will cause some delays for our customers," Kent said.

Crews were busy hauling tractors and moving equipment to the site. They also brought in portable spotlights for a long night of work. Kent said the company hoped to have the tracks cleared by 04:00 Tuesday morning.

Kent could not specify what the derailed cars contained, but said it was nothing dangerous.

"I think we were lucky there were no hazardous materials, no chemicals or nuclear materials," said Houck Chapter Coordinator Zander Shirley.

Having past experience with the Navajo Nation's emergency service agencies, Shirley said he knew that such cargo travels the tracks which skirt, and occasionally cross, the reservation's southern border daily.

"If a disaster were to hit," he said, "I don't think some of the chapters are really prepared to handle it."

According to Shirley, the tribe's Department of Emergency Services has requested each chapter to develop its own emergency contingency plan for just such an event. But progress among the chapters in the area, he conceded, including Houck, has been slow.

Right now, Shirley said, the chapter could probably do little more than turn its building into a safe house for its approximately 2,000 members. A contingency plan, he said, might provide for medically trained personnel, a reference to all the resources at the community's disposal and clear procedures for coordinating a response with other chapters.

"It would behoove each chapter to come together and collaborate," Shirley said.

For its part, BNSF has its own hazardous materials crews in case of emergencies, Kent said.

The Federal Railroad Administration reported only one other accident in Apache County since January of 2006 its online records end in October a two-car derailment at the Coronado Generating Station, east of St. Johns.

But Laguna, a few hours east of Houck, certainly had a scare in the spring of 2003. When a westbound train suspected of carrying hydrochloric acid left the tracks just after passing the town, authorities evacuated some 300 residents. No one was injured and, according to Kent at the time, no hazardous materials were "compromised."

In February of 2005, in Gallup, authorities closed off a portion of West Route 66 when a five-car derailment sent 600 gallons of ethanol, a flammable liquid, streaming from at least two tankers. Authorities cleared the yard of workers but stopped short of evacuating any area residents. No injuries were reported.

More recently, in the fall of 2006, Gallup witnessed two derailments in as many weeks near the Allison Road crossing, raising concerns within the local fire department of the track's safety.

Earlier this month, the Federal Railroad Administration approved BNSF's plans to start implementing its electronic train management system, an automated safety system intended to help prevent train collisions and accidents involving excess speed; however, beyond an administration-approved test in Kansas and Texas scheduled for later this year, Kent said BNSF had no specific plans for the system and the rest of the company's 32,000 miles of track. - Zsombor Peter, The Gallup Independent

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TRUCK DRIVER MAY HAVE BYPASSED CROSSING ARMS IN COLLISION WITH TRAIN

STOCKTON, CA -- A preliminary investigation by Union Pacific railroad suggests that Luis Alberto Andrade, 27, drove around crossing arms at McKinley Avenue and Industrial Drive before his big rig was struck by a train about 11:00 Tuesday, a railroad official said.

Andrade was taken to a hospital complaining of back pain and headache, California Highway Patrol spokesman Adrian Quintero said. Quintero said the CHP had initial reports from witnesses that the crossing arm that lowered when a train passed had started to rise again when Andrade drove into the path of an oncoming train.

Union Pacific spokesman Joe Arbona said railroad crews that arrived at the scene reported that Arbona had driven around the crossing arms. Arbona said an incident recorder contained inside the crossing arms and recordings taken at the scene will be used to make a final report.

Even if the crossing arms came up, Quintero said, commercial drivers are required to be sure crossings are clear before proceeding. He said a parked train might have obscured Andrade's view of the oncoming train that flipped the big rig on its side and rotated it 180 degrees. - The Stockton Record, Coleman Randall, Jr

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STATE SHOULD FUND THE RAILROAD

The Texas State Railroad is a state park which takes passengers on a train ride between state park depots located 25 miles apart in the cities of Palestine and Rusk, Texas. Two trains powered by antique steam engines leave simultaneously from each city. The trains pass each other close to the Neches River, the boundary for Cherokee County on the east and Anderson County on the west.

There are two directions being considered for the funding and future operations of the Texas State Railroad. The first plan is to seek the continued funding and operation by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. This has been done successfully for the past 30 years. This plan is supported by our legislators, State Sen. Robert Nichols and State Rep. Chuck Hopson, as well as other members of the 80th legislature.

This plan is also supported by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. The TPWD has included the TSRR in its Legislative Budget Request as an exceptional item of $11.8 million over the next two years. According to Sen. Nichols, this is $4 million per year more than TSRR has ever received from state funding. This would be applied to capital improvements, operating capital and extraordinary items, including inflation. This would make the TSRR good and operational for the next two years. After that, the next legislature would have to continue this plan of restoring the TSRR. The Stone Consulting evaluation of the TSRR says it is acceptably operated but needs capital (funding).

There are many advantages to having the state continue to fund and operate the Texas State Railroad. The city of Rusk would retain ownership of its valuable campgrounds, and Palestine and Anderson County would retain their real estate on that end of the line. The funds placed into the TSRR by the state would stay in this area, while the profits of a private operator could be deposited away. The wonderful employees of the TSRR would retain their benefits with the state while a private operator would determine their future. We know what we are getting with the state; there are many unknowns with a private operator.

The second option for the continued operation of the TSRR would be the creation of a Recreational Authority by the legislature, accommodating the inter-local agreement which created the Texas State Railroad Operating Agency by the cities of Rusk and Palestine. This is the successor of the Preservation Task Force created last year for these considerations. The Operating Agency is now made up of three citizens each from Rusk and Palestine. They are from Palestine, Steve Presley (current president of the TSRROA), Dan Davis, and Dale Brown; and from Rusk, Charles Hassell, Bob Goldsberry and Marie Whitehead. The option of the Recreational Authority has to be created by the 80th legislature. Now, it does not exist.

If the Recreational Authority is created by the legislature, it would be the first time this has been done. The Recreational Authority would be the entity which would receive the Texas State Railroad State Park from the Department and $12-15 million that would go along with it. The Authority would have the power to issue bonds, receive grants and do business. The power of eminent domain would be withheld. The ownership of the track and right-of-ways would remain with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department because of right-a-way lease agreements; maintenance of the tracks would be the responsibility of the operator. We do not know how much this would be.

The Recreational Authority would then be the entity which would contract with a private company to operate the railroad. The private operator would be expected to apply capital to the operation, and performance requirements would be placed which would disperse the real estate on both ends and depots of the railroad to the private company over the next eight years as those requirements are met. So, the land and campgrounds now owned by Rusk, Palestine and Anderson County would eventually go to the private operator. An executive director could be hired by the Authority or the day to day decisions of the Recreational Authority dealing with the private operator would fall on the six citizens of the Authority.

The reservations I have for the Authority option are the open-end, unspecified track maintenance expense which would burden the operator. And then, to fund or capitalize the railroad equal to the option of state funding, the private company would have to add $45-48 million to the mix over 10 years. Decreasing this figure would come from increased revenue income (at the expense of the public by increased fares), and decreasing expenses by increasing operating performance without the burden of state regulations. But still, it is an amount above the $12-15 million the Authority has that the private company would have to put into the operation. It is doubtful a for-profit company is going to put into the TSRR the funds the state could. The caveat for the private company would be the deeding over of the real estate by meeting performance requirements.

The Authority option is an evolving process. It has to be created and all has not been worked out. There are many times over the support for state funding and operation of the TSRR than there is for a combination of public and private ownership and operation. And this support comes from across the state. Save Texas Parks has petitions with close to 20,000 signatures in favor of support from state parks, including keeping TSRR in the park system. Palestine claims to have 30,000 signatures on the same petition.

In summary, we can seek funding and operation of the Texas State Railroad by the state for $11.8 million or give away $12-15 million along with this $130 million replacement cost asset now owned by the people of Texas to who-knows-who. This is an easy decision. The plan for continued state funding and operation is the way to go with the Texas State Railroad. - Commentary, Michael Banks, DDS, The Jacksonville Daily Progress (This column by Jacksonville dentist Michael Banks contains material that will be redundant to longtime observers and supporters of the Texas State Railroad. But it is being printed here to help people prepare for a 17:00 Friday, Jan. 26 Town Hall meeting at the Norman Activity Center to discuss the future of the Texas State Railroad. The meeting is being chaired by State Sen. Robert Nichols and is open to the public. Banks is founder of Save Texas Parks.)

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TRACK STAR: LONG A HOLLYWOOD ICON, THE SIERRA RAILWAY NO. 3 LOCOMOTIVE NEEDS A MAKEOVER BEFORE ITS NEXT CLOSE-UP

Photo here:

[media.sacbee.com]

Caption reads: Sierra Railway No. 3 starred in "Rawhide" in 1960 with, clockwise from left, Clint Eastwood, Paul Brinegar and Eric Fleming. (Steve Ball photo)

JAMESTOWN, CA -- It's so sadly "Sunset Boulevard," a faded Hollywood legend truly gone to pieces.

Here at Railtown 1897 State Historic Park, the far-flung Tuolumne County outpost of Sacramento's California State Railroad Museum, lie the disconnected parts of perhaps the most famous steam locomotive in movie history.

In better times, Sierra Railway No. 3 was a star. Her first onscreen appearance was in a 1919 silent-movie serial called "The Red Glove." Her first feature-film role was alongside Gary Cooper in "The Virginian" (1929), the first "talkie" shot on location.

In the 1950s and '60s, the locomotive appeared in a slew of Westerns, from the classic "High Noon" (again starring Cooper) to TV's "Bonanza" and "Death Valley Days." Also among her 72 movie and TV credits are "Gunsmoke," "Petticoat Junction," "Bound for Glory" and "Back to the Future III."

But the old girl (locomotives, like ships, have traditionally been considered "female") has been out of commission for the past decade.

She needs major work to bring her boiler in line with new Federal Railroad Administration safety standards, and she's due extensive general repairs and a good sprucing-up. The price tag for full restoration, which will make her look like she did for her 1929 big-screen debut, is around $600,000.

The nonprofit California State Railroad Museum Foundation has until Friday to raise $300,000 to match a grant from the California Cultural and Historical Endowment -- and is still about $20,000 short.

"We are determined to go forward with the project, even if we need to borrow from other funds," says Kathy Daigle, the foundation's associate director.

(Contributions to the restoration project can be made at 916-445-5995 or www.parks.ca.gov.)
"It should be restored so it can blow its whistle and demonstrate how America grew into an industrial power," says Bill Withuhn, who often saw No. 3 on the tracks when he was a boy living in Modesto. He now is the curator of transportation history at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History in Washington, DC.

"We as Americans became the most mobile society on Earth a long time back, and it wasn't because of Henry Ford and the Model T," he says. "We became the most mobile society on Earth in the age of the railroad, and No. 3 stands for that. I think of it as a great icon of California and American history."

Railtown 1897 has no record of Sierra No. 3 ever, in her 116-year existence, undergoing a major overhaul. So, it's time.

"In 2000, we spent $100,000 to dismantle it and get it ready for restoration," says Daigle. "We hoped to do it all at that time, but there were some changes due to the (state's) budgetary crisis. So we've kept it dismantled and looked for ways to find funding to put it back together."

Photo here:

[media.sacbee.com]

Caption reads: Railroad restoration experts George Sapp, left, and Joe Nemmer, both of whom work at Railtown 1897 in Jamestown, will take the lead in bringing the 1891 locomotive Sierra No. 3 back to life. (Sacramento Bee/Dixie Reid)

None other than Clint Eastwood came to the rescue early on.

"The Sierra No. 3 is like a treasured old friend," he wrote last April in a letter to the California Cultural and Historical Endowment's board of directors, encouraging the board to award the railroad museum foundation the $300,000 grant.

"Early in my career," Eastwood continued, "I rode Sierra No. 3 on the television series 'Rawhide.' Over 20 years later, I returned to use No. 3 for my own productions 'Pale Rider' and 'Unforgiven.' Even in the business of make-believe, you can't beat the real thing."

Sierra No. 3 rolled out of the Rogers Locomotive & Machine Works in Paterson, N.J., in March 1891 and became the third locomotive (hence the No. 3 designation) on the Prescott & Arizona Central Railway. The Arizona company eventually went bankrupt because of high rates and poor service.

So in 1896, the promoter of the defunct P&AC came to California to see about building a rail line into the Mother Lode. One day in Stockton, Thomas S. Bullock met an exiled Polish prince who represented foreign capitalists investing in California mining. The prince was the brother-in-law of banker William H. Crocker -- whose father, Charles, was one of the Big Four of transcontinental railroad fame -- and the three men got a railroad built into Tuolumne County.
The new Sierra Railway was incorporated on Feb. 2, 1897.

Sierra Railway No. 3, an oil-burning locomotive converted to coal in 1900, got off to an illustrious start. She is believed to have hauled the first passenger train on the Sierra line, from Oakdale to Coopers-town, in June 1897, and she pulled mainline freight trains until another engine was added to the line's rolling stock in 1906.

It hasn't been all good times for No. 3. She suffered a few embarrassing mishaps over the years: splitting a switch and falling into a ditch in 1898 (her conductor died in the accident), derailing her tender while backing over a trestle in 1899 and toppling over again in 1919, destroying her original wooden cab. She still uses the secondhand Central Pacific steel cab that replaced the original.

After serving many years as an unsung railroad workhorse, Sierra No. 3 was brought into the spotlight in 1919 when Australian-born director J.P. McGowan arrived to film an episode of "The Red Glove." He stopped it to shoot a train-robbery scene as Sierra No. 3 was pulling a regular westbound passenger train from Sonora, three miles from Jamestown.

"That particular segment doesn't seem to have survived, so we can't actually see what it did," says Kyle Wyatt, curator of history and technology at the California State Railroad Museum. "We know of a reference to it in a newspaper article about the filming."

It was 10 years before Hollywood returned to the Sierra Railway, with its historic railroad shops and roundhouse. The 1929 Western "The Virginian," which also starred Walter Huston and Mary Brian, was the first movie made outside a studio setting.

"There are a number of publicity photos that survive of the locomotive dressed up for that movie, with Gary Cooper posed on horseback next to the locomotive. It clearly played a significant role of some stripe," says Wyatt.

Cooper was reunited with Sierra No. 3 the following year, in "The Texan." Then the little locomotive's showbiz career was derailed for some time as the Sierra Railway went through bankruptcy and reorganization, and the company had no money to pay for needed repairs. Between 1935 and 1951, Sierra No. 18 picked up most of the movie work.

However, when Cooper returned to the Sierra Railway in 1952 to make "High Noon" (for which he would win an Oscar), Sierra No. 3 again became the toast of Tinseltown, the undisputed gem of Jamestown.

She was the go-to locomotive during the heyday of Westerns in the 1950s and '60s, when such stars as Burt Lancaster and Jean Peters ("Apache"), Claudette Colbert ("Texas Lady") and Alan Ladd ("The Big Land") came to town. She was a regular, along with Michael Landon, during the long run of television's "Little House on the Prairie."

"Sierra No. 3 historically has been the asset bringing films to Tuolumne County for 90 years," says Jerry Day, executive director of the Tuolumne County Film Commission. "It's an actual 19th century engine, and only a handful are operating in North America. That's what makes us special.

"If you're going to do a movie about the Old West or the transcontinental railroad or anything from the era of expansionism in America, that's the machine you're going to use."

The little locomotive made her last movie appearance in the 1994 Western "Bad Girl." Her last television work was in 1996, for the Western "Shaughnessy." She was removed from service later that year.

Restoration of Sierra No. 3 could begin as early as next month. Her boiler will be sent to a specialty shop for assessment, and the balance of the work will be done in Jamestown, in the old Sierra shops. She then will be trucked to Sacramento, where her classic black finish will be applied at Regional Transit's state-of-the-art paint shop.

She is expected to be ready for her next close-up by April 2009.

"Hollywood is missing it," says film commissioner Day. "No. 3 is the real deal, and only a handful from that era are still running in North America."

"She is probably the most seen, if not the most recognized, steam locomotive in the world, because of all the films she appeared in for these many, many years," says the railroad museum's Wyatt.

"She is a classic example of the 19th century steam locomotive, the locomotive that won the West."

If not the Western.

Railtown 1897 State Historic Park

WHERE: 18115 Fifth Ave., Jamestown (two hours southeast of Sacramento)

WHEN: 10:00 - 15:00 daily until March 31; 09:30 - 16:30 daily April through October

COST: Free (guided roundhouse tours, $2 general, $1 ages 6-12). Weekend excursion trains resume March 31; $8 general, $3 ages 6-17

INFORMATION: (209) 984-3953, [www.csrmf.org]

- Dixie Reid, The Sacramento Bee

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OFFICIALS FIND STOLEN COPPER WIRING PARTS

Photo here:

[images.zwire.com]

Caption reads: Spools of wire that thieves have been stealing for copper sit at the Union Pacific Railroad yard in Tyler on Tuesday. (Staff Photo By Herb Nygren Jr.)

TYLER, TX -- Brazen thieves are boosting large spools of copper wiring and they are stealing them from the Union Pacific Railroad yard in downtown Tyler, Texas.

Tyler Police Public Information Officer Don Martin said officers were patrolling the area under the Beckham Avenue bridge when they spotted a large amount of the insulation that covers the wiring.

"The officers got out of their vehicle to check out the area when two black male suspects ran in the opposite direction," he said.

Martin showed an area under the bridge and in some adjoining woods where the thieves had stripped an untold amount of copper.

"They've evidently been doing this a long time as you can see there is insulation everywhere," he said.

Martin said the officers confiscated some of the thieves' stripped copper in bundles Tuesday morning.

A Union Pacific official at the scene told authorities that thieves have been hitting the railroad all across the south.

"We have been hit in Tyler, Winona, Chandler, Brownsboro, and Longview and all over the entire region," the official told one officer.

Martin said the copper is actually a copper weld, which means it is not pure copper.

"This is not pure copper, which sells for more, but they are making some money by selling it to the scrap yards," he said.

The railroad official told officers that the railroad was paying $2 per foot for the copper wiring, which is used to run switching stations.

Last month thieves struck the switching station in Winona and stole the copper wiring used to operate the switching mechanism on the tracks.

Officials with Union Pacific told the Tyler Morning Telegraph then that the theft could cause a serious accident between oncoming trains. - Kenneth Dean, The Tyler Morning Telegraph

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FLASHBACK: END OF AN ERA, 1957

KOSCIUSKO, MS -- An era ended on the Aberdeen Branch of the Illinois Central Railroad Tuesday afternoon when the last run of its long career was made by the old steam locomotive.

The old "iron horse" made its final pick-up before being replaced Wednesday morning by its rival, a sleek modern Diesel engine, which has been found by railroad authorities to be more efficient in duty and economical in fuel, cutting the costs of providing power.

The steam engines are being replaced on all IC lines, marking a step forward in railroad transportation.

Personnel of Kosciusko's IC Depot standing by as the last steam locomotive train passed by were Ernest Foster, clerk; Herman Odom, warehouseman; P.H. Tyler, cashier; N.E. Love Sr, agent. - Nancy Green, The Kosciusko Star-Herald

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PASSENGER RAIL SERVICE MAY START A COMEBACK

It may be a corn ball line, but the promise to try to get "Amtrak back on track" is a welcome one.

Sens. Frank R. Lautenberg, D-N.J., and Trent Lott, R-Miss., have reintroduced their Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act.

Lautenberg said, "We have a chance to get Amtrak back on track ... This bill is my top priority."

Lautenberg is chairman of the Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine.

The act is this year's version (S. 294) of last year's attempt (S. 1516) to find and fund ways to improve the rail transportation system in the United States.

Their bipartisan approach reflects a growing national vision of a restored and strengthened passenger rail system.

And it is in the tradition of two Oregon senators who have been pursuing better Amtrak service for years.

It was 10 years ago that the Herald editorial board noted the remarkable ability of Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden and Republican Sen. Gordon Smith to put aside their political differences to work for the common good of their country and state.

The occasion was a hearing in Pendleton, Oregon to try to save The Pioneer railroad passenger service from Chicago to the West Coast. The hearing came too late in the Amtrak shriveling process to save the line.

But it was part of the pressure that kept Amtrak from simply collapsing altogether.

Now, perhaps, there is reason to hope that passenger service on the nation's railroads will get a meaningful boost.

Lott, the former Senate majority leader who is now Senate Republican whip, joked that the bill "used to be Lott-Lautenberg. Now, it's Lautenberg-Lott. We never miss a step. ... There are some things in Washington that are truly bipartisan, including transportation. ... There are limits to how many lanes we can build, how many planes we can fly."

Lautenberg was encouragingly optimistic.

"Congress is ready to pass a bill to revitalize Amtrak," he said. "This year it's not going to be that difficult to get the bill passed. ... Our aviation system is getting more and more congested. When I fly to my state, I spend more time on the tarmac than in the air. ... Even Estonia spends more than twice per capita what we spend on passenger rail. Over 100,000 passengers every day get on and off trains on the Northeast Corridor in New Jersey.

"Congress is ready to come on board with a healthy Amtrak."

The bill would authorize:

* $3.335 billion for Amtrak operations for fiscal years 2006 through 2011.

* $6.312 billion for capital in amounts that range from $813 million to $1.231 billion per year.

* $5 million per year for a Next Generation Corridor Train Equipment Pool Committee established in the act.

America's industrialization came on steel rails. The health of our railroads -- or lack thereof -- will help shape the future.

It's a welcome development when bipartisanship takes that into account and begins to do something about it. - Editorial Opinion, The TriCity Herald (Kennewick, Pasco and Richland, WA)

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CN FEELS IT'S ON TRACK FOR A GREAT 2007

MONTREAL, QC -- Canadian National Railway Co. took a hit from British Columbia's extreme weather in the December quarter, but emerged with a 16 per cent gain in earnings and confidence that 2007 will continue CN's ``great run'' since going public in 1995.

The fourth-quarter gain came from strong shipments of bulk commodities, price increases averaging nearly four per cent and rising productivity, said chief executive officer Hunter Harrison.Moving more freight at higher prices with rising efficiency will ensure solid growth for the rest of 2007.

He bolstered that confidence by announcing that CN is raising its quarterly dividend rate by 29 per cent to 21 cents a share - the 11th consecutive quarterly increase. CN's cash flow can handle the higher rate, continuing share buy backs and heavy investment in track infrastructure and fleet.

``A few sectors are slowing but assuming the North American economy holds, commodity movements will remain strong, including intermodal traffic,'' he told analysts. Lumber shipments, a big business for CN, should pick up in the second half.

With a network linking the Pacific with the Atlantic in Canada and extending south to Chicago, Memphis and the Gulf Coast, CN's net earnings climbed to $499 million, or 95 cents a share, from $430 million, or 78 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue was $1.94 billion, up three per cent.

Excluding a one-time tax recovery, net income was $472 million, or 90 cents a share, up 10 per cent from the 2005 period.

For all of 2006, earnings were a record $2.09 billion, or $3.91 a share, up 34 per cent from a year earlier. Excluding a $277 million tax recovery, net income was $1.81 billion, or $3.40 a share, up 16 per cent. The tax recoveries stem from lower Canadian corporate tax rates and settlement of prior tax issues.

The quarter's results were slightly above most analysts' estimates.CN shares rose $1.44, or 2.8 per cent, to $53.28 in Toronto. The 52-week range is between $55.95 and $44.43.

``It was the worst weather in British Columbia in 50 years and we had to handle high winds and torrential rains, besides snow,avalanches and mud slides, and maintain our services,'' said Harrison.

CN earlier estimated its 2007 capital spending will be about $1.6 billion, up four per cent from 2006, including $1 billion for trackage to increase average speed and capacity and raise productivity. That includes double-stack clearances on the B.C.North Line ready for the Prince Rupert intermodal terminal opening in the second half.

Strong shipments of coal, grain and fertilizers, petroleum and chemicals, metals and minerals, along with good intermodal performance, helped the fourth quarter, CN said. The stronger Canadian dollar reduced earnings by about $10 million. All measures of network efficiency improved. CN has since signed four-year contracts with the Canadian Auto Workers Union covering clerical staff, railroad workers and truck operators.

Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp., the second-biggest U.S.railway, posted a 21-per-cent gain in fourth-quarter earnings to$519 million US, or $1.42 a share. Revenue rose 9.4 per cent to $3.9 billion US, led by a 22-per-cent surge in coal shipments. CSX Corp.reported a 46-per-cent gain in earnings. - Robert Gibbens, CanWest News Service, Canada.com

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RAILROAD PLANS PROJECTS OPEN HOUSE

WASILLA, AK -- The Alaska Railroad Corp. has an open house scheduled 16:00-18:30 Thursday at Evangelo's Restaurant, 2530 E. Parks Highway, to gather public comment on capital improvement projects for 2007.

Project managers will be on hand to explain projects located all along the railroad system from Seward to Fairbanks, with an emphasis on projects in and around the Mat-Su, including: Anchorage-to-Wasilla track realignments, south Wasilla track realignment and a proposed road and rail transportation corridor realignment around Wasilla, according to a railroad announcement.

The open house will showcase continuing and proposed capital improvement projects that are in various stages, from conceptual planning to construction, according to the announcement.

Anyone unable to attend may visit [www.AlaskaRailroad.com] for project information. Written comments may be e-mailed to public_comment@akrr.com or mailed to Alaska Railroad Capital Projects, P.O. Box 107500, Anchorage 99510-7500.

All open house locations are accessible to individuals with disabilities. If special accommodations are needed, contact the railroad by calling TTY/TDD 265-2620, voice 265-2494, or via the Alaska Relay Service (ARS) TTY 1-800-770-8973 or voice 1-800-770-8255. - The Anchorage Daily News

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RESOLUTION IN SPANISH FORK CANYON EXPLOSION MAY BE REACHED

The scar in Utah's Spanish Fork Canyon left from the 2005 explosion has faded, and the road has long since been repaired.

What remains is the case against the driver of the semitrailer that exploded, Travis Stewart, 31, of Rexburg, Idaho. He's charged with causing a catastrophe, reckless endangerment and reckless driving -- all misdemeanors.

At a pretrial conference on Monday, Stewart's attorney, Olivia Uitto, asked 4th District Judge Claudia Laycock for a continuance because she said a resolution may be reached with the state.

The case was set for trial last summer and then postponed, and Stewart's lawyers said at the time that he was standing by his not guilty plea. If convicted on all counts, Stewart could face up to 2-1/2 years in jail and $6,000 in fines.

Prosecutors have also said they could seek up to $600,000 in restitution, money that was spent to repair the road, the Union Pacific railroad tracks and utility infrastructure.

Stewart was behind the wheel of an R&R Trucking semitrailer on Aug. 10, 2005, when he lost control of the vehicle in Spanish Fork Canyon. The truck jackknifed, rolled and caught fire, which detonated the explosives it was carrying -- about 38,000 pounds of TNT. The explosion launched shrapnel for hundreds of yards, started wildfires and left a 30-foot-deep, 70-foot-wide crater in the road.

Stewart and other motorists were transported to the hospital, but no one was seriously injured. - Natalie Andrews, The Provo Daily Herald

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COLEMAN DESERVES OUR RESPECT

A recent letter, written by Claire Hannasch, criticized Sen. Norm Coleman for doing what a good leader should do - try to find workable middle ground on controversial issues so that progress can be made.

Many people support the idea that an upgrade of the tracks Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern bought over two decades ago would be good for shippers. Far fewer people believe that the taxpayers should contribute a risky $2.3 billion loan to this foreign-owned railroad so it can compete with two other private railroads in hauling low-Btu coal out of Wyoming.

Residents of Rochester, Minnesota -- and Winona, Mankato, Brookings, South Dakota, Pierre and elsewhere -- have a right to be concerned about DM&E's horrible safety record. Federal Railroad Administration data shows that after DM&E got a $233 million government loan in 2003 to upgrade its track, its safety record got even worse. The root of DM&E's chronic safety problems is not old track but poor management.

Let's not sell our country short. Surely we can find a way to provide better rail transportation for farmers and still safeguard the people and businesses along the tracks. Sen. Coleman should be respected, not criticized, for trying to do just that. - Letter to the Editor, Sara Nelson, Winona, MN, The Winona Daily News

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LAWSUIT HALTS NECHES REFUGE

JASPER, TX -- When The Committee on Natural Resources met last October to celebrate the creation of the Neches River Wildlife Refuge, it was a euphoric group. They gathered to hear U.S Fish and Wildlife Service regional chief of refuges Chris Pease speak of the unique qualities of wildlife habitat, which had been formally approved as a refuge in June of 2006.

"This is one of the most unique areas for a wildlife preserve," Pease told the TCONR group last October. "A lot of people have kept it high profile. They came to the Department of Interior and made a strong case protecting this hardwood bottomland and the Texas State Railroad, preserving both the habitat and heritage of East Texas. There is phenomenal support for these areas."

The euphoria didn't last long. Earlier this month, the City of Dallas and the Texas Water Development Board filed suit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, charging that they did not consider the economic impact to the Dallas area. Now, Governor Rick Perry has sided with the plaintiffs and against the USFWS.

The lawsuit says the Fish and Wildlife Service's actions approving the refuge violate the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 because it doesn't adequately consider the environmental impact of designating a 25,281-acre site within Anderson and Cherokee counties - the same area as the planned Fastrill Dam reservoir. The lawsuit also accuses the agencies of violating the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution by infringing upon the traditional state and local role of water and land-use planning.

The refuge would prevent the building of Fastrill Dam, an impoundment that would inundate thousands of acres of land in Cherokee and Anderson counties- water that Dallas says is needed for future use in their high-growth area.

But the rub for many East Texans is this: the lake created by Fastrill Dam would be located in Region I which comprises most of East Texas. Water rights would go to the Dallas metroplex, which lies in Region C.

Conservation groups such as the committee on Natural Resources (TCONR)- a National Wildlife Federation affiliate, Sierra Club, and landowners and various outdoorsmen joined Friends of the Texas State Railroad in 2005 and again in 2006 at Region I Water Plan hearings where they overwhelmingly rejected Fastrill Dam.

They cited negative impact to the Neches River all the way to the coast, protection of critical wildlife habitat located in the wetlands and hardwood bottoms of the proposed wildlife refuge, and the destruction the new lake would do to the Texas State Railroad.

Since the lake would cover existing track, the park will either have to cease train operations or build a track over the water, a project that would cost millions of dollars.

They also pointed out that land for the Fastrill project would be obtained through eminent domain, taking huge amounts of property off of the tax rolls.

Criticism also included Dallas' waste of water resources since the predominant use goes for watering lawns.

Wildlife officials have cited the refuge, some 25,000 acres along the Upper Neches, as critical habitat for migrating waterfowl and prime habitat for many plant and animal species.

Even though the refuge was approved in June, blocking Fastrill Dam, which was still in the State Water Plan, could not be assured until the first acre of land was donated. One acre was donated in August, but it did not stop the suits.

Gina Donovan, communications director for TCONR said that one-acre was donated by a California couple in August.

The lawsuits are a setback, but supporters of the wildlife refuge aren't giving up easily.

"TCONR and other conservation groups have been contacting Governor Perry and other key elected officials expressing support for the refuge and against the building of Fastrill dam," Donovan said. "Folks have been calling, e-mailing, and faxing letters to these key officials."

Donovan refutes the charges that the USFWS did not do the necessary studies before approving the refuge.

"The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service performed all the studies required for establishment of this refuge and the state's lawsuit is a huge waste of Texas taxpayers' money," Donovan said. - Georgia Purdy, The Jasper Newsboy

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TRANSIT NEWS

TRANSIT PLAN MISSING IN NEW CORRIDOR?

SALT LAKE CITY, UT -- A new planning map of the Mountain View Corridor that shows no streetcar or bus rapid transit along 5600 West has alarmed some conservationists, who say the "fixed guideway" systems are the only hedge against freeway sprawl and air pollution.

Streetcars and dedicated bus rapid transit [BRT] lanes have been part of the mix in the Utah Department of Transportation's environmental studies of Mountain View, an eight-lane freeway that would run along the west side of Salt Lake County to just north of Utah Lake in Utah County.

But Wasatch Front Regional Council staffers, who are updating the agency's long-range transportation plan, only evaluated which mode of transportation - vehicle or transit - would get people to their destinations the quickest, said council executive director Chuck Chappell.

That means streetcars or BRT wouldn't be cost-effective, he said. Instead, the regional council staffers are advocating enhanced bus service on the freeway, which will run along 5800 West in Salt Lake County to one of several possible alignments in Utah County.

Sierra Club regional spokesman Marc Heileson criticized the decision, saying the Wasatch Front Regional Council's 2030 study is as much a plan for air quality as it is for transportation. To keep the freeway but eliminate streetcars or BRT that would connect with new east-west TRAX lines doesn't make sense.

"When these [freeways] come in, they produce new traffic. It's not a guess, it's not an estimation," Heileson said. "Los Angeles very easily could have sent us a blueprint."

The map will be presented Thursday to the officials who make up the regional council, an association of municipalities and county governments within Davis, Morgan, Salt Lake, Tooele and Weber counties.

Chappell emphasized the map is just a preliminary draft. "It has not gone out to public comment, and will not be final until late June. This is just a step in the process," he said.

The streetcar or BRT option could return to the 5600 West plan if UDOT's draft environmental study says it should, Chappell said. Even before then, regional council staffers have to do more technical analyses that could change their minds. Or, the voting members of the council could veto the proposal.

"Our goal is to try to have it ready for [WFRC] to approve it at the May 24 meeting," Chappell said. Before then, the planning agency's Regional Growth Committee will vote on it and then allow public comment for 30 days.

Air quality activist Kathy Van Dame already is objecting to the preliminary map, and offers the recent string of unhealthy air warnings as immediate proof that transit planning should be as important as freeway planning.

"You need to make sure you always, always have your transit planning in there early," said Van Dame, spokeswoman for the Wasatch Clean Air Coalition. "Right now, cities have a significant influence from developers who have a lot of money to make from dispersed development." - Patty Henetz, The Salt Lake Tribune

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SOUTH SHORE RAILROAD INSTALLS SECURITY CAMERAS

MICHIGAN CITY, IN -- The Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District is installing 130 security cameras at stations along the South Shore commuter line from South Bend to the Illinois state line.

The cameras will be put in operation sometime in March, when computer hardware is installed in the railroad's operations center in Michigan City. Dispatchers will be able to monitor platforms, stations and parking lots.

Spokesman John Parsons said they'll be monitoring security, as well as weather and crowds on the platforms and parking lots.

Installation of the cameras began last fall. They are connected by a fiber optic network installed along the 75-mile rail line last year. - The Associated Press, WMAQ-NBC5, Chicago, IL

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VANCOUVER MAYOR: PUT LIGHT RAIL ON NEW BRIDGE

VANCOUVER, WA -- Royce Pollard rarely misses an opportunity to declare he is mayor of "America's Vancouver."

But on Tuesday, he almost sounded like he was mayor of Oregon's Portland.

Pollard, delivering his annual State of the City address, embraced light rail, saying he wouldn't support an Interstate 5 bridge replacement plan that didn't include it. He said vehicle tolls would be essential to pay for the new bridge. And he said that a $20-per-vehicle license tax would be needed for new transportation projects elsewhere in the city.

And then he talked at length about global warming, compact fluorescent light bulbs, hybrid vehicles, environmental building standards, increasing the city's tree canopy, and an imaginary conversation with an Alaska glacier.

Pollard, 67, usually takes his hourlong annual speech to review the past year's highlights, with only an occasional controversial remark. Perhaps the most memorable "State" remark came in 2003, when the retired Army lieutenant colonel invited city critics "to seek a warmer climate and move."

But on Tuesday, he forcefully endorsed light rail, one of the most controversial topics in Clark County.

"I've said it before, but it bears repeating," Pollard said. "Vancouver and Clark County residents have the cheapest buy-in to one of the most successful light-rail systems in the world, the MAX system. There is over $5 billion invested in light rail across the river. We can tap into that system at a very minimal cost. And believe me, we'd be foolish not to."

Most, but not all, of the 400 people in the downtown Hilton Vancouver Washington applauded his light-rail remarks.

Referring to the county's resounding 1995 defeat of a sales tax to support light rail, Pollard said the county has changed into "a different and more progressive community than we were back then. . . . Let me say it again, light rail will come to Vancouver."

But it likely won't happen without support from other Southwest Washington public officials.
And after his speech, Vancouver City Councilwoman Jeanne Harris and two members of the Clark County Board of Commissioners, Betty Sue Morris and Steve Stuart, said Pollard's light-rail remarks were off base.

"He doesn't speak for the entire City Council," said Harris, who also is a board member of C-Tran, the county's public transit agency.

The board is weighing the merits of light rail and a bus rapid transit system across a proposed Interstate Bridge replacement.

Pollard's next controversial topic was supporting tolls to help pay for an Interstate Bridge.

That might be a dangerous stance. An estimated 60,000 people commute from Clark County to Oregon for their jobs and pay Oregon income tax, and many think they pay enough already. Oregon received nearly 55,000 income tax returns from Clark County in 2004, totaling about $121 million in income taxes. Only seven of Oregon's 36 counties paid more.

No matter.

"I stand before you today firm in my resolve that there will be tolls on the crossing," Pollard said.

The mayor's four-year term expires in Dec. 31, 2009. He did not give a definitive yes or no when asked if he would run for another term.

About that glacier:

Pollard, who in 2005 was among 358 mayors to sign the U.S. Mayor's Climate Protection Agreement, attended a mayors summit on climate change in Alaska last year.

"I saw for myself the results of warmer temperatures on the glaciers," Pollard said. "I even communicated with a glacier. . . . I did put my hand on the glacier. And the glacier said to me, 'Mayor of America's Vancouver, I'm melting. I'm melting. I'm melting, help me. . . . It didn't really say that." - Allan Brettman, The Portland Oregonian

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LIRR GAP TRACK WORK HALTED UNTIL MARCH

NEW YORK CITY, NY -- The Long Island Rail Road will continue narrowing gaps with platform adjustments this winter, but will not resume gap-related track work until March, railroad officials said.

Last week, the LIRR announced a plan to narrow gaps at about 100 of the railroad's 262 platforms at passenger stations. So far, workers have shifted tracks closer to platforms at more than a dozen stations. They have shifted platforms closer to tracks at nine stations and have tacked wooden edge boards onto platforms at four stations.

Railroad workers currently are shifting a platform at Plandome and stenciling gap warnings at Penn Station and Bethpage, the LIRR said. - Jennifer Maloney, Newsday

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THE END