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Railroad Newsline for Saturday, February 10, 2007

Compiled by Larry W. Grant

In Memory of Rob Carlson

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RAIL NEWS

CN RAILWAY STRIKE 'UNLIKELY' TO START SATURDAY, UNION SAYS

Conductors at Canadian National Railway Co., the country's largest railroad, won't strike immediately after a midnight deadline even if labor talks today don't produce an agreement, a union official said.

The United Transportation Union chapter, which represents Canadian National's 2,800 conductors and yard workers, needs to apply for strike authority from its Cleveland-based headquarters, Frank Wilner, a union spokesman, said in an interview today. That's "highly unlikely'' to be completed by Saturday, he said.

A strike at Canadian National, North America's fifth-largest rail company by revenue, could disrupt shipments of metals, grain, vehicles and other cargo across the continent. A 28-day strike in 2004 by 5,000 workers represented by the Canadian Auto Workers union cost the company C$24 million, or 8 cents a share, equal at the time to $18 million.

“We will be continuing negotiations today,'' Mark Hallman, a spokesman for Montreal-based Canadian National, said in a telephone interview today. “There's still time to reach a settlement before the deadline.''

The company said Feb. 7 it plans to use managers to keep its freight trains moving if a strike goes ahead.

The conductors and yard workers' three-year contract expired Dec. 31. They want concessions on the amount of time they are required to remain outdoors without breaks and other non-wage issues, Rex Beatty, the union's Canadian spokesman, said last week. He didn't immediately respond to a voice mail message today.

The conductors, who are responsible for managing a train's movement, and the yard workers, who handle switching duties in rail yards, are the only labor group still in contract talks with the company. Last month, Canadian National ratified a contract with 4,000 clerical staff, railroad workers and truck operators represented by the Canadian Auto Workers union. - Rob Delaney, Bloomberg.com

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BUILDING COLLAPSE KNOCKS RAIL CARS OFF TRACKS; NO INJURIES REPORTED IN STOCKTON INCIDENT

STOCKTON, CA -- Two rail cars were knocked off the tracks when part of a building collapsed in Stockton Thursday morning.

It happened just before 09:00 at a warehouse belonging to the Headwaters Company.

Officials said workers were loading a concrete additive off the rail cars when a wall and part of the ceiling of the warehouse collapsed.

No injuries were reported.

Officials said it will take some time to get the mess cleaned up because the concrete additive is toxic. - KCRA-TV3, Sacramento, CA, courtesy Coleman Randall, Jr

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AMTRAK LAUNCHES AD CAMPAIGN FOCUSING ON LONG DISTANCE TRAIN TRAVEL

WASHINGTON, DC -- Amtrak today (Friday) launches the first ad of its Winter/Spring Long Distance campaign that incorporates new illustrations from San Francisco-based artist Michael Schwab. A favorite of Amtrak, Schwab's dramatic landscapes hark back to the romance and adventure of train travel posters of the early 1900s.

Unlike previous images Schwab has created for Amtrak, the new images used in the campaign transport the audience from landscapes seen from the train to the unique experiences on board the train.

The ad concepts boast headlines such as "Practice random acts of travel" and "Have an out-of-car experience," and feature Amtrak travelers sharing a bottle of wine, relaxing with a book or simply enjoying the scenery. In addition, the ads include sample fares for travel between specific city pairs to illustrate that train travel is a viable alternative to driving or flying.

"When taking a trip on a long distance train, the journey is as much as part of the overall experience as the destination," said Darlene Abubakar, Amtrak's Director of National Advertising and Promotion. "This new ad campaign provides a little insight into that experience."

Within the travel industry, research continues to show that travelers are staying closer to home. They are taking less vacation time, and therefore, how they spend their leisure time has grown more critical.

"Amtrak's challenge is to create relevance in peoples' lives by communicating that the journey on board the train is an enjoyable part of the overall travel experience," said Arnold Managing Partner and Chief Creative Officer Woody Kay.

Arnold's multi-media campaign builds reach and frequency by using media vehicles such as Television, Captivate, Radio and Print to drive new customer acquisition and existing customer consideration. There is also a sufficient online presence in addition to strategic placement on interactive vehicles to help drive additional traffic to [www.Amtrak.com]. - Karina Romero, Amtrak and Pooja Khanna, Arnold joint News Release

THIRD RAIL MAY HELP CITY OF GALLUP

GALLUP, NM -- The City of Gallup isn't the only entity thinking of making changes in the area of Second and Third streets.

Officials for the BNSF Railway Company have informed the city that the company is considering installing a third rail in Gallup because of the increased railroad traffic expected in the next decade.

City officials have already been talking of that increased traffic and the fact that the rail guards, which are now down almost half of the time, may be down as much as 75 percent within a few years because of the increased traffic.

City Manager Eric Honeyfield said this talk of creating a third rail may help the city in its efforts to get funding for an underpass downtown.

Honeyfield has been pushing the idea of an underpass for the past several weeks and area legislators are now seeking $1 million in funding in this session of the state legislature to begin the preliminary planning for underpasses and overpasses in downtown Gallup as well as at the Allison Crossing area.

Looking at an aerial map of the Second and Third Street areas of downtown Gallup, Honeyfield pointed to land just north of the present train tracks and said it would be possible for BNSF when they put in the new third rail to move the tracks about 150 to 200 feet to the north.

BNSF will probably do this in order to keep the two rails now in existence in use during the construction of the third rail because they would not want to interrupt traffic through Gallup while the third rail is being put in.

This also would allow all three tracks to be moved north of where they are, thus providing more area to build an overpass or underpass. One of the problems the city was looking at in building an overpass in that area was how close the tracks are to U.S. Highway 66.

Another benefit to all of this, said Honeyfield, is that the railroad, in providing for the cost of putting the third rail in here, could also include funds to help the city pay for the downtown underpass or overpass.

"Railroads hate rail guards," Honeyfield said, and in this case, with the amount of traffic on the line, trains are spending more and more time adding cars and switching, which is the reason why there are times when trains just stop for several minutes at the crossing.

By supporting the city's efforts at creating a way for traffic to go unimpeded from north to south, the railroad wouldn't have to worry about how long it is taking for the switchovers.

In cases like this, said Honeyfield, the railroad usually comes in and helps pay for five to 10 percent of the cost of putting in an overpass or underpass.

While this all looks good for the downtown area, Honeyfield stressed that the Allison Crossing project still is the city's top priority. - Bill Donovan, The Gallup Independent

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UNITED STATES RAILROAD TRAFFIC HAS A TOUGH JANUARY

WASHINGTON, DC -- A combination of winter storms and ongoing weakness in the housing and automotive sectors saw United States rail carload traffic drop 6.8 percent-or 112,428 carloads-to 1,553,060 carloads in the first five weeks of 2007 compared to the same timeframe in 2006, according to data released by the Association of American Railroads (AAR) today (Thursday).

The AAR also reported that rail intermodal traffic dropped 1.6 percent-or 18,542 trailers and containers-to 1,105,792 units in January. Intermodal represented roughly 23 percent of all Class I revenue. In January intermodal trailers volume was down 12.7 percent to 239,979 and containers were up 1.9 percent to 865,993.

The AAR also reported that of the 19 carload commodity groups it tracks, 17 of them were down year-over-year. Motor vehicles and equipment were down 21.8 percent-or 22,977 carloads-82,309 carloads. Crushed stone, sand, and gravel were down 18.7 percent-or 19,875 carloads-to 86,557 carloads. And coal was down 2.3 percent-or 15,750 carloads-to 682,294 carloads. Only food and kindred products and chemical products showed year-over-year increases at 2.5 percent and 3.0 percent, respectively.

The AAR also reported that cumulative loadings for the first four weeks of the year totaled 1,235,173 carloads, which represents a 6.6 percent decline from 2006. And the 879,500 trailers or containers reported year-to-date is off 1.5 percent, as is total volume of an estimated 125.3 billion ton-miles, which is down 5.4 percent from last year.

Total railroad volume for the month of January was estimated at 157.6 billion ton-miles by the AAR, which was down 5.6 percent from last year. - Logistics Management

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STATE AGREES TO BUY RAILROAD IN EASTERN WASHINGTON

OLYMPIA, WA -- The State of Washington has agreed to buy the third branch of the Palouse River and Coulee City Railroad, an important transportation link for farmers and businesses in Eastern Washington, the governor's office announced Thursday.

The line runs from Coulee City to Cheney and Spokane. The purchase price is about $5.6 million, according to Mark Blazer, senior vice president for the western region of Watco Companies Inc., the company that owns the line.

The state had purchased two other branches of the railroad in 2004 for $6.5 million: one that runs from Marshall to Pullman and another from Hooper to Thornton.

The freight rail system, covering more than 300 miles, is the second largest in the state and provides rail service to several companies and farms in the eastern and central sections of the state.

"Washington, for the first time, will become the owner of a critical operating rail system that supports a large portion of our agricultural community," Gov. Chris Gregoire said in a news release.

The railroad warned state officials in 2001 that it would have to abandon "significant sections" of its network by 2006 because it wasn't making enough money to cover maintenance costs on tracks dating back to the 1890s, plus the debt from purchasing the lines in the mid-1990s.

Businesses and farmers were concerned the loss of the railroad would spell trouble for the area, because costs to ship their products by truck were much more expensive than shipping by railroad.

"Although recent years have been challenging, the Palouse River and Coulee City Railroad has been an integral part of Eastern Washington rail since 1992," Blazer said in the release.

"We remain encouraged that the agreement we have reached is a mature approach to continued rail service in Eastern Washington."

The state Department of Transportation and Watco had negotiated for two years regarding acquisition of the third branch, the release said.

Watco will continue to operate all three branches until May 31. Operation of two of the lines, including the one announced Thursday, will be put out to bid, said Scott Witt of DOT. The line that runs from Hooper to Thornton will continue to be run by Watco. - The Associated Press, The Columbian (Clark County, WA)

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(ED. NOTE: Here is an interesting Op Ed piece from a student newspaper. Keep that in mind as you read it.)

RAILROAD LOAN IS OFF TRACK

The federal government is one step away from granting the largest public loan ever given to a private company. The Federal Railroad Administration will decide within 90 days whether to approve a $2.3 billion loan for Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad.

DM & E asked for the loan to expand its railroad network in the Powder River Basin in Wyoming and Montana. The Basin is the largest source of coal in the country, and it provides several Midwestern power utilities with coal. DM&E already transports a significant share of coal from the Basin across South Dakota and Minnesota; with the loan, DM&E can improve their infrastructure and haul even more.

U.S. Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, a former lobbyist for DM&E, has spearheaded the effort to secure the loan. In last year's transportation bill, he inserted in an amendment that opened the door for it. The amendment increased the loan program's budget from $3.5 billion to $35 billion and altered the rules to make new construction eligible for federal loans. Moreover, the amendment disallowed the government from collecting collateral in case those who received a loan didn't pay up.

Aside from the fact that the entire loan process has taken place in relative obscurity, and ignoring that the loan has been backed by a senator who used to lobby for the company, the problem with this loan is that it runs the risk of becoming a $2.3 billion subsidy. DM&E's revenue is only about $200 million per year.

If the loan is approved, the annual loan payment would amount to $245 million - a $45 million shortfall. Could this be why there are no private investors in this project?

The loan is flawed in nearly every respect, yet it's likely to be approved. Many suspect that the decision to approve the loan will come sooner rather than later. This is a textbook example of our federal government at its most irresponsible. In other words, a giant train wreck. - Editorial Opinion, The Minnesota Daily (The Minnesota Daily is an independent, student-produced newspaper on the Twin Cities campus of the University of Minnesota.)

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BNSF EXPANSION MAY HELP TOPEKA; GARDNER FACILITY PROJECTED TO AID LOCAL OPERATION

TOPEKA, KS -- Development of a $200 million BNSF Railway Company facility in Gardner -- southwest of metropolitan Kansas City -- will benefit the company's operation in Topeka, not harm it, railroad and Greater Topeka Chamber of Commerce officials say.

Steve Forsberg, BNSF general director for public affairs, said Thursday "it is absolutely not true" that the Gardner facility would take railroad jobs from Topeka. If anything, the Gardner development would bolster the railroad's support jobs in the capital city, he said.

Gardner is just southwest of the greater Kansas City area on Interstate 35. Forsberg said the site was chosen because of its access to the railroad tracks and the interstate. The facility will create an improved system for unloading freight, mainly intermodal freight containers, into warehouses and onto trucks and vice versa.

The railroad initially announced plans to acquire 1,000 acres, but so far has acquired only 800, Forsberg said.

He said the distribution center would represent a $650 million investment when fully built over 20 years. The entire facility will create 13,000 jobs in the state over that same period. About 12,000 of the jobs will be in the Johnson County area, including 7,500 in Gardner.

In announcing his candidacy for the Topeka City Council on Jan. 23, Joaquin Padilla said residents of the 2nd Council District were concerned about crime and the loss of Topeka jobs to the BNSF facility being developed at Gardner.

On Thursday, Padilla said his statement wasn't intended to imply that existing jobs in Topeka would be moved to Gardner. He was merely criticizing Councilman John Alcala, who represents the 2nd Council District, and other city leaders for not trying harder to win the BNSF facility for Topeka.

Forsberg said the function of the Gardner facility won't duplicate anything the railroad is doing in Topeka.

Doug Kinsinger, president and chief executive officer of the Greater Topeka Chamber of Commerce, agreed.

Kinsinger said the Topeka chamber has adopted a statement in support of the Gardner facility.
"The more BNSF grows, the more our jobs will grow," he said.

Kinsinger said locomotive repair being done in the Topeka shops in the past few years has nearly doubled as the railroad increases the amount of freight it hauls.

The railroad originally had hoped to have the intermodal Gardner operation running before the end of 2008. But on Thursday Forsberg said, "I don't know whether or not that is going to hold."

He said a number of entities are involved in studies of what needs to be done to make the project work.

Forsberg said the railroad had hired the Allen Group, of San Diego, to handle most of the development details.

He said talks are under way with the Kansas Department of Transportation and the city of Gardner over access roads from I-35 into the site and possibly a new interchange with I-35. - Mike Hall, The Topeka Capital-Journal

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MARYSVILLE COUNCIL SIGNS EXCHANGE PACT WITH RAILROAD

MARYSVILLE, KS -- Union Pacific Railroad property along the railbed corridor now belongs to the city of Marysville after president of the City Council Bob Shipman signed a property exchange agreement Jan. 31 in the City Building.

Property along the railbed corridor that runs through City Park and a piece at Seventh and Walnut were traded for Westside Ballpark, about 2.28 acres of property where UP eventually hopes to build a parking area near its new yard office.

Mayor Lou Edwards, who refused to entertain a motion to approve the property exchange agreement, also refused to sign it. The Marysville City Council voted 5-0 to appeal the chair and then unanimously approved the agreement and to have the mayor or president of the council sign it.
Not at the special meeting were Councilmen Steve O'Neal, Wayne Price and Jay Williamson.

Edwards was upset that a special meeting was called for Jan. 31 to sign the agreement.

"This is the first I've seen of it and I personally don't like it," Edwards said.

The agreement was put together by City Attorney John McNish, City Administrator Rick Shain and City Clerk Jeannie Thomas, who worked on it late Jan. 30, Shain said.

The land acquisition has been an ongoing topic in executive sessions for several months and something that Councilwoman Carol Phillips said drafts had been shared with the council by e-mail.

"Not everyone has e-mail," Edwards said.

Negotiations for the land were not subject to open meetings laws, McNish said, till legal descriptions and the agreement came to the council for approval.

The agreement includes exchanging land and the city retains the $1,600 UP paid in July as part of an option to buy the property.

Edwards owns property to the north and south of Westside ballpark and Shain said the mayor was involved in negotiations and trade of additional property with UP for lots along the old railbed corridor along May and Sixth streets.

Edwards said the city was repaying UP the $1,600 and said he did not want to swap property with UP.

"I look for a $1,600 check from UP and not a trade-off of property," Edwards said.

The deal signed Jan. 31 was for the exchange of land and that the city would retain the $1,600. Edwards said he did not think the city should be exchanging its prime lot for $1 for property the city did not need.

Shain and McNish both told Edwards that the city was not giving the $1,600 back to UP and that the $1 properties Edwards mentioned were not the ones involved in this exchange.

Those properties were part of a quit claim deed that included parcels of land where the caboose sits, parking lots along Seventh Street and the Helvering Center.

Shain said that when the city learned that UP was going to file a disclaimer on the railbed the city wanted to obtain the property. By filing a disclaimer, the property would have reverted to landowners on both sides of the lots.

"We could have had six to seven different property owners along the railbed," Shain said Tuesday. "We wanted to consolidate ownership of the lots. With these lots coming to us and the railbed, we'll gain more land than what we had with the ballpark." - Julie Perry, The Marysville Advocate

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MOFFITT TO RIDE RAILS IN ILLINOIS LEGISLATURE

GALESBURG, IL - Rep. Don Moffitt, R-Gilson, was named Republican spokesman for a new Illinois House committee to help support and expand the state's rail industry.

The committee will serve as an advocate for communication and cooperation between rail services and the state.

"I've been involved for years in projects to improve the entire industry in Illinois, and I want to continue to build on the progress we have made," Moffitt said.

As spokesman Moffitt will be the chief representative for his party on the committee and will help lobby to pass committee measures. Moffitt said the formation of the committee shows the importance of the railroad to Illinois.

The committee was formed, in part, as a response to an increase in train passengers.

"Ridership on passenger services in Illinois, and especially in the Galesburg area, keeps increasing," Moffitt said. "There are huge benefits when we increase the usage of passenger rails."

Moffitt said benefits include a reduction of congestion on highways and more jobs on the railroad.

The committee also will lobby in favor of railroad growth in Illinois.

"I hope (the committee) could help stop any legislation that would be unfavorable for the rail industry," Moffitt said. He said the committee would promote state funding of infrastructure improvements for railroads.

"This committee can be a big help by working with the rail industry to address infrastructure and other needs."

Moffitt knows this committee will be beneficial for the Galesburg area.

"Anything we can do to further enhance Galesburg and the Galesburg rail yard to encourage its presence here and maybe even expand, that's a good thing," Moffitt said. - Cigi Ross, The Galesburg Register-Mail

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TRAIN TRIP SHOWS TOWN'S WRONG TURN

MADISON, WI -- My most recent foray on Amtrak with my colleague Tom Schultz, the editor of the Watertown Daily Times, wound up giving me a new appreciation for good, old downtown Madison.

Tom and I, as readers of this column know, take a long weekend on an Amtrak route, usually leaving on a Friday afternoon, typically traveling about 24 hours in one direction and then staying overnight at whatever stop that happens to be. We then board the train coming from the other direction the next day and usually get back home by Monday afternoon.

Last January we took the Empire Builder and in the dead of winter wound up in Glacier National Park, where we stayed at a beautiful old rustic lodge called the Izaak Walton Inn, smack dab alongside the railroad tracks near Essex, Montana.

This year, we took the Southwest Chief, the old Santa Fe route that travels between Chicago and Los Angeles. We boarded the always-on-time Hiawatha out of Milwaukee on an early Friday afternoon (seven trains run between Milwaukee and Chicago every day) and switched to the Chief in Chicago's Union Station. Roughly 24 hours later we got off at a city everyone's heard of, Albuquerque, New Mexico, one of the country's fastest growing urban areas.

We had made reservations at the downtown Hyatt Regency Hotel, which is roughly five blocks from the train station, where we had intended to walk.

"Oh, no, you don't want to walk, especially carrying a suitcase," a security guard at the curb in front of the station admonished us when she saw what we intended to do. "Get a cab or you could be sorry."

Although others we eventually talked to disputed that downtown Albuquerque is that bad, the hotel nevertheless distributes fliers with the room keys that warn guests not to jog or walk alone in the downtown.

Albuquerque's downtown has been rebuilt in recent years gleaming high-rise office buildings, a park-like plaza where huge fountains sparkle during the warmer months, and a relatively new convention center that attracts meetings from around the world. (The international convention of barbershop quartets was there when we were, breaking out in song at every corner of the hotel.
Reminded me of the Buffalo Bills in "The Music Man.")

But, like our own Capitol Square once was, the downtown is all but abandoned after dark abandoned except by those who are desperate.

The city is experiencing what so many American inner cities have faced and shows why it's so important to invest in the downtown not just to attract conventions, but entertainment venues, restaurants, and housing that will bring people to the heart of the city not only to work, but to live and play. That's how downtowns get saved and, for the most part, Madison is doing it right.

Our train, incidentally, was on time almost to the dot both to and from Albuquerque. We ate three very good meals each way in the diner and got a good night's sleep each way in the two-person roomette we had in the sleeper.

Amtrak is getting better. Just think of how good it could be if Congress would support it like it does highways and airlines. We could actually have a balanced transportation system that would do so much for this country's future. - Dave Zweifel, The Madison Capital Times

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TRANSIT NEWS

LIGHT-RAIL 'ADVISORY' NOT NEEDED

SCOTTSDALE, AZ -- To learn what the public truly believes is not why elections are called; rather, those calling for one do so only because they feel they'll win.

Call this Scarp's Fourth Law of Scottsdale Politics, applying to the City Council's agreeing Tuesday with petitioners seeking a nonbinding election on light rail.

It's unnecessary and council members know it. But when 250 petitioners show up, you have to give the issue those people raise careful consideration, even when, as is true here, there is no need for an election - at least for now.

Why? For starters, your last name doesn't need to be "Gallup" to know that light rail is generally not liked in Scottsdale.

Those who asked for an advisory election - no date's been set - certainly don't want light rail, and know most everyone else doesn't, either.

Yet even if light rail had public support, a real election over whether to commit city funds to pay for most of it would have had to be called anyway. That would be putting light rail on a ballot that was for keepsies instead of just for funsies, but it would actually had given people who support light rail a chance to campaign for it.

That's not what light-rail foes who filed the petition want. They'd probably like it very much if the ballot question read, "You don't really want light rail, do you?"

As it is, consultants the city has hired to research Scottsdale's transportation solutions aren't supposed to report until later this year, when it's unlikely light rail will be among their transit proposals.

It would have taken some backbone to have told petitioners that eliminating unpopular options by plebiscite is not how to base this decision.

The question itself is less about politics than it is about a problem that mostly involves how to best move growing numbers of people around.

It would have taken even more backbone to say that if getting reliable evidence of public opinion is so important, then rather than hold an expensive stand-alone advisory election in which a tiny percentage of voters will show up, the city should hire a respected firm to conduct a scientific public opinion poll.

Such a poll's results would reflect what all Scottsdale residents think of light rail in bankable numbers, not merely the thoughts of the few casting nonbinding ballots.

A 20-mile light-rail line from Phoenix to Mesa, Arizona will open late next year.

Examining how well it works, from ridership to redevelopment, would provide better clues about whether it's right for Scottsdale than asking for a show of hands.

By the way, for those inexplicably keeping track, Scarp's First Law is, "All political roads lead to Los Arcos." The Second Law: "All political campaigns lead to Nan Nesvig." The Third Law: "The better the economy, the more the City Council concerns itself with trifles." - Mark Scarp, The East Valley Tribune

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LIRR TELLS HOW WIDE IT IS

SYOSSET, NY -- For the first time yesterday (Thursday), Long Island Rail Road officials quantified the extent of their gap problem: The space between platforms and trains exceeds 10 inches on 32 platforms at 22 LIRR stations, and officials expect to spend more than $13 million fixing them.

Metro-North Railroad president Peter Cannito said his railroad has similar gaps on 26 platforms at 17 stations, but did not say how much it would cost to narrow them.

At a State Senate hearing in Syosset, legislators criticized the LIRR and its parent agency, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, for allowing dangerous platform gaps to remain unfixed for decades.

A five-month Newsday investigation found that MTA and LIRR officials knew for more than three decades that platform gaps threatened riders' safety. And over the past 11 years, gaps stretching as wide as 15 inches caused almost 900 customer accidents.

But until the death of a Minnesota teenager last August, the railroad did little more than warn riders to "watch the gap. "

Much of the legislators' criticism yesterday focused on one of Newsday's findings: a 1987 MTA Inspector General report about gaps on Metro-North Railroad. The study, which found that rider education campaigns were not enough to prevent gap falls, was never shared with the LIRR.

"I'm having a tough time understanding that a report like this wasn't communicated," said state Sen. Charles Fuschillo Jr. (R-Merrick). "We're talking 20 years ago. But no corrective action was ever taken. "

MTA chief executive Elliot "Lee" Sander replied: "I think it's probable that there should have been more communication back then. "

LIRR officials did not launch a plan to fix gaps systemwide until the death last August of Natalie Smead, 18, who slipped through a gap at Woodside station and scrambled in front of an oncoming train.

In other testimony, a representative of the LIRR Commuters Council slammed the railroad for losing the confidence of its customers.

"The gap issue is regarded as a symptom of major, systemic problems within the Long Island Rail Road," said Ellyn Shannon, who spoke for the advocacy group. "Many riders and commuters believe the LIRR has not put the safety of its passengers first. "

Lawmakers took railroad officials to task for ignoring commuter council reports that for more than a decade have complained about dangerously wide gaps.

"A lot of the suggestions they have made have fallen on deaf ears," said state Sen. Carl Marcellino (R-Syosset).

Shannon yesterday asked the railroad to establish a permanent task force - comprising members of different LIRR departments as well as a rider advocate - to work on solving the gap problem.

Sander said he would consider her suggestion carefully. He added that he already was working to improve communication among MTA agencies and encourage them to share "best practices. "

LIRR acting president Ray Kenny, in his testimony, announced several new developments:

The railroad has formed a customer safety committee to review all gap accidents and ensure that the railroad has accurate measurements and accident reports.

The LIRR will have a strategy to fix the 32 gaps exceeding 10 inches by the end of the month.

Surveillance cameras will be installed on Syosset platforms by the end of the month.

By shifting platforms and tacking on wooden boards that shrink gaps, the railroad has reduced the gap on Syosset's Track 2 to less than 10 inches. But Track 1 will require more complex measures.

A study on solutions for Syosset, including mechanical gap fillers, will be completed by April.

At some stations, including Lawrence, engineers will stop trains in new locations on the platform to avoid the widest gaps.

Biggest gaps

32 platforms at 22 passenger stations have gaps wider than 10 inches, the LIRR revealed yesterday (Thursday). - Jennifer Maloney, Newsday

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LAGNIAPPE (Something extra, not always railroad related, for Saturdays only)

RELIANCE ON SIGNAL SYSTEM HAD FATAL CONSEQUENCES FOR SIX MEN

YPSILANTI, MI -- For many years the Michigan Central Railroad sent crews to a place called Shanghai Pit to cut blocks of ice out of the Huron River that would be bound for the ice houses in Detroit. The site, just north of St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, is today a nature area.

On Thursday afternoon, Feb. 21, 1907, Shanghai Pit became the site of the most deadly railroad accident in Ypsilanti history.

Fred Roe was the engineer of the ice train that afternoon. He had just switched a string of empty rail cars to the siding at the west end of the curve on the rail line in the area. He was then to run his engine to the siding at the west end to take on loaded cars.

Roe knew he had seven minutes to make the run, because the American Express, locally known as the "Blind baggage,'' was to pass through at 15:45. Roe sent brakeman Wesley Forrin to the indicator to see if the track was clear.

Forrin checked the indicator, found it clear and opened the switch.

The ice train "had gone no more than 400 feet (on the main track) when the American Express, six minutes ahead of the time indicated on the dispatcher's order, came round the curve,'' Forrin later reported.

John Scallen, the engineer of the American Express, had not been told of the ice train at Shanghai Pit, and because he was running late had made up six minutes since leaving Detroit. The Express was running at 60 mph.

The trains collided at 15:39. Six men died.

Because of the sharpness of the curve at Shanghai Pit and the high banks there, neither Roe nor Scallen could see the other train until they were within 300 yards of each other. By that time, there was nothing either could do.

On the ice train, Roe and Forrin had just enough time to jump out of the cab. The fireman on the ice train, Clyde Miller, jumped the wrong way and was killed.

The ice train had the most damage, with several feet of the boiler broken off and telescoped into the front of the American Express engine. The boiler of the American Express landed between the double tracks. The Express coal tender was driven almost entirely into the mail car behind it.

Ice cutters rushed to the wreck and broke into the mail car with axes. They found Elliott Parrish, the chief mail clerk, and Silar McIlvain, mail clerk, buried under bags and debris but still alive. Both, however, died soon after. Two other mail clerks in the car escaped nearly unhurt.

A fireman on the Express, Arthur Callon, also survived the crash initially, but died soon after.
Roe picked himself up from the embankment where he had landed after jumping from the train, and ran to the indicator, which then plainly showed danger. He asked Forrin again if it had been clear when he checked a few moments earlier. Forrin swore that it was.

"The scene at the wreck was a weird one last night,'' reported The Ypsilanti Daily Press of Friday, Feb. 22, 1907. "Upwards of 100 persons from Ypsilanti and the neighboring country drove or walked there. A gang of 50 men worked by the light of flaring torches.''

Several hours later, after the wreck was pulled apart to loud cracking noises, the workers moved in to find missing railroad men. The mangled bodies at first caused the workmen to stand back aghast.

Jammed into a space of a few inches between the engine and tender was the body of Thomas Little, head brakeman on the Express. Scallen was found under the tender.

The verdict of the jury at the inquest was a model of simplicity and comprehensiveness, noted the Ypsilantian of March 7, 1907. The six men had died, the jury ruled, "because of a collision caused by the undue reliance which the M.C.R.R. employees are required to place in the system of block signals in use by the railway company." - James Mann, The Ann Arbor News (James Mann is a local historian, storyteller and author. His books include "Ypsilanti: A History in Pictures,'' "City of Ypsilanti Fire Department 100 Years,'' and "Our Heritage: Down by the Depot in Ypsilanti,'' written with Tom Dodd.)

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ICE HARVESTING WAS TOUGH BUT LUCRATIVE WORK

ROCHESTER, NY -- A century or more ago, hundreds of workers and horses and wagons descended in midwinter upon the frozen waters of Irondequoit Bay and of Keuka, Conesus, Silver, Hemlock and Canandaigua lakes, as well as the Erie Canal, the iced-over Genesee River and scores of small ponds.

"For about six weeks, usually in January and February, the frozen waters swarmed with an army of men in heavy coats and caps with ear flaps," Arch Merrill wrote in The Changing Years. "They drove the horses, which hauled scrapers and plows. They wielded saws, needle bars and pike poles."

Why this beehive of activity? To feed "a seemingly endless chain of ice blocks into the cavernous maws of the weatherbeaten ice houses beside the railroad tracks."

Those were the days before refrigeration, and the advent of manufactured ice. Most of the ice needed for any number of uses - especially for Rochester's booming beer industry - had to be carved from the river, bays and ponds.

Changing years indeed! Now we think of naturally formed ice - at best - as a source of recreation. But as often as not it is a nuisance, damming up our gutters and making our sidewalks and roads treacherous. However, back in the 1880s and well into the early 20th century, it was a vital resource, and a livelihood for many.

Indeed, so important was this resource that "spitting on ponds and lakes where ice was to be cut was forbidden," notes City Historian Ruth Rosenberg-Naparsteck in a Rochester History article about the glory days of the breweries here.

Work was hard

Harvesting the ice was hard work. The first step was to remove snow and slush using horse drawn scrapers. Maude West, in Irondequoit Story, tells us that ice fields an acre in size would be cleared on the bay of that name. Horse-drawn plows, and later power saws, would cut grooves in the ice in straight rows, 18 inches one way, 30 inches another. Workers would then tap the ice in the grooves with needle bars - "really light crowbars," according to Merrill. This would separate the cakes of ice. They would then be hauled to land or floated in channels to the storage houses. Operations began as early as 4 a.m., Merrill relates. "Sometimes workmen fell into channels and had an icy bath. A few men and some horses were drowned." Adds West, "many a man ... got his hands and feet pinched between cakes of ice. Frostbitten ears and noses were common."

The ice was packed in sawdust to keep it from melting, even during the summer months when it was most in demand.

Brewers used tons

Rochester's breweries created much of that demand. "Bartholomay alone acquired nine icehouses in 1883, storing 40,000 tons in order to assure a cool temperature in its vats during the summer months," former city historian Blake McKelvey wrote in Rochester: The Flower City. "The ice crop on the river, the bay, and other nearby bodies of water became a valuable asset. Over a thousand men were employed each winter for weeks at a time, cutting and hauling ice for a dozen private firms in the early eighties."

The Silver Lake Ice Co., organized in 1885, had "enormous storage houses" at Silver Lake and at Lakeville on Conesus Lake, according to Merrill. "The harvest reached its zenith in the late 1880s when 150,000 tons were collected in one year" at Silver Lake.

Later, William Schneider's Ontario Ice and Coal Co. Inc., built in 1920 on a sand bar near Oklahoma Beach at the north end of Irondequoit Bay, could store 60,000 tons of ice, according to West.

"The harvest was not limited to the larger lakes and bays," Merrill adds. "Many farmers cut ice on their own ponds. There was a time when possession of a private ice house was a status symbol, especially in a small town."

Those days are long gone. The Schneider ice house burned in 1939; even before that, ice harvesting had been phased out at Sodus Bay after 1929 and at Silver Lake by 1924, Merrill states.

"Now the natural ice harvest is just another of our vanished industries." - Bob Marcotte, The Rochester Democrat & Chronicle

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