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Railroad Newsline for Monday, February 12, 2007

Compiled by Larry W. Grant

In Memory of Rob Carlson, 1952 –2006

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RAIL NEWS

DOODLEBUG RAILCAR RETURNS HOME TO NEW MEXICO

Photo here: [www.freenewmexican.com]

SANTA FE, NM -- A railcar dubbed the Doodlebug, which once carried commuters between Clovis and Carlsbad, has been returned to New Mexico from California.

The No. M-190 railcar from the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway had been stored for 20 years in the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento.

It has been returned to New Mexico as a gift to the state history museum at the Palace of the Governors in Santa Fe and to the people of New Mexico.

Doodlebugs were dependable options for New Mexico commuters for everything from dental appointments and university classes to dates. They operated not only between Clovis and Carlsbad, but also between Belen and Albuquerque.

Gov. Bill Richardson, citing the state's newest commuter line, the Rail Runner Express between Albuquerque and Bernalillo, said it's an honor "to welcome back a much-loved workhorse from an earlier time."

The self-propelled M-190s, also known as La Marranita or the Little Pig, had 22 seats and carried up to 44 passengers as well as the mail. A second passenger car was sometimes attached to the lead car.

A trip between Belen and Albuquerque took 45 minutes. The train made up to four roundtrips daily.

The M-190 was upgraded in 1955, and the Doodlebug on the Clovis to Carlsbad run was painted with the Santa Fe railway's "warbonnet" colors.

As many as 48 Doodlebugs operated in the United States in the heyday of the commuter trains from the early 1930s to the mid-1950s. In New Mexico, they were retired in the late 1960s.

The warbonnet Doodlebug was retired in 1967 and wound up in the California museum in 1986. That was the railcar recently returned to New Mexico.

The Doodlebug originally was moved to the railyard in Belen, courtesy of the Union Pacific and BNSF Railway. It now is at the Rail Runner yard in Albuquerque and eventually will join the history museum's collection.

"Railroad history buffs from around the state have already volunteered to help with the restoration of this valuable artifact," said Stuart Ashman, secretary of the state Cultural Affairs Department, which oversees the Palace of the Governors.

"Our goal is to offer a fully operational Doodlebug to the public, an attraction that will further enhance an already thriving tourist industry in Valencia and Bernalillo counties," he said.

Belen Mayor Ronnie Torres said his community is thrilled to have the Doodlebug back.

"Bringing back memories of the popular Doodlebug and remembering how people used to ride the train will increase appreciation and enjoyment of the new Rail Runner," he said. - The Associated Press, The Santa Fe New Mexican

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CUT IN AMTRAK SUBSIDIES CONCERNS HI-LINE TRAVELERS

SHELBY, MT -- When Fran Fitzgerald visits family in Washington state, she packs a suitcase instead of her car and hops on Amtrak. And these days the Shelby woman has more company than ever when riding the only public transportation available in this Hi-Line town.

The number of people getting on and off Amtrak's Empire Builder trains at the 12 stations in Montana increased more than 6.7 percent in 2006 compared with 2005 - and 39 percent from the 2002 totals.

In Shelby, 16,849 people boarded or got off the train in 2006, compared with 14,962 in 2005.

"We're isolated out here, we need this train," said Fitzgerald, who owns the Totem Motel.

"There's more riders, so I don't know why they'd cut this line," she said.

Fitzgerald shares the Montana's congressional delegation's disappointment about the level of federal funding proposed in President Bush's budget released last week. It would give Amtrak an $800 million subsidy, $500 million less than the federal government spent on the passenger rail service in 2006.

"Amtrak is getting the short end of the stick once again," said Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont. "Every year we have to fight tooth and nail to keep Amtrak service in Montana."

Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., called the proposal disappointing.

"Amtrak is critical to the economy of northern Montana, from Wolf Point to Whitefish," said Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont. "This only magnifies the disconnect between the administration and rural America."

Jim Lynch, director of the Montana Department of Transportation, said federal subsidies are necessary for Amtrak in rural states such as Montana and North Dakota.

"Our states don't have the population numbers to subsidize this service," he said. "Many of the communities Amtrak serves in Montana don't have bus service. The train is their connection."

Fitzgerald said most of the passengers she meets on Amtrak are visiting family or traveling for vacations.

"But I also have a tenant here who rides out to Seattle for cancer treatment once a year," she said. - The Associated Press, The Billings Gazette

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CN KEEPS TRAINS ROLLING INTO FIRST DAY OF UTU STRIKE

MONTREAL, QC -- CN’s freight network across Canada remained fluid today following what the company believes to be an illegal strike by the United Transportation Union (UTU) at 0001 hours this morning.

E. Hunter Harrison, president and chief executive officer of CN, said: “We are running the railroad at similar levels prior to the commencement of the strike, which demonstrates our resolve and mettle. We are committed to providing the best possible service to our customers.

“We remain ready to negotiate with the UTU at any time to achieve a fair and equitable collective agreement, just as we have with all of CN’s other unions in Canada. We are particularly concerned about the effects this work stoppage may have on our striking employees as the union’s spokesperson, Rex Beatty, has informed the company that the general chairpersons have declined to pay for continuation of employee benefits during this labour disruption, as is standard practice in work stoppages. As well, since this is not a strike that is legally authorized by the UTU, CN understands that employees will not be receiving normal strike pay from the union,” said Harrison.

The UTU, represents 2,800 conductors and yard-service employees at CN in Canada. The strike is restricted to Canada, and CN’s other unionized employees remain at work.

CN and the UTU have agreed during the conductors’ strike to maintain normal commuter rail operations on CN lines in Toronto and Montreal. Service in both cities continued today with no disruptions.

Excluded from strike action are UTU members employed on CN’s Northern Quebec Internal Short Line, Algoma Central Railway in northern Ontario, and Mackenzie Northern Railway in northern Alberta. - Mark Hallman, CN News Release

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COAL PLANTS START GIANT LOBBY FIGHT

AUSTIN, TX -- Two hundred dozen breakfast tacos arrived early at the Texas Capitol on opening day this year, to fill the mouths of lawmakers and aides with almost $6,000 worth of tortillas stuffed with eggs and appreciation.

"Good Mornin' Y'all. Welcome back 2007. Thank you for your tireless dedication and service to Texas!" said a flier that accompanied the tacos. "Compliments of your friends at TXU."

It was the opening salvo in what is likely to become this year's most expensive lobby battle as TXU Corp. fights to build 11 coal-fired electric plants costing an estimated $10 billion.

But the opposition in this fight is not just the usual array of environmentalists who say TXU wants to pollute Texas. It also includes prominent Democratic and Republican business people as well as the natural gas industry.

"We are a little surprised. ... We didn't expect this much (opposition)," said TXU spokeswoman Kim Morgan. "We thought we had a good, positive program to put forward."

More than $7 million combined is expected to be spent on lobbying, lawyers and advertising before a final state decision on whether to permit construction of the plants.

TXU argues the extra capacity would ensure the state has enough electricity by the end of the decade and would be supplied by modern generators far cleaner than most existing coal plants.

Joining the fight alongside environmentalists -- and stirring the high-dollar battle royal unfolding in Austin -- are North Texas business people who fear increased pollution will trigger onerous federal clean-air regulations, and a natural gas industry that doesn't want to lose its majority share of the state's electric market.

Opponents were bolstered Friday by a report that concluded the plants would slightly increase smog in the Dallas-Fort Worth area -- already considered in non-attainment of National Ambient Air Quality Standards -- and would push Waco into non-attainment.

Morgan dismissed the findings, which were sponsored by the anti-coal Texas Clean Air Cities Coalition. She cited a prior report by the Texas Environmental Research Consortium that determined Dallas-Fort Worth would see a decrease in pollution because of its emissions reductions elsewhere.

Air quality non-attainment could result in loss of federal highway funds and new restrictions on the expansion of business and construction.

All told, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality either has approved or is studying permits for 18 coal-fired electric generators. A 19th proposed for Corpus Christi would use coal gasification technology, which environmentalists say is a cleaner alternative but TXU dismisses as unproven.

Hearings before administrative law judges on six identical TXU plants are scheduled this month. Those judges already have recommended the TCEQ deny permits for two units in Robertson County in Central Texas, saying the company was unlikely to hit its emissions targets by burning notoriously dirty lignite, mined locally.

The permitting process is strictly administrative and, because of lawsuits, judicial. At this point, lawmakers can only hinder the permitting, forcing the pro-coal lobby to play defense.

The focus of the Capitol fight is on a nonbinding resolution by state Rep. Charles "Doc" Anderson, R-Waco, that would slow the permitting process. "It's a full-court press," Anderson said of the pro-coal lobby.

The process is on a six-month fast-track established by Gov. Rick Perry in a 2005 executive order. The normal permitting process is 18 months.

TXU has a lobby team of 27 executives and 14 lobbyists. According to filings with the Texas Ethics Commission, the Dallas-based company is paying the team between $1.4 million and $2.6 million.

But those figures do not include the cost of the firm's TV advertising already under way in the state's major cities.

It also does not include lobbying efforts costing between $1.2 million and $1.9 million that are backed by coal companies, railroads and other groups affiliated with TXU's efforts to win approval of the plants. There are 26 people registered to lobby for those groups. Nailing down the money being spent by both sides is difficult because most of it is not publicly disclosed, flowing instead through groups that do not have to report such finances.

For instance, Texans for Affordable and Reliable Power is a group of small-town officials who support the plants. TARP Chairman and Fairfield Mayor Roy Hill said he and others spent $100,000 setting up the group but that TXU has agreed to pay additional expenses.

TARP public relations specialist Chuck McDonald's office also is the headquarters of the Clean Coal Technology Foundation of Texas. McDonald's wife, Donna, is the executive director, and McDonald and a representative of the coal industry are registered lobbyists for the group. The foundation's Internet site and federal tax filings show it is primarily funded by coal companies and TXU.

Among opponents, a largely anonymous group called the Texas Clean Sky Coalition recently ran full-page advertisements in major state newspapers criticizing the plants. Executive Director Jackson Williams said the ads are part of a campaign that will cost more than $1 million. He declined to say who is paying for it.

Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake Energy Corp. has acknowledged being one of the entities that helped pay for the ads. Chesapeake, the nation's third-largest natural gas producer with vast assets in Texas, favors its cleaner-burning fuel for power production.

Chesapeake has six lobbyists costing a total of $100,000, and the company's political committee donated $35,000 to state political races last year.

By comparison, TXU's political committees gave $260,000 to state and congressional candidates in Texas. TXU Chairman Emeritus Erle Nye donated an additional $252,000.

Nye has been one of Perry's largest donors during his political career, giving the governor $178,000 since he took office. That includes $2,000 that Nye gave Perry's campaign on the same day the governor signed the executive order putting the TXU applications on the fast track.

The political committees of the Union Pacific Railroad and the BNSF Railway Company also donated a combined $647,000 to state candidates in the last election cycle.

Matt Rose, chairman of BNSF, told a financial conference last year that the two railroads would be the primary haulers of coal out of Wyoming to the TXU plants.

The Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club and Public Citizen were among several anti-coal groups that organized a rally opposing the plants at the Capitol today.

Another group, Environmental Defense, has budgeted more than $1 million to fight the permits in Texas, said James Marston, its state director. About $200,000 of that will go to advertising.

Dallas oil and gas producer Albert Huddleston -- who helped finance the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth ads that attacked Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry in 2004 -- has formed his own coalition to oppose the TXU plants. He financed an unsuccessful lawsuit to halt the permitting process.

David Litman, chief executive of the Consumer Club Inc., said the Texas Business for Clean Air coalition had trouble recruiting a lobbyist because TXU had put so many on retainer.

"The whole town was hired," he said. "We had a hard time finding a lobbyist." - R. G. Ratcliffe, Austin Bureau, The San Antonio Express-News

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BNSF TRAIN DERAILS AT GALENA, ILLINOIS

At approximately 21:50 CT, Friday, February 9, 2007 BNSF Railway Company train H BRCNTW1-09 derailed two cars blocking both main tracks at Galena, Illinois. This location is approximately 130 miles south of Lacrosse, Wisconsin.

The current estimate for restoring main track two back to service is 08:30 CT, Saturday, February 10, 2007. Main track one was returned to service 11:00 CT Saturday, February 10, 2007.

Customers may experience delays between 12 and 24 hours on traffic moving through the corridor. - BNSF Service Advisory

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BNSF EXPERIENCES DELAYS ON INTERCHANGE TRAFFIC TO NS AT CHICAGO

The BNSF Railway Company has received reports that recent winter weather conditions have had a negative impact on the normal flow of traffic on the Norfolk Southern Railroad from Chicago, Illinois to Elkhart, Indiana. Norfolk Southern personnel are working closely with BNSF transportation officers to recover operational fluidity in the area and minimize customer delay.

Customers may experience delays between 24 to 48 hours on traffic moving through this region. - BNSF Service Advisory

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NATION'S LARGEST RAILROAD UNION OPPOSES DM&E $2.3 BILLION LOAN

ROCHESTER, MN -- The following statement was issued on United Transportation Union's web site, [www.utu.org].

DOT should reject DM&E loan

The U.S. Department of Transportation's Credit Council should deny a $2.3- billion federal subsidy to the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad (DM&E), UTU International President Paul Thompson said Feb. 7.

The 125,000-member UTU -- an AFL-CIO member -- is the nation's largest rail union, representing some 66,000 railroad conductors, brakemen and locomotive engineers in the U.S. and Canada.

"If the DM&E were credit worthy, it would be able to obtain a loan in the private sector," Thompson said. "In fact, the railroad poses a substantial credit risk and may be no more than a stalking horse for cash-rich Union Pacific. Moreover, the DM&E has severe safety problems that threaten the public and national security."

The $2.3-billion taxpayer loan would be used to help finance some 280 miles of new track into Wyoming's coal-rich Powder River Basin and upgrade another 600 miles of existing track.

"Contrary to allegations of its supporters, the DM&E project will not create new railroad jobs," Thompson said. "Nor will adding another coal-hauling railroad cause more coal to be mined, or increase demand for coal.

"What the DM&E federal subsidy will accomplish," Thompson said, "is to siphon coal and jobs from existing coal-hauling railroads -- but not for long. That is because the DM&E is likely to fail financially.

"And since Union Pacific has right of first refusal should the carcass of a failed DM&E go up for sale, what is most likely," Thompson said, "is that the $2.3 billion coughed up by taxpayers will be used to subsidize track construction for one of the most profitable corporations in America -- Union Pacific."

Thompson called DM&E an "unsafe" railroad. "DM&E consistently has had among the worst safety records of any railroad in the country. In virtually every major category of railroad safety statistics, the railroad has usually ranked last. Compared with national averages, DM&E is off the charts on the south end," Thompson said.

"DM&E shamelessly has been playing a 'hide the salami' game with the facts," Thompson said. "DM&E President Kevin Schieffer warned as early as 1998 that the project could fail -- and that was before cost estimates of the project grew more than five-fold from Schieffer's initial estimate of $1.2 billion to $6 billion, as now predicted by the Federal Railroad Administration.

"Where DM&E once predicted it would haul 100 million tons of coal annually, it is now predicting -- through projected coal-car counts provided in environmental proceedings -- that it will haul no more than 40 million tons, even though one economic analysis concluded the railroad would fail if it did not haul at least 115 million tons annually," Thompson said.

"Additionally," said Thompson, "DM&E already has failed to pay back an earlier federal loan of $233 million -- instead using the money to buy additional dilapidated track that the FRA says may cause DM&E to plead for additional fix-up funds beyond the $2.3 billion in taxpayer subsidy now sought.

"DM&E," Thompson said, "once claimed it had investors lined up; but none has ever been identified. That is because DM&E has not a single contract in hand to haul coal. The reason is that it cannot offer competitive rates to coal shippers.

"The DM&E business plan," Thompson said, "was predicated on BNSF and Union Pacific not being able to reduce their variable costs on coal hauling lower than 7.25 mills per ton mile. But those BNSF and UP variable costs dipped below 6 mills more than five years ago, as productivity improved. The DM&E business plan is flawed.

"So, how will DM&E compete with BNSF and Union Pacific? Out of the hides of its employees," Thompson said. "DM&E is refusing to provide its train and engine service employees -- all of whom are represented by the UTU -- with the level of pay and benefits provided by other major railroads even though DM&E asserts it is going to compete as a major railroad.

"Among DM&E's recent demands is that the UTU agree to one-person crews as a cost-shedding measure," Thompson said. "We told them, 'hell no.'

"Should DM&E succeed in reducing employee health care coverage and denying employees market-based rates in order to grab business from BNSF and Union Pacific, then those railroads similarly will demand equivalent givebacks -- all because Uncle Sam provided the construction subsidy that is likely not to be repaid, regardless," Thompson said.

DOT Credit Council members include: Phyllis Scheinberg, assistant secretary for budget and programs; Jeffrey Shane, under secretary of transportation; Rosalind Knapp, acting DOT general counsel; Tyler Duvall, assistant secretary for transportation policy; and Federal Highway Administrator Richard Capka.

"With 46 million Americans lacking health care, with a war that is draining the U.S. treasury, with the administration reluctant to fund Amtrak in spite of sharply higher oil prices and increased evidence of global warming, and with Congress being asked to eliminate almost 150 domestic programs to help narrow the budget gap, there is absolutely no legitimate justification to provide a $2.3-billion taxpayer-financed federal loan to a railroad unlikely to pay it back," Thompson said.

"The U.S. government should not be using tax dollars to clone Wal-Mart- type business plans," Thompson said. "The U.S. government should not be an enemy of the working men and women of America. The DOT Credit Council should stamp 'rejected' on the DM&E loan application." - PRNewswire, source: Rochester Coalition

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AT THE THROTTLE: TIME WARP PHOTOGRAPHY

ELY, NV -- If you think you were born one hundred years too late to witness the glory of steam railroading, then I have good news for you: You weren't. There still exists a place where time stopped.

Steam locomotives still rule the rails here. Passenger trains are still made up with cars whose origins date back as far as 1872. These wooden coaches, coupled with a baggage/railway post office combination car are pulled by one of the sweetest steam locomotives still in existence: Locomotive 40, a 4-6-0 that rolled out of the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1910. Still steaming today, locomotive 40 epitomizes the classic lines of a passenger locomotive from the turn of the last century.

Photo here: [www.elynews.com]

Should there be a mishap on the tracks here, we send for the big hook; a century old operating steam powered wrecking crane. This wrecking crane is pulled by a ninety-eight year old, 2-8-0 steam locomotive that looks like it just rolled out of the American Locomotive Company shops. The wreck train consists of the crane, a tank car, flat car, tool car, outfit car and, of course, a caboose. Once the wreck train arrives on site, the crane is blocked up and laboriously turns to the derailed piece of equipment as men scramble over the wreckage, rigging chains and getting ready. The big hook is lowered and chains are wrapped around the derailed car. Then the men fall back, the ground guide signals the operator to raise the hook and quietly, (yes quietly) the hook begins to rise and the derailed car is pulled up into the air and put back on to the rails, all with steam power.

Of course, once the tracks are cleared, it's time to get on with the business of railroading. Freight trains can once again roll and so will ore trains. Most of the freight in the last century moved in boxcars. No self respecting railroad would be without boxcars -- and our railroad is no different. We have four wooden boxcars built in 1912 that are in top condition and ready for their next load.

This was a time when steam moved mountains. The real business of our railroad was copper and copper was king! It was the reason that the railroad was built in the first place and ore trains ran day and night, year round. The demand for copper was insatiable. It was the miracle metal that made all of the newfangled inventions, such as the electric light and the telephone, possible. Today our ore trains still move from the mine to the mill -- steam powered, of course.

And what you see here is not a mishmash of equipment from different railroads or different countries, nor is the equipment prettified or garish. This is original railroad equipment from right here, in the original paint schemes. All of this equipment has been on the property for many, many decades and in one or two cases more than a century, all of it still operating on the original track that was graded and laid a century ago.

Of course locomotives, rolling stock and tracks are a big and obvious part of this railroad, but still just part of what makes a railroad work. You also need the infrastructure: Enginehouse, machine shop, carpenter shop, blacksmith shop, depot and dispatcher building. Oh and don't forget, the locomotives go nowhere without a coaling tower and water standpipes. We have those too, the original ones!

Photo here: [www.elynews.com]

Considered by William L. Withuhn, Curator, History of Technology & Transportation at the Smithsonian Institution, "Among all railroad historic sites anywhere in North America, the Nevada Northern Railway complex at East Ely is -- no question in my view -- the most complete, most authentic, and best cared-for, bar none. It's a living American treasure and a stand-out one. Historic tracks, original depot and office building, enginehouse, freight shed, three original steam locomotives, five historic and rare wooden passenger cars, Kennecott diesel engines, 60 early freight cars, working machine shop, foundry-even the coaling tower and water tower that are icons of the site-everything is still there."

So where can you travel back in time and experience the grandeur that is steam railroading? Standing out front is the Nevada Northern Railway, a National Historic Landmark in Ely Nevada. And we offer incredible opportunities to experience steam railroading up close and photograph it.

The Nevada Northern Railway Museum will be hosting four steam spectacular photo shoots. The first will be Sept. 23, 24 and 25, 2007. The second in February 2008 is the 9th Annual Nevada Northern Railway Photo Shoot or what we like to call the Winter Steam Spectacular. Joel Jensen an award-wining photographer is the coordinator of this event. And in Joel's own words� ”If you like steam, have we got it for you! Clouds and clouds of it, once again, our railroad will strut its stuff in sub-zero degree weather (or close to it). Both steam locomotives; #93, a 2-8-0 built in 1909 and #40, a 4-6-0 built in 1910 will be running! Both locomotives will be pulling vintage freight and passenger cars that are original to the railroad. Snow? We've had it on previous winter spectaculars, 6 inches of it during the 1999 version. Sub-zero? We hit -5 in 2001, and you should have seen the frost on the sagebrush. Sun? How about cobalt blue skies during the shoot. Point being, we've offered up just about every type of meteorological conditions that wintertime Ely experiences, including shirtsleeve weather.”

If you think that steam locomotives 93 and 40 look good on an 85-degree day in August, wait till you see them on a zero degree-day in February. They look pretty good in a snowstorm too; billowing white clouds of steam plus plumes of black & gray smoke that tower above the canyons and valleys.

Bottom Line? World-class photography. Participants have won numerous photo contests, recording timeless scenes of a historical railroad that is second to none. Many of the "Winter Spectacular" photos rival the best that National Geographic has to offer.

You'll freeze your butt off (hopefully), but we'll keep the fires burning in the cabooses. True, you may have to have your frostbitten fingers, toes, and nose amputated... but when you see your photos, you will be glad that you gave up a body part or two for images that will last a lifetime.

For the third year in a row the Heber Valley Railroad will be offering photo shoots in between the Nevada Northern Railway photo shoots. The two railroads have teamed up to offer an exceptional opportunity to photograph steam locomotives in the winter. The combined efforts of the two railroads will give you the opportunity to photograph three steam locomotives with vintage freight and passenger equipment in winter settings. Scenery will include rail yards, mines, ghost towns, mountains and valleys. This is not an opportunity to be missed!

Make your reservations early; there are a limited number of participant slots in each photo session. Because both 2007 photo sessions sold out very early, two more were added; one in the fall of 2007 and one more slated for February, 2008.

This is the best of both worlds. You can photograph scenes from the decades ago with all of the conveniences of modern civilization. For more information and to make reservations contact the museum, toll-free, at (866) 407-8326. - Mark Bassett, The Ely Times

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KCSM INVESTS IN RADAR DEVICES FOR OPERATIONS TESTING

Juan Francisco Vazquez, Kansas City Southern de Mexico superintendente de inspectores instructores de maquinistas of the soporte operativo department, recently invested in three new radar guns for testing train speed to ensure that train crews are following applicable rules for the particular area.

Inspectores instructores de maquinistas, like managers of operating practices in the U.S., will use these radar guns in Monterrey, Mexico City and Tampico. KCSM is now equipped with seven devices of this kind. - KCS News

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PCRC RECOGNIZED WITH PANAMA MARITIME EXCELLENCE AWARD

Last week, at the Panama Maritime VIII World Conference & Exhibition held February 4-8, the Kansas City Southern's joint venture affiliate Panama Canal Railway Company (PCRC), was given the prestigious Panama Maritime Excellence Award. This award recognizes an individual or company that has significantly contributed to the growth and development of Panama's maritime sector. This year's nominees included Alberto Aleman, administrator of the Panama Canal, Maersk, Grupo Boluda, Braswell Shipyards and Petroterminal of Panama.

The Panama Maritime VII World Conference & Exhibition is organized by Panama's Maritime Law Association, the Panama Chamber of Shipping, the Panama Canal Authority and the Panama Maritime Authority. The conference, of national and international importance, which takes place every two years, is considered one of the main maritime events of Latin America and the Caribbean. This year's conference was attended by 675 delegates from Europe, Latin America, Asian, the U.S. and Caribbean and focused on business opportunities emerging from the Panama Canal expansion. - KCS News

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BROWNRIDGE TURNS HIS BRUSH TO COUNTY'S RAILROAD PAST

BANFF, AB -- For more than 30 years Bill Brownridge has been a Calgary -- nay, a Canadian -- icon, known for his joyfully evocative paintings of another Canadian icon: hockey.
Through his books -- The Moccasin Goalie, The Final Game and Victory at Paradise Hill -- Brownridge’s art and words have propelled countless hundreds of thousands of readers to an earlier era, a less structured and stressful way of life on the Canadian prairies.

This weekend Brownridge is unveiling his homage to another Canadian icon, the railroad, with an exhibit of 40 paintings and 24 charcoal sketches at the Canada House Gallery in Banff.

Concurrently, he’s launching his latest book, Tracking the Iron Horse, a compilation of many of those works of art and the voices of dozens of railroad men whose stories he collected more than three decades ago.

Photo here: [web.bcnewsgroup.com]

Caption reads: Where Flowers Grow, the Brandon, MB CP roundhouse, by Bill Brownridge

The 150-page book is a tribute to his father, Roy Brownridge, a depression-era Canadian National station agent in their home town of Vaughan, SK.

“Thirty years ago I had a dream. I wanted to leave a marker in history that would commemorate my dad and the men of the early railways. This exhibit and book will, I hope, fulfill the dream,” Brownridge said in a recent interview.

Most of the paintings were created 30 years ago, with the help of a Canada Council grant that allowed the younger Brownridge to meander across the three prairie provinces in an old station wagon, setting up his easel where an image presented itself.

“I wanted to capture the old railway buildings and interview some of the old railroaders before they all disappeared entirely,” said Brownridge.

“Now, I’ve been sitting on them for so many years that I finally decided I’d better do something with them.”

According to the terms of the original Canada Council grant, Brownridge exhibited the works when they were first completed, in a cross-country tour that culminated at the Museum of Man and Nature in Ottawa in 1977. Then, also according to the terms of the grant, the ownership of the originals reverted back to him, but they’ve largely sat untouched and forgotten ever since.

“I just thought I’d better get on this and do something with it all before it’s too late,” said the 70-something artist, who spent three-and-a-half months in hospital last year with kidney ailments.

At one time Brownridge exhibited and sold his works at three western galleries, in Edmonton, Winnipeg and Banff, but he had to drop the Edmonton gallery because he just couldn’t produce enough paintings to keep three galleries happy.

And even though the collection and book are being unveiled in Banff, there are no images of Banff’s railroad history in the exhibit.

“I look for the small and intimate, not so much the grand,” said Brownridge, noting that the only two showcase railroad hotels he included were the Fort Garry in Winnipeg and the Bessborough in Saskatoon.

“The Banff Springs Hotel was just too big a subject for me,” he joked.

Nor does the famed Banff CP train station appear, and for good reason.

“When I got to the resorts, they’re always such busy places. There’s a lot of people, and I’m not much of a performer when I work. There would be a lot of interruptions when I was trying to paint, so I didn’t get much work done.”

Brownridge will be at the Canada House Gallery this Saturday (Feb. 10) from 13:00 to 15:00 signing copies of his book Tracking the Iron Horse. Along with the 64 railway-themed works, he is also unveiling 12 contemporary works that again reflect his love of hockey.

All of the works in the exhibition can be viewed online at [www.canadahouse.com]. - Carol Picard, The Rocky Mountain Outlook

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HUGE COAL-FIRED POWER PLANT PLANNED FOR ELY AREA

ELKO, NV -- The long process of deciding whether to build a massive 2,500 megawatt coal-fired power plant in eastern Nevada is underway with the discussion of plans for the $3.8 billion facility.

The Ely Energy Center and its 250-mile transmission line would be fed by low-sulfur coal from Wyoming.

Coal trains leading to the plant could travel through Elko County on a 100-mile rail line that would connect to the Union Pacific mainline between Wendover and Wells.

The plans were discussed here and across the state last week as part of the scoping process which could lead to BLM approval. Chris Hanefeld of the BLM's Ely office said written comments should be sent to the agency by Feb. 26.

He said the entire public review process will take at least two more years.

Just the task of refurbishing the Nevada Northern Railroad to carry the heavy loads of coal trains once they leave the Union Pacific mainline will cost some $100 million, according to Nitin Luhar of the Sierra Pacific Power-Nevada Power combined project.

He said the upgrade would take 12 to 15 months to complete. With the power plant scheduled to come online in 2012, work could begin as early as 2010.

David Sims, director of project development for the state's two major power companies, said the Ely Energy Center is part of a master plan to reduce the dependence on purchased power and fluctuating gas rates, since newer plants will continue to use this as an energy source.

The total of natural gas-powered plants and purchased power in 2008 is 70 percent of both companies' energy mix. With the more energy-efficient Ely plant, retirement of older coal plants by 2012, when the plant is scheduled to come on line, purchased power and gas-fired plants will be 34 percent of the energy portfolio, Sims said.

Along the way, renewable energy is scheduled to increase from 9 percent to 20 percent of the mix while coal will go up from 21 percent to 46 percent.

Sims called the Wyoming fuel the "cleanest coal in the West," and said emissions will be enhanced by scrubbing the low-sulfur coal product.

In 2016-2018 the plant will have an adjunct coal gasification facility, greatly increasing the plants efficiency. The plant's first phase will produce 1,500 megawatts and the second phase 1,000 megawatts.

One megawatt will supply approximately 650 homes for one year.

The plant was sited in White Pine County because it is central to the needs of both Sierra Pacific Power in the north and Nevada Power in the south.

The 250-mile transmission line will intersect with a spur that goes north from Ely and south through Nye and Lincoln counties to Apex in eastern Clark County. - The Associated Press, The Las Vegas Sun

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RAILROAD PLANS TROUBLE NENANA

NENANA, AK -- Train passengers used to stop in Nenana. Now, they wave from the windows as they pass through.

After the Alaska Railroad Corp. completes a project to add new lines bypassing the city, those passengers will hear about Nenana from the tour guide on board, but see only the outskirts of town. That has Nenana Mayor Jason Mayrand worried that an elusive tourism industry based on rail history is slipping further away.

“At least right now, the train still comes through Nenana,” Mayrand said. “They don’t stop, but at least they come through.”

When railroad officials came to Nenana in the 1920s, they originally designed the track with two large curves through downtown in order to serve steamboat traffic along the Tanana River.

That configuration hasn’t changed since, but the sharp curves slow train traffic, increase wear on the track and intersect local roads in six places. Railroad officials have wanted to bypass Nenana for almost 60 years.

With the city tucked at the intersection of two rivers, the only place for the lines to go is out by the airport, east of town.

The Alaska Railroad Corp. picked up the project up in 2002, and is buying land and trying to secure funding for the estimated $25 million project, which includes several overpasses.

A broad environmental assessment of the project determined that not only would the realignment not harm Nenana tourism, it might actually enhance it by connecting the railroad to the Nenana Airport.

However, the bypass will mean leaving the heart of a city whose history is bound up with the railroad.

Nenana became a railroad town more than 80 years ago, when President Woodrow Wilson authorized construction of track into the Interior. Workers flooded the area, doubling Nenana’s population and leading it to become incorporated as a city in 1921.

Nenana was the original end of the track, but it eventually was connected with a northern leg to Fairbanks after construction of the Mears Memorial Bridge over the Tanana River.

The Nenana Ice Classic, a lottery to guess when the Tanana River ice will break, dates back to a game created by railroad surveyors in 1917.

The storied trek to stop a diphtheria outbreak in Nome in 1925, the basis for the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, began when the serum was unloaded from a train at the Nenana depot and sled dog teams took it overland to Nome.

The original rail depot is now a landmark.

“There’s a lot to talk about, and that won’t stop being talked about when we go through,” said Greg Lotakis, project manager for the railroad.

When the state took over operations of the railroad from the federal government in the mid-1980s, passenger trains no longer stopped in Nenana on a regular schedule. The town became a whistle-stop, where passengers had to specifically request service.

Passenger service now regularly stops in several towns between Seward and Denali National Park, but from there travels nonstop into Fairbanks.

The bypass would not permanently eliminate passenger traffic to downtown Nenana, though.

The railroad doesn’t have plans to pull up the existing tracks, which are still needed to connect to the dock to move freight to the communities along the Interior river system.

The railroad will construct a switch to allow trains to alternate between the two sets of tracks.

“If the business is there, then absolutely we would stop,” Lotakis said. “Even for one person.”

Mayrand feels Nenana is simply being ignored as a viable destination by the cruise liners that create tour packages. With the bypass, Nenana is now facing a Catch-22: The city can’t prove itself to tourists without the train stops and can’t prove itself to the railroad without tourists.

“At least with the rail presence we’ve got an opportunity to talk about it at a later date,” Mayrand said. - Eric Lidji, The Fairbanks News-Miner

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TRANSIT NEWS

ONE DEAD IN DART RAIL CONSTRUCTION ACCIDENT

Photo here: [www.dallasnews.com]

Caption reads: Dallas Fire-Rescue officers removed the body of the construction worker who was killed. (Roberto M. Sanchez/Al Día)

DALLAS, TX -- A trench collapsed Friday afternoon along a DART rail line under construction in Deep Ellum, killing one worker and injuring a second, officials said.

The accident occurred around 13:30 at a work site along Malcolm X Boulevard near Elm Street. The trench collapsed on two workers who were helping reset a water line between the future Deep Ellum and Baylor stations along the planned Green Line rail tracks that will extend south from downtown, DART spokesman Morgan Lyons said.

Dallas Fire-Rescue spokeswoman Annette Ponce said the department's technical rescue team was called to the scene to rescue two men. Firefighters dug their way to a victim trapped under the rubble, who was pronounced dead at the scene. Another victim was pulled from the site and taken to Baylor University Medical Center in unknown condition.

Neither victim's name was released. Both men worked for a subcontractor handling utility work along the line, Mr. Lyons said.

A total of 16 fire personnel worked at the scene to extricate the victims, Ms. Ponce said.

Mr. Lyons said work along that portion of the Green Line would be shut down until OSHA officials can complete their investigation and return the site back to DART.

"We've never had a fatal accident like this on the DART rail system, going back to 1992," he said. "Our own staff will work with OSHA to investigate what happened and learn from it." - The Dallas Morning News

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LIGHT-RAIL CONTRACTOR DIDN'T SET CULTURE OF SAFETY, AUDIT FINDS

SEATTLE, WA -- The contractor digging Sound Transit's Beacon Hill tunnel, where a worker died this week, failed to establish a culture of safety on the job site last year, an audit found.

The contractor, Obayashi Corp., is performing the tunnel work where a small supply train hit a parked locomotive and derailed early Wednesday morning.

A mechanic, 49-year-old Michael Merryman, died of internal injuries when he was thrown from the train or jumped outside the tunnel entrance.

The cause of that accident remains under investigation, said Joni Earl, the transit agency's chief executive officer.

But this was not the first such wreck at the tunnel.

Sound Transit launched the audit following a previous incident. On Oct. 27, a supply train crashed because of brake failure and human error, Earl said.

Transit managers said Obayashi has improved its practices since the audit, and Sound Transit now conducts unannounced brake inspections.

A company spokesman said Friday: "Safety is the No. 1 priority at all Obayashi work sites, and we're committed to improving on our exemplary safety record. We continue to work with Sound Transit and state investigators to determine the cause of Wednesday's tragic incident, and reiterate our sympathies to the family of the victim."

In October, the brakes failed on a train moving at "high speed," an Obayashi report said. Five workers, two of whom broke company rules by riding on a flatbed car, managed to jump off and avoid major injuries, Obayashi said. The report called for a pair of supervisors to serve three-day suspensions.

Sound Transit's audit, released Friday, further found that while the company has good safety procedures, its Beacon Hill managers were not participating in safety meetings and inspections.
Those duties were left to Obayashi's safety manager. Frequent employee turnover made it difficult to promote safety awareness, said the audit, completed last month by an independent consultant.

"There does not appear to be a consistent application of health and safety responsibility and accountability for project management from the Project Manager down to the Front Line Supervisors," it said.

Their participation is crucial because it sets the tone for the whole crew, to be safety-conscious at all times, said Ahmad Fazel, Sound Transit's light-rail director. "It just takes a moment for someone not to be paying attention, for something to go wrong," he said.

Last summer, an inspection by the state Department of Labor and Industries found zero violations.

The accident site, on the hill's western slope near Interstate 5, remains closed for investigation, Earl said. Obayashi has resumed work on a short aerial trackway east of the hill, and on an underground station. - Mike Lindblom, The Seattle Times

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L.A. SUBWAYS MAY GET SECURITY OVERHAUL

Photo gallery here:

[www.latimes.com]

LOS ANGELES, CA -- As Los Angeles transit officials pour millions of dollars into cameras and other high-tech security devices in the wake of 9/11, one major security gap persists: No one is stationed underground to help subway passengers in a crisis.

Unlike most U.S. subways, Los Angeles' works on the honor system. There are no gates to pass through, no turnstiles that open when a fare is paid and no attendants — let alone police officers — stationed on the platforms.

Subway planners designed it that way, hoping the open feel would encourage riders in a place weaned on the automobile but also reduce operating costs.

But now — after Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials were embarrassed by the botched response to a mercury spill that was left on a downtown platform in December for eight hours — the look of Los Angeles' subways might change.

There is growing discussion among MTA board members and other local officials about a major overhaul of how the stations work — adding barriers and possibly gate attendants as well as more security officers. Some officials say the mercury incident proves that the agency's reliance on closed-circuit cameras to show what's going on underground is inadequate.

"If we go to gates, we would have a station attendant there all the time," said Roger Snoble, the agency's chief executive officer, who plans to present a report on the issue in the coming weeks. "They would be there to help keep an eye on things."

Adding security personnel and MTA staff would change the atmosphere of the system as well as boost security. It would also be costly.

An MTA study produced last year found that hiring 500 in-station attendants would cost $24 million annually. Installing turnstiles in the subway's 16 stations would cost between $50 million and $150 million. To secure the subway, the report said, three attendants per shift would have to be added at each of the subway's 54 entrances.

Some riders — who are expected to buy tickets though usually they are not checked — say they can go days without ever seeing a sheriff's deputy or any uniformed transit workers on their trains or in stations.

Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies patrol the subway, riding the rail lines among stations. About 100 deputies and uniformed fare inspectors patrol 73 miles of subway and light rail — leaving parts of the system uncovered for long stretches.

Without full-time transit workers on site, passengers in an emergency must find an intercom to contact operators at a distant bunker. That is the only source of communication with the outside world. There are no pay phones in subway stations, and cellphones don't work that far underground. (Other subway systems have paid to have their platforms wired for cellphone use but the MTA has not.)

Since 9/11, the MTA has touted its increased security measures, which focus largely on adding hundreds of closed-circuit television cameras to platforms and trains. Those efforts cost about $80 million a year.

Though security experts have praised the effort, they also say not having personnel in stations leaves vulnerabilities.

Experts say adding transit workers and law enforcement to Los Angeles' subway stations would be a plus — especially as the number of daily riders continues to increase. Ridership stands at nearly 250,000 weekday boardings for the entire rail system.

But they caution that it could give passengers a false sense of safety in the tunnels.

"It adds a level of security without saying that if you add people you will not have an attack," said Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris, chairwoman of UCLA's urban planning department, who has studied transit terrorism around the globe.

Train bombers in London and Madrid killed hundreds after passing through turnstiles under the watchful eyes of gate agents in those stations, as did the attackers who released poisonous sarin gas in the Tokyo subway.

Loukaitou-Sideris and other experts say training employees to respond effectively in a crisis is more vital to passenger safety than where the workers are located.

"If you are going to have people, it's important to have people who are trained and know how to respond appropriately," said Martin Wachs, a transportation expert at Rand Corp.

Assigning transit and law enforcement personnel to stations would bring Los Angeles more in line with the rest of nation's subway systems.

"Fixed posts at all stations would probably be a good thing," said Sheriff's Cmdr. Dan Finkelstein, who is in charge of transit services. "Any employee in that kiosk is a lot better than we have now."

Washington, D.C., transit workers manning each of the 86 subway stations are responsible for visually inspecting the platforms and watching for suspicious activity.

In New York's subway system, station agents staff information booths around the clock to assist passengers.

In Chicago, the system's 21 subway stations are gated and customer assistants or security guards are present whenever the trains are running.

Security concerns led Dallas officials to assign transit police around the clock to their only underground light-rail station: Cityplace, north of downtown.

Most commuters would welcome the presence of transit workers as they wait for the train, especially at night.

"It would most definitely improve the situation," said Leonel Perez-Roura, 33, of Glendale.

In an emergency, Perez-Roura, a paralegal who uses the subway to get from courthouse to courthouse, said he would alert authorities using the emergency intercoms.

"They are supposed to be by the escalator or the fire extinguisher," he said, looking around the Wilshire-Vermont station for one within eyeshot. There were three on the platform: one at each end and one in the center. No signs directed passengers to the intercoms.

Vickie Chatigny, 57, of Llano said she has determined just how far up the escalator she must climb to get cellphone reception to contact authorities in a crisis.

"I know in situations you have to rely on yourself," said Chatigny, a supervisor with Los Angeles County Superior Court. "I don't think [transit officials] take security serious."

Such sentiments are fueled in part by the MTA's response in December when a man spilled mercury on the Pershing Square platform. After dumping the hazardous substance, he called the MTA operator on an intercom and reported what he had done. But for reasons that are not clear, no one came to investigate or clean up the spill.

Several train riders touched the substance before a passenger called police eight hours later. Hazardous materials crews eventually removed the mercury.

MTA officials acknowledged that their staff botched the response to the spill — and this has prompted calls for major improvements.

Some have said that, had an attendant or guard been on duty, he might have realized the danger sooner or at least cordoned off the area to prevent riders from walking in and touching the mercury.

"It may not be a matter that you can stop people" who commit terrorist acts, said Los Angeles County Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke, an MTA board member. "But at least you'll have something in place so they realize that they are being seen."

Others are more dubious — especially given the high costs involved.

"What would have been different?" asked county Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, an MTA board member. He said he questions the decision to build a barrier-free subway but doesn't know if changing course now is the best use of scarce transit funds. - Jean Guccione and Andrew Blankstein, The Los Angeles Times

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LIRR PROBE TO LOOK AT ALERT PROTOCOL

NEW YORK, NY -- When LIRR service was suspended for hours one night last month after a teenager was killed on the tracks in Queens, Gerry Bringmann remembers one thing about the conductor on his delayed train.

"He didn't have a lot of information, but he was at least honest about it," said Bringmann, chairman of the Long Island Rail Road's Commuters Council. "He said 'We've got a fatality. We could be here for quite some time so if you've got a cell phone, call home and tell them you won't be there for dinner.'"

"Sometimes," he said, "it's not even what you say, it's how you say it."

The LIRR's response to that service disruption, and another on Feb. 2 in which frustrated riders climbed out of stranded trains onto the tracks, is now under investigation by the Metropolitan Transit Authority's Inspector General.

Among the major themes of that probe is expected to be the LIRR's communication with passengers, which several commuters caught in the Feb. 2 incident said was lacking.

LIRR officials say except for a malfunction of the e-mail alert system, they followed all communication protocols in handling that disruption.

But passengers who sat for hours on dark, crowded trains said the substance -- not the frequency -- of onboard messages angered them.

"The conductor says, 'Lines are down. As soon as we get more information, we'll tell you,'" said Michael Schwartz, 44, of Bellmore, a regular commuter who said he climbed off a train that was stranded 150 yards from the Valley Stream station. "An hour and a half goes by ... we're getting the same message."

Transportation officials and experts say keeping passengers calm and well-informed during long delays is an area that is especially tough to manage because every incident is different, sharing only the frustration of the passengers caught in the delay.

"We've all had our good and bad experiences, more often bad than good. The only thing I feel bad for is the employees [conductors, crew, etc.], who are the last link with the customer, but aren't in the know and therefore the passengers aren't in the know," said Jeff Zupan, a senior transportation fellow at the Regional Plan Association, a Manhattan-based think tank.

Neysa Pranger a coordinator of the Straphangers Campaign, an advocacy group for New York City subway riders, agreed that conductors themselves are often hampered by a lack of information.

Her group, in its 2006 annual rider survey, noted that announcements during subway delays were either garbled, inaudible, incorrect or non-existent.

"Any time you're on a subway or a commuter rail or an airplane sitting on a tarmac, very often the person giving you information is getting limited information, too," Pranger said. "I think it's important to have people tell you at least that they know what you're going through, that they're going through it right along with you."

Anthony Simon, general chairman of the United Transportation Union, which represents the LIRR's conductors, said his members have to balance professionalism and compassion in making onboard announcements during delays.

"Every situation is different," Simon said. "There are specific guidelines, specific announcements we're given for certain incidents but you still have to use your own judgement."

The LIRR's guidelines on communication with passengers during delays call for conductors to make announcements every three minutes when possible, and have a crew member walk through cars to personally repeat information about disruptions.

The guidelines offer sample announcements, but also include the following general advice about how to handle communications during delays: "Customers want to know what's going on. They want plain and honest talk about the situation ... we need to apologize to customers if the situation requires taking the train out of service or some other extreme measure."

John Dickman, LIRR's senior manager of communications, said although some riders appreciate humor from conductors during disruption announcements, the railroad doesn't encourage it because "we know there is a line between funny and too much and that it's different for everyone."

"What we're trying to do is humanize it," Dickman said. "We want uniformity in the types of announcements, but also know the conductor is the best judge of the mood and temper of the people in those cars." - Karla Schuster and Herb Lowe, Newsday

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THE END