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Railroad Newsline for Monday, November 27, 2006

Compiled by Larry W. Grant

In Memory of Rob Carlson, 1952 – 2006

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RAIL NEWS

RAILROAD TOUTS EXPANSION

Union Pacific railroad's multimillion-dollar project to build a second parallel track across Arizona, which is more than half complete, is expected to cut gridlock and help freight flow through the state.

Crowded rail lines have been a chronic problem since the late 1990s because of a huge surge in the use of rail to move products from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to points east. Goods from Chinese and other Asian companies are responsible for most of the increase in traffic.

The railroad says it needs one more piece to make the system work in Arizona: a $180 million rail-switching yard to complement the yards in Phoenix and Tucson, which are operating at capacity.

The switching yard, located 80 miles south of downtown Phoenix, would offer expanded loading and unloading opportunities, especially for southeast Valley manufacturers, Union Pacific officials said.

The proposed location, however, is already drawing controversy.

The second line through the state is essential because the number of trains per day has nearly doubled to 49 in less than a decade, Union Pacific officials said. The BNSF Railway Company also has had a similar growth curve to more than 100 trains a day through Kingman, Flagstaff and other points in northern Arizona.

A shortage of truck drivers nationally also has exacerbated the problem. American Trucking Association officials say there is a shortage of 20,000 drivers in the industry, and that is expected to grow to 100,000 during the next decade.

"We've tried a lot of things to relieve the congestion, from more and more cars left on side tracks to double-stacking as many as 100 rail cars per trip," said Joe Arbona, a Union Pacific spokesman. "But with demand for Asian goods increasing 8 to 10 percent a year, we haven't been able to keep up with the growth with a single track."

Arizona is part of Union Pacific's Sunset Route from Los Angeles to El Paso before the line branches to various cities east.

The second track is being built in existing right of way, with most of the work completed between Gila Bend and the California line, and Tucson and the New Mexico line. Most of the work remaining is in south-central Arizona, including where the switching yard would be constructed.

The company would not give a specific figure for the cost of the track expansion beyond "tens of millions" of dollars.

Picacho Peak protest

Union Pacific's aggressive pursuit of purchasing nearly 1,500 acres of state trust land to build the rail-switching yard in an undeveloped area near Picacho Peak State Park has stirred up a hornet's nest of protest.

The Pinal County Board of Supervisors is expected to vote at its meeting Monday whether to rezone the land for heavy industrial use. If approved, that would kick-start negotiations between Union Pacific and the state for the land, which parallels Interstate 10.

Mark Davis, a Union Pacific spokesman in Omaha, Nebraska, said the company has been searching for more than three years trying to find a new switching site, "and this one is by far the best because the land is already level and there's very little else out there."

"It seems like everywhere else we've looked at there have been conflicts, whether it's been other development, cemeteries or large arroyos and rivers in the landscape," he said.

If the deal is completed, it would be one of more than 90 rail yards that Union Pacific has around the country, Davis said, adding that just more than one-third of the land would be used for rail cars and track and the rest for a buffer zone and future growth. The switching yard would employ 290 workers, 200 who now work at the railway's facilities in Tucson and 90 who would be new hires. Davis said the yard would be about three miles long.

The Pinal County Planning and Zoning Commission voted down the idea of the switching yard at a meeting last month. That followed residents in the Picacho Peak area starting a "save the peak" campaign, creating a Web site and plastering billboards along I-10 with anti-Union Pacific themes.

D.C. "Rooster" Cogburn, an area rancher, said the railroad plans are the most traumatic thing to happen to the area since hot-air balloons panicked his ostrich herd and resulted in the deaths of 100 of them during a stampede six years ago.

"This is a pristine valley, and they've really set the house on fire by completely trying to alter this area and forcing it down our throats," he said.

Herb Kai, who currently leases the land from the state and grows cotton, said he has stored thousands of acre-feet of groundwater beneath the site for the Arizona Water Banking Authority. In addition to the noise and night-light impact on the state park, Kai fears for the groundwater because of the potential for accidents and chemical and fuel spills at the switching yard.

But Davis said Union Pacific has not decided whether the switching yard will be used as a fueling station.

Jamie Hogue, deputy state land commissioner, said the land department is determined to sell the property because it is mandated by state law to determine the "highest and best use" of the land. Hogue said that means selling some property bordering major highways, but that no appraisal had yet been conducted on the land.

"It would be tough arriving at a value for it because we haven't sold anything in that area for more than a decade," Hogue said, adding that the Land Department owns more than 10,000 acres in the Picacho Peak area.

Hogue and Davis said Union Pacific could make a case to claim eminent domain over the land, which would eliminate any local zoning control, but Davis said "that's definitely the last option we would consider."

Hogue said the best scenario for the state would be to sell the land by the end of 2007.

"But if the Board of Supervisors rejects this proposal, we are going to have to huddle again and come up with another approach. In the end, we will have to weigh all the interests and then take it to public auction," Hogue said.

Spur for development?

Mike Anable, a former state land commissioner who is representing Kai, said he questions how much economic development would happen around a switching yard. The project has been supported by economic development groups in nearby Casa Grande.

"From what I've seen, there are no plans for ancillary businesses there. It's strictly a switching yard to move trains," Anable said.

"It's been like all of a sudden Union Pacific comes along and, boom, we're talking heavy industrial development around a state park where hikers climb to try to get away from it all," Anable said.

"It's definitely being pushed on the fast track when what we need is an extensive, deliberate study of this." - Mark Shaffer, The Arizona Republic

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NORTHCENTRAL IDAHO RAILROADS SEE BUSINESS ACCELERATE

OROFINO, ID -- Officials with a railroad in northern Idaho are considering reopening two abandoned lines to meet increased demand, partly the result of increased trucking costs due to higher fuel prices and an expected 25 percent increase in timber harvest by Potlatch Corp.

Kurt Gaylor, region manager for the Bountiful Grain and Craig Mountain Railroad, said some companies are paying the railroad just to make sure cars are available.

"People will actually pay us per car per day to hold cars for them," he told the Lewiston Tribune.

Gaylor said he wants to restart the rail line from Orofino to Jaype, which the railroad leased from Kansas-based Watco Companies Inc., in 2005. Earlier that year the line was abandoned by the Great Northwest Railroad. Gaylor said the line could reopen in several weeks if permits are approved.

Gaylor said a bridge on the line needs to be repaired, as well as several washouts. He said the railroad has a verbal agreement with Potlatch to haul logs on the line.

"We have been exploring rail shipping of the line for some time," said Matt Van Vleet, a Potlatch spokesman, who added that the company wants to increase timber harvest by 25 percent in the next five years. "We are still ironing out details of the proposal."

Another line that could be restarted is the Grangeville line. It was abandoned in 2000 and some of the track has been removed between Grangeville and Cottonwood.

The line has 50 trestles and seven tunnels, making it scenic but expensive to maintain. - The Associated Press, The Pocatello Idaho State Journal

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MOTHER SUES UNION PACIFIC OVER SON'S DEATH

LINCOLN, NE -- The mother of a 13-year-old boy who died when struck by a Union Pacific train last year has sued the company, alleging that an attorney told her he had her best interests at heart but then pressured her into signing a document that released the railroad from liability.

Two days after Efrain Ramos-Domingo died from injuries at the railroad crossing near a school in Schuyler, an attorney retained by Union Pacific approached his mother, Manuela Domingo Gaspar Gonzalez, according to the complaint filed this week in Colfax County.

Gonzalez does not speak English, according to the lawsuit, and was worried about how to pay for her son's burial.

The attorney "held himself out to have (Gonzalez's) best interests at heart," then obtained her signature that released the company from liability in exchange for $15,000, according to the suit filed by attorneys Robert Chaloupka and Maren Lynn Chaloupka of Scottsbluff.

"In fact, (Gonzalez) did not understand the meaning of the release. Plaintiff had no money to pay for her son's burial. She did not understand that by signing the release . . . she was giving up the right to use the procedures of the judicial system to learn how Efrain was killed, to learn what (Union Pacific's) role was in Efrain's death, and to seek accountability for Efrain's wrongful death," the legal complaint says.

Company spokesman Joe Arbona said he was not familiar with the complaint and would not comment on its allegations.

"I can tell you that Union Pacific certainly follows prudent procedures when dealing with situations like these," Arbona said when asked about how the company attains releases from liability.

The complaint also says that the boy's death was caused by negligence on the part of Union Pacific for not eliminating dangers at the pedestrian crossing where he was killed.

There was an unreasonable risk of death at the crossing because the simultaneous passing of eastbound and westbound trains created a visual obstruction that "made it impossible to visualize both trains prior to crossing the tracks," the complaint says. - The Associated Press, The Omaha World-Herald

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RAILROAD PHOTOGRAPHER SHARES LONGTIME

SAN LORENZO, CA -- When Bob Searle rode his first rail train as a young boy, he snuck out of his berth to see the view from the back platform.

The adventure was short-lived when the conductor found him and grabbed him back inside the train.

"I just wanted to hear the tracks clicking and the train roaring," he said.

Ever since then, Searle, 86, has lived and breathed trains.

The rail enthusiast has played a hand himself in keeping the trains from the 1930's and 1940's eras alive through his railroad photography work, which has been featured recently in several train magazines and books.

"I want to showcase these photos because the trains depicted are no longer in existence and will never be duplicated," he said.The seed for Searle's love of trains was planted when, while growing up in Napa, he received a cast-iron locomotive push train at age 5.

The seed further sprouted as a teenager when Searle and a group of friends took weekly trips to several Bay Area freight yards to see trains in person.

I just loved them because they had character. From the whistle bell exhaust to seeing the driving rod move, rail trains just intrigued me.

He eventually got his hands on a 616 Kodak camera and incorporated his newfound hobby into his passion.

Id find myself going to Oakland and San Francisco just to take pictures of trains, he said.
But in 1942, Searle was called into service, and while in Navy boot camp he was sent to photography school. The Navy continued to support his photography skills by also sending him to aerial photography training.

After successfully completing service, he returned home and worked as a freight rate analyst. But he also continued his hobby of photographing trains and has accumulated more than 2,000 film negatives over the years.

Today, Searle can be found at local railroad swap meets showcasing and selling his black-and-white photos.

Taking pictures of trains has given me a lot of pleasure and I enjoy the experience of showing them to other rail fans, he said.

But Searle has retired from his career and hobby of photography, in part because the current roster of trains doesn't fit his rail preferences.

I quit once steam rails became nonexistent in the late 1950's, because diesel trains are just a bunch of wheels going by, he said. I need to at least see steam flashing, smoke coming out and hear an exhaust.

View a slide show of vintage Southern Pacific rail trains from Searle's collection while he discusses the importance of each photo at [www.dailyreviewonline.com]. - Kristofer Noceda, The Tri-Valley Herald, InsideBayArea.com

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BLIND RAIL BUFF LISTENS TO TRAINS

FASTORIA, OH -- Like many train enthusiasts, Faith Fahnestock traveled to this northwest Ohio town because of the hundreds of trains that cross through each day.
But she didn't come to watch the trains. She came to hear them.

Fahnestock is blind.

She can see shadows as the trains rumble past. She stands close enough to feel the vibrations and the wind on her cheeks. She hears the roar of the engines and smells the metal and smoke.
Her husband, Richard Fahnestock, paints the picture, describing the sights.

The couple, who live in Bel Air, MD, drove eight hours to get to Ohio.

Richard Fahnestock found out about the train town while they were taking a trip to Harrisburg, PA, to see the trains there earlier this year.

"He talks to everyone and they said you can see hundreds of trains coming through here," said Faith Fahnestock.

Rail enthusiasts flock to Fostoria year 'round. The town about 40 miles south of Toledo is criss-crossed by dozens of busy railroad tracks. Nearly 200 trains pass through each day.

The couple will celebrate their 34th wedding anniversary this summer. "It all started as a joke," Richard Fahnestock said of their first date.

"My friends dared me to take her out, and I did it. We had ice cream and then went to the carnival, where she got sick," he said.

He took her to meet his parents the next day and on the following Thursday asked her to marry him. "We've been together ever since."

The couple traveled a lot during their marriage but have taken only day trips in the last few years because of Faith Fahnestock's health.

She suffers from kidney failure and, for the last three years, has required dialysis treatment three times a week.

The couple arrived in Ohio last Saturday and left Tuesday after a dialysis treatment at Fostoria Community Hospital. - The Associated Press, The Cleveland Plain Dealer

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LANDMARK TO 'REOPEN'

BEATRICE, NE -- More than four decades have passed since a railroad conductor last yelled, “All aboard!” to passengers boarding a train at the Burlington Railroad depot in Beatrice.

Now home to the Gage County Historical Society Museum, the depot will be celebrating its 100th birthday early next month.

To commemorate the occasion, Historical Society members are throwing a grand “reopening” on Sunday, Dec03, featuring a ribbon-cutting, cupcakes and an arrival by Santa Claus.

“This is going to be a bit of railroad history,” Lesa Arterburn, museum director, said. “We are really proud of the building and the improvements that have been made over the years.”

Festivities will begin at 13:30 with a ribbon-cutting conducted by the Beatrice Area Chamber of Commerce Ambassador's Committee. Following the ribbon-cutting, the public is invited to enjoy refreshments, including a cupcake train.

Arterburn said each child will receive a toy plastic train whistle atop their cupcake. As part of the railroad history part of the event, Dec. 3 will also mark the final day for the Beatrice Area Railroad Enthusiasts' model train exhibit on display at the museum.

While blowing on their new whistles, children can also enjoy the arrival of Main Street Santa aboard a Beatrice Fire and Rescue Department fire engine to take their requests for Christmas.

Historical Society members are also invited to shop the museum gift shop and receive 20 percent off for the entire month of December, while nonmembers can receive 10 percent off only on Dec03.
The Burlington depot actually opened for business on Dec05, 1906. Ironically, Arterburn said, the depot rests on the site of a cabin that was built in 1857 and was considered the first structure ever built in Beatrice.

Built at a cost of $35,000 and named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975, the depot was built in a colonial pattern that was the first of its kind to be erected on the Burlington system. The building replaced an old frame depot to the northwest that was used for freight after the new depot opened.

“This will be welcome news to Beatrice people generally, who certainly appreciate the handsome structure which is to take the place, as a permanent passenger depot, of the shed which has so long been used in that capacity,” the Beatrice Daily Express reported on Dec. 1, 1906.

Other early railroad depots in Beatrice included the old Union Pacific Railroad depot across the street from the Burlington depot, completed in 1900 and torn down in 1985, and the Rock Island Railroad depot, built in 1890 and torn down in 1968, at Sixth and Perkins streets.
The Burlington depot featured a men's waiting room on the south and a ladies' waiting room on the north. The ladies' waiting room was even furnished with rocking chairs to make the wait with children more pleasant.

“In the ladies' waiting room, instead of the old benches, rockers are to be provided with a view of making long waits for trains as comfortable for the gentler sex as possible,” the Daily Express wrote.

There was also a lunchroom on the south side of the building.

While thousands of trains and passengers used the depot, the station was the center of attention of the political world during the 1908 presidential race when Republican presidential candidate William Howard Taft was greeted by about 5,000 supporters at the depot in late September 1908.

About two weeks later, a train carrying Democratic presidential candidate and Nebraska native William Jennings Bryan stopped at the depot and was greeted by another crowd of about 5,000 onlookers.

With the decline in passenger train service after World War II, the last train to come to Beatrice was a special run in 1962. The building was used by Burlington as a freight office until the railroad signed a 99-year lease with the Historical Society for the building in 1973.

The Historical Society moved into its new building later that year following a major flood.

The alligatored varnished woodwork was hand scraped, without chemicals, by Green Thumb volunteers and today the wood retains the richness of the original oak, Arterburn said.

Before breezeways were completed, the baggage room, to the north, and the Jane Robertson Layman Room, to the south, named after Jane Robertson Layman, the society's largest benefactor, were used for exhibits.

At the time, museum employees and volunteers had to leave the main building to open the rooms for visitors.

In 1994, Dr. C.T. Frerichs spearheaded a campaign to raise funds for a medical-dental room in what had served as the depot's freight room. A breezeway was constructed later that year to connect the medical-dental room to the rest of the building.

In 1996, another breezeway was constructed to connect the Jane Robertson Layman Room to the main museum.

Arterburn said future plans call for landscaping to the south of the building to create a green space that the site originally had. In addition, she said the brick sidewalks need to be reset and some bricks replaced.

“Upkeep is always an issue,” she said. - Harold Campbell, The Beatrice Daily Sun

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BOARD REJECTS RAILWAY BID

HELENA, MT -- A federal Surface Transportation Board official rejected a Helena orthodontist’s bid to acquire the 92-mile Helena-to-Great Falls rail line from BNSF Railway Company, calling his application incomplete.

In its decision, Office of Proceedings Director David Konschnik said Daniel Fiehrer failed to show he has the financing necessary to purchase and operate the route for at least three years.

“Without providing any evidentiary support, Dr. Fiehrer assumes that unnamed local shippers will seek service over the line, that other rail carriers will route rail cars over the line or seek trackage rights to use this line, and that the line will make a profit,” Konschnik wrote.

“… (T)here is no indication that the line could be operated profitably,” he added.

BNSF has argued future rail traffic over its system could prompt the railway to repair and use the line.

In an interview Friday, Fiehrer said he’s unsure whether he’ll reapply.

“I think it’s all for naught,” he said, adding that he’s “a little individual dealing with a three-ton gorilla.”

BNSF spokesman Gus Melonas said he was pleased with the decision.

“We feel that this is an appropriate decision by the STB,” he said.

Fiehrer also failed to name an operator his proposed short-line railroad, provide needed information about liability insurance or prove his ownership of the line would improve options for local shippers, the Konschnik wrote.

His decision, filed Wednesday, also rejects Fiehrer’s requests that BNSF not be allowed to transfer or alter the line and provide a list of shippers who used the line before 2000, when the railroad last ran traffic on the route.

Fiehrer, who termed his application as “preliminary,” said his requests for the names of shippers and the rail line’s costs are necessary for him to draft a final application.

“What we were trying to do is really get some information so we could file a permanent application,” he said.

Fiehrer said he had interest from short-line railroad companies and people willing to operate dinner trains along the line.

He also expressed frustration with Gov. Brian Schweitzer, whom he contacted four times and didn’t receive a reply. Schweitzer’s office could not be reached for comment late Friday.

He maintains that the line’s reopening would provide a more direct north-south route for shippers and would spur economic development in the state. He said the line’s closure also has national security implications — if an event forced BNSF’s northern route along the Hi-Line to close, the Helena-Great Falls line would be a good alternative.

The orthodontist, who owns two tracts of land along the route, in his application cited a federal law allowing such sales in cases where a railroad has refused to serve or provided inadequate service to local shippers.

In a reply to a letter written by a railroad attorney, Fiehrer said the line’s six-year closure proves the railway’s service is inadequate.

A BNSF lawyer said the railroad has had no requests for service over the line since it halted use of the route. Washouts along the line, much of which follows the Missouri River, would need to be repaired before trains could use it.

Attorneys representing the railway and two Helena men, members of a Great Falls trail advocacy group, each had claimed Fiehrer’s request was incomplete and said his motive was not to run a rail line but prevent the route from becoming a bike and pedestrian trail.

In his decision, Konschnik cited two statements — one from Montana Rail Link, which said it has no interest in the line, and another from Eureka-based Gwynn Lumber & Reload Inc., which said the line would provide a direct route for some shipments but didn’t indicate it would use the line if Fiehrer purchased it. - Larry Kline, The Helena Independent Record

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DM&E DRAILMENT HISTORY SHOWS CHRONIC SAFETY PROBLEMS DESPITE IMPROVED TRACK

ROCHESTER, MN -- The Rochester Coalition Friday rejected comments from the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad (DM&E) blaming "old tracks" for its most recent train derailment and for its chronic safety problems. On the evening of Nov22, six DM&E rail cars loaded with ethanol left the tracks near the Little Cottonwood River (a feeder stream to the Minnesota River) in Courtland, Minnesota and caused the evacuation of several homes. The incident prompted DM&E President Kevin Schieffer to immediately blame track conditions -- even before an investigation determined the cause -- and further suggests the incident would have been avoided if DM&E would be awarded a $2.3 billion loan from U.S. taxpayers.

"It is outrageous that the DM&E continues to use its chronic safety problems as justification for receiving the largest government loan to a private company in U.S. history," said Chris Glade, Rochester Coalition spokesperson. "The DM&E is already the recipient of the largest loan ever awarded by the Federal Railroad Administration. Since that loan was made, the DM&E safety record has gotten worse. You don't award the largest-ever taxpayer backed loan to a private railroad with the worst safety record in its class -- it's shameful and disingenuous for DM&E to use the threat of train derailments to try to force the U.S. taxpayer to buy it new tracks."

According to government statistics, DM&E is wrong when it says safety will improve with new track:

-- Between July of 2004 and July of 2006, DM&E reported four derailments on new main track. All four of those derailments occurred on track replaced since 2004.

-- According to Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) records, since DM&E received a $233 million federal loan in 2003, its safety record has gotten worse, not better. In 2003, its accident rate was 27.26, which was 6.8 times the rail industry average of 4.01. In 2005, its accident rate was 30.32, which is 7.8 times the rail industry average of 3.89.

-- In 2004, the worst accident in DM&E history, DM&E used a federal loan to replace old track and promptly had a train accident in Balaton, Minnesota. At 30 mph, 14 cars (eight carrying ethanol) derailed, spewing 60,000 gallons of flammable fuel, and forcing 100 people to evacuate. That same accident in Rochester could have forced the evacuation of a significant portion of the city -- including Mayo Clinic.

-- FRA statistics indicate that during the past six years, DM&E reported that track defects caused only 53 percent of its train accidents. If every train accident from 2000 through 2005 that DM&E attributed to a track defect were eliminated, DM&E would still have reported train accidents at a rate nearly four times higher than the national average.

-- DM&E is one of only two railroads in the entire country forced to operate under a Safety Compliance Agreement with the FRA. The agreement reveals that "DM&E track inspectors are not properly trained," that "crew compliance with railroad operating rules is not satisfactory," that "DM&E's bridge inspectors are inspecting too many bridges per day to conduct quality inspections," and that "the workload and size of maintenance territory(s) assigned to any given signal maintainer are too large and make it difficult for any maintainer to appropriately and timely complete his or her work."

"DM&E is like a chronic reckless driver blaming the road for its problems -- worse yet its solution is that U.S. taxpayers need to build it a new and bigger road so it can drive even faster," added Gade. "This most recent derailment, DM&E's ongoing poor safety performance and its refusal to take responsibility for its problems further proves this project is an unacceptable risk to the city of Rochester, Mayo Clinic and all communities located along the line."

The Rochester Coalition has continued to raise safety and financial concerns about the project, which would send up to 34 of mile-and-a-half long trains through downtown Rochester, potentially delaying emergency response and creating a risk of a hazardous waste spill in the event of a derailment.

Background

The Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad (DM&E) is seeking the largest federal loan to a private company in American history -- a $2.3 billion subsidy from U.S. taxpayers to finance a major rail expansion project through the Midwest. The loan far exceeds the famous Chrysler bailout, which was debated vigorously in the halls of Congress and by the American people. The proposed $2.3 billion taxpayer loan to DM&E has not been subject to a single minute of debate in Congress, and the public has been barred from examining details of the loan application and the company's finances.

A recent poll, conducted by KRC Research, showed that a majority of registered voters in Minnesota's First Congressional District and more than two-thirds of Rochester residents oppose the DM&E's request for the $2.3 billion federal loan. The same poll conducted statewide in South Dakota found a plurality of residents also opposes the railroad's loan request.

According to the New York Times ("Lobbyist Turns Senator But Twists Same Arms," Feb. 28, 2006), DM&E's loan was made possible in 2005 when Sen. John Thune, a former DM&E lobbyist, championed legislation to increase the Federal Railroad Administration's loan program from $3.5 billion to $35 billion and modified the loan criteria to benefit his former employer.
The Rochester Coalition represents the city of Rochester, Minnesotaed County, the Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce and Mayo Clinic. The coalition opposes DM&E's $2.3 billion federal loan and the railroad's efforts to expand its rail line through Rochester. DM&E, which according to government statistics has the worst safety record in its class, currently operates three to four slow-moving trains carrying mostly grain products each day through Rochester. The federal loan would enable DM&E to haul as many as 34 mile-long trains each day through the heart of Rochester at high speed, carrying coal and unspecified amounts of hazardous materials a few hundred yards from Mayo Clinic, Rochester Methodist Hospital, several nursing homes and other health- care facilities. The project threatens Mayo Clinic patients, many of whom are critically ill and unable to evacuate in the event of a DM&E derailment involving hazardous materials.

For more information, visit [www.dmetraintruth.com]. - PRNewswire, Source: Rochester Coalition

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SPECTULAR SCENERY ROLLS BY, ABOARD THE ZEPHYR

In the first hour of an overnight trip from Colorado to California, we already have witnessed one memorable scene: a herd of 20 elk lounging in a grassy draw alongside the tracks, the females guarded by four bulls with racks the size of bicycle wheels.

But as the train heads deeper into the Rocky Mountains after going through the Moffat Tunnel under the Continental Divide, the conductor informs us the wildlife-watching has only begun.
“We follow the Colorado River for the next 238 miles, all the way into Utah, and we go through five or six canyons on the way, some of which have no roads through them,” he says over the loudspeaker. “So keep your eyes open — we see a lot of elk, deer and eagles. You’re in for a real treat.”

Sure enough, not two minutes later, a bald eagle comes into view, staring into our sightseeing car right at eye level from its perch in a cottonwood 100 feet away.

It’s just part of the sensory appeal of travel on the California Zephyr — a venerable streamliner that goes through Denver once a day in each direction — which is arguably the most scenic long-distance rail route in America.

There are other reasons to take the train besides scenery, of course. It’s generally cheaper, quieter and more relaxing than air travel; you don’t have to arrive two hours before boarding; you can get up and walk around; you can use a cell phone any time you want; and you can not only get a hot meal, but also eat it with real silverware.

There is also the novelty/nostalgia factor. “It’s something to show your children and grandchildren, and I think that’s important,” says Cheryl Martin, of Hawaii. “I took the train as a child, and I think that with new technology, someday they’re going to take this away.”

For many riders, however, the Zephyr’s chief attraction is the chance to pass through miles and miles of unfamiliar and often spectacular Western terrain, much of it in the daytime.

“I can’t believe the things you see on this train,” says Shirley Holland, a retired Colorado schoolteacher. “Everything is so different from what you see in a car.”

Besides the deep and roadless chasm known as Gore Canyon, where on this trip we see two more eagles, the route offers unique views of the towering cliffs (and soaring freeway spans) of Glenwood Canyon, the pink-tinged badlands west of Rifle and the smooth rock ramps of remote Ruby Canyon west of Grand Junction, Colorado.

Farther west, the Zephyr goes through the deserts of Utah and Nevada at night in both directions, while traversing the prettier redwood forests and granite gorges of the California Sierra in daylight.

Similarly, on the eastern leg of the route, between Denver and Chicago, the train crosses the high plains of eastern Colorado and Nebraska mostly at night, allowing passengers to see the more interesting wooded hills of Iowa and lush farmlands of Illinois in the daytime.

“I go to and from Ottumwa (Iowa) every spring and fall, and it’s a wonderful way to travel,” says Denver resident Geri Albert, who grew up in Iowa and worked in Waterloo for more than 20 years before coming west to be near her daughter four years ago. “In the spring, everything looks green and you see the planting going on, and in the fall you see the bounty and the colors. I’ve gone on different days of the week and different times of the year, and even when the train is packed, it’s accommodating.”

The nicest feature of the Zephyr is the Sightseer car, a double-decked affair with a small snack bar and lounge on the lower level and a more inviting observation deck on the upper, offering open seating in swivel chairs that look out on the passing terrain through floor-to-ceiling windows.

“There’s nothing out there but the same thing, so why am I compelled to look at it?” muses Kay Carkeek, a substitute teacher from Colorado, summing up the mesmerizing appeal of gliding along without having to be buckled in.

The Sightseer, which also boasts a television monitor on which movies such as Bewitched or Mr. and Mrs. Smith can be viewed, is always in the center of the train, between the dining car and sleeping cars in front and the coach cars in the back.

Coach seats, which are reserved but occupied on a first-come, first-served basis, are typically available at roughly half the cost of comparable airline fares. They also are three inches wider than similar seats on a jetliner and are installed two abreast rather than three.

In addition, they have footrests like those on recliners, so you can stretch out almost flat to sleep. And except during holiday seasons or on the busier portions of the route closest to Chicago, Denver, Reno and Oakland, you’re as likely as not to have an empty seat beside you.

The sleeper cars have private rooms or “roomettes” with seats that fold into beds. The deluxe units have showers and toilets. They come in sizes to accommodate two persons, groups of four, or families of four with small children. While the rooms are considerably more expensive than coach seats, the fares do include meals, and if space is available they can often be purchased at discounts of up to 50 percent once the train has left the station.

Generally, passengers find that one night in a coach seat is tolerable, but for two nights or a cross-country trip, a cabin on a sleeper car is preferable if not essential. “If you travel that far, you’ve got to have some creature comforts,” says Rod Kreimeyer, a businessman from Boston on a vacation to the West with his wife, Nancy.

The dining car offers breakfast, lunch and dinner, with seatings scheduled every half-hour during a two- to three-hour serving period. The meals, prepared by an onboard chef and served on plastic “china,” are decent and reasonably priced, and offer a chance to meet other travelers under less stressful circumstances than you normally find on airliners.

The menus, changed three or four times a year, always include a vegetarian option as well as standard meat dishes. Best bets for dinner are the roast chicken at $14.50 or the Angus burger for $8.25; for lunch, the chicken Caesar salad for $6; for breakfast, the railroad French toast for $7.

Beer and wine are available for $4 and $5 per can and $12 per half-bottle, respectively; credit cards are accepted. (Passengers aren’t supposed to drink alcohol that hasn’t been purchased on board, but the rule appears to be commonly disregarded, especially on the sleepers.)

Dress on the train is casual, from shorts and sandals to slacks and sweaters. The only ties you see may be around the necks of the conductor and service attendants.

The cars, entirely nonsmoking since November 2004, are generally comfortable, clean and well-kept. But don’t expect luxury; most of the equipment was manufactured in the 1970s when the nationwide Amtrak was established, and while some cars have been refurbished, the trains are showing their age.

“These cars have been going back and forth for a long time, and when you get that many miles on something, things can go wrong,” says Marvin Schreiner, a conductor who is retiring this month after 36 years of punching tickets and hollering “All aboard!”

The main thing that goes wrong, as any train buff will tell you, is the schedule. The Zephyr often runs late, for reasons ranging from track repairs to rockslides to long waits for passing coal trains (unlike the “old days,” freight now has the right of way over passenger trains).

In one instance last year, an eastbound Zephyr was held up for four hours by track work west of Reno; in another, a westbound train was delayed for five hours because a freight train couldn’t make it through the famed Horseshoe Curve near Donner Pass. In view of this, seasoned riders always take extra food and water in their carry-on bags.

“We have late trains, and then we have real late trains,” says Mary Cannon, a conductor who has worked the Chicago-to-Omaha run for 16 of the past 20 years. “Late is two hours, and that’s reasonable. Real late is when you start getting up to eight hours and messing up people’s personal lives.”

But then, getting from place to place as fast as possible is not the point of traveling by train. As Dave Bissell of Sonoma, California, puts it, “When you get on, you’ve got to click on ‘train time.’ It really depressurizes you.”

If you go:

• Book early and seek out discount fares. Amtrak.com offers 15 percent off for students and seniors 62 and older and 10 percent off for AAA members and military personnel.

• Verify departure and arrival times; delays are common.

• Pack lightly. You can take two carry-on bags in addition to a purse, briefcase or laptop, but unless you’re disabled, you may have to haul them aboard yourself. Check anything heavy or bulky at the baggage car.

• Take extra food and, if you’re going coach, a pillow and blanket, along with a camera, binoculars and a map to track your progress.

• To get a taste of the experience, consider a short hop to start out.

• Bring a good train book. Here are three: The Christmas Train (Warner, 2002), a warmhearted novel set on two other long-distance trains, the Capitol Limited and the Southwest Chief, by David Baldacci; Empire Express (Viking, 1999), a modern account of the building of the first transcontinental railroad, by David Haward Bain; and the section on coal trains in Uncommon Carriers (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2006), a look at the freight business in America, by John McPhee.

- Jack Cox, The Denver Post

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THE COAL WILL MOVE

For those opposed to the upgrade of the Dakota Minnesota & Eastern Railroad, they might want to consider that, in the event this railroad should not get the FRA loan, there is a very good chance that the railroad could be put up for sale.

Even though the Union Pacific Railroad gets first chance at purchasing the DM&E, there are two very large Canadian Class 1 Railroads who would dearly love to buy the DM&E to make profits hauling coal from the Powder River Basin in Wyoming. This means that the Union Pacific will not be able to buy the DM&E for peanuts. Most likely there will be a bidding war. Coal is a very lucrative commodity, and every railroad wants a “piece of the pie.” These other railroads have very deep pockets and do not need any federal loans or permission from local groups to upgrade rails. Mitigation will not be dictated to them.

And then again, if DM&E did get the loan, upgraded the line, purchased new equipment and later defaults, the infrastructure would still be in place and very saleable. This would alleviate any burden on taxpayers. - Terence Yust, Viola, MN, Letter to the Editor, The Wiona Daily News

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CHILDREN, PARENTS BOARD TRAIN TO SEE SANTA

HEBER, UT -- Just after 480 children and their parents were served cookies and hot chocolate aboard the Polar Express train on Saturday night, Mrs. Claus boarded.

Riding the Heber Valley Railroad Christmas Train, the group set off at dusk on a trip to see Santa at the North Pole. Now in its ninth year, the tradition, based on the best-selling children's picture book by Chris Van Allsburg, is so popular that even adding four new coach cars has not slackened demand. More than 20,000 of the 21,700 tickets available for 48 train trips scheduled this season have been spoken for -- and the rest are expected to sell out by mid-week, railroad officials said.

As the train clacked and moaned, Mrs. Claus greeted each of the children aboard and handed out a recipe for chocolate chip cookies made with all the usual ingredients and a few extra, including a gallon of joy, a reindeer's shy wink and fairy dust colored pink.

"Did you know you are wearing Santa's favorite color?" Mrs. Claus said to one child dressed in red pajamas. "Have you been doing homework this year?" she said to another. "Are you very good at math?"

After Mrs. Claus exited the coach car, elves passed out copies of the Polar Express book so the children could follow along as a storyteller read the book aloud. Just as the story ended, the train pulled up to a lighted Santa's Village at the North Pole which also bore some resemblance to the shore of Deer Creek Reservoir.

With jingling bells, Santa boarded the train to oohs and ahhs, laughter and clapping.

Flashbulbs popped and children beamed as he visited with each, laughing merrily and handing out silver bells, just as in the book. Before moving on to the next car, Santa led a round of Jingle Bells, saying the children needed to do some caroling.

The bells were not the only gift on the train. On Tuesday, just in time for the Polar Express runs to begin, one of the four new coach cars reached the end of a six-month restoration led by a volunteer master cabinet maker, Kerry Ellertson of Midway.

Ellertson, who first worked on the railroad in 1970 and returned four years ago as a night conductor, hand-crafted much of the extensive woodwork on the coach car as a gift to the railroad. He will spend next year working on the three remaining new cars.

"I took this on because they would have had to hire someone and it was a lot of work," he said, noting that he and other volunteers installed new floors, ceilings and windows, and all the seats were sandblasted, painted and reupholstered. "I have always loved the railroad and I want to see it succeed."

Ellertson's work saved the nonprofit railroad tens of thousands of dollars, said Craig Lacey, executive director.

Chris and Kelly Steele of Park City brought their two children, Keegan, 9, and Collin, 7, on the ride with two cousins and family visiting from New York.

When she called the railroad to get information on the ride, "the lady on the phone actually had me in tears telling me about it," Kelly Steele said. "The kids had a ball. We brought them here as a surprise Christmas experience."

Adam and Lyndi Vance of Saratoga Springs brought their five children, ages 8 to 8 months. Last year they were unable to get tickets to the sold-out train so this year they bought tickets "months ago," they said on Saturday.

To get in the mood for the experience, the family watched the Polar Express movie on Friday night and listened to the soundtrack on Saturday, they said.

Susan and Mike Sisson of Bluffdale brought their five children, two grandparents and a great-grandparent on the excursion.

"I had heard about it and wanted to come and thought it would be a great kick-off to the Christmas season -- and the kids love the book," she said.

For reservations on the Polar Express call (435) 654-5601 or visit [www.HeberValleyRR.org]. - Caleb Warnock, The Provo Daily Herald

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GIRL INJURED ON TRAIN TRACKS IN ELK GROVE

ELK GROVE, CA -- Authorities are working to sort through an incident involving a teenaged girl injured near or on train tracks in Elk Grove Friday.

About noon emergency responders were dispatched to 9001 Polhemus Drive on reports a 16-year-old girl had been injured while running on or near train tracks. The girl was airlifted to a local hospital.

A northbound AMTRAK train has been stopped about 10 miles from the scene. The engineer has told authorities the train did not hit anyone.

News10 has learned the girl has a broken arm. It is not yet clear if the girl fell on the train tracks or was struck by the train. - KXTV-TV10, Sacramento, CA, courtesy Coleman Randall, Jr

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HUMOR BOOK BASHES BARSTOW

Staff photo by Stevie St. John:

[www.desertdispatch.com]

A train passes the Harvey House. 'The Absolutely Worst Places to Live in America' counts Barstow as an undesirable location. Noise from trains is one thing the Barstow entry criticizes about the town. Western American Railroad Museum volunteer Margaret San Millan said she likes the sound of the trains.

Is Barstow, California a “glorified pit stop” useful only for fueling up and grabbing fast food?

In “The Absolutely Worst Places to Live in America,” Dave Gilmartin lightheartedly derides the town along with several other locales people submitted as unpleasant via an informal polling process. Gilmartin targets a total of 50 places in America, with Barstow’s listing taking up six of the book’s small pages.

“The local aesthetic consists of three variations on the color brown, which tends to inspire one to keep driving,” according to a quotation from Mark Harmon.

Steve Cwik’s extended quotation describes staying at “a cheap motel, an establishment that seemed to take its decorating cues from Norman Bates” and being awoken “by the sounds of boxcar couplers smashing together at the rail.”

Barstow’s housing program coordinator, Jeanette Hayhurst, is quoted praising Barstow’s friendliness to trucks, and the city’s public information officer, John Rader, wrote a dissenting opinion, in which he boasts of the town’s “shopping, restaurant and other retail choices not seen in most small communities.”

According to the book, “Barstow appears from the distance like an oasis on the edge of the Mojave Desert, at least to those who are big fans of fast food and petrol.”

Plenty of locals and passersby defend Barstow’s value; many praised the same aspects of local culture Gilmartin mocks.

For example, Darin Strain of Norco, who makes his way through Barstow regularly, has no problem with the town being noted for on-the-go cuisine. The town, he said, “has probably the best Del Tacos out here anywhere ever.” He also said it has “some of the best motorcycle riding,” and he was headed for some cycling after getting gas on Friday morning.

“I’ve never heard of anything bad about Barstow,” Strain said.

Hayhurst didn’t know about the book but has no problem with Gilmartin quoting her saying, “We are a very truck-friendly town.” Barstow, she said, is friendly to tourists and truckers.

“That’s part of who we are, and that’s OK,” she said.

Hayhurst said she lives in Barstow by choice. “I am like a Barstow cheerleader,” she said. She and her husband keep horses and miniature donkeys, she said. In addition to the rural lifestyle, she enjoys Barstow’s small-town feel. “You really feel like you can make a difference,” she said. Rader also cites a small-town feel as an advantage of Barstow’s. He said the town offers access to nearby entertainment and recreation without losing its smalltown charm. People in Barstow, he said, know each other.

Tom Auerswald likes the people in Barstow, too, but there’s plenty he doesn’t care for.

During Auerswald’s 16 or so years in Barstow, he’s enjoyed meeting “very nice people” and learning about the town’s “wild” history, he said. But his overall impression of the area isn’t flattering. It’s “different as night and day” from northern California, which is where he’s from, he said.

Auerswald said he sees problems with homelessness and gangs.

The town, he said, lacks vision.

“Barstow could have been the Victorville, Apple Valley, and it’s not,” he said.

Although Gilmartin lists Barstow’s incidents of violent crime as above the national average, a Morgan Quitno study recently named Victorville the 15th most dangerous city in California.

Margaret San Millan, a volunteer at the Western American Railroad Museum, sees Barstow a lot differently than the critics. She takes issue with Barstow’s appearance in the book and its particularly its complaint of the town’s “slew of noisy railyards.”

“It’s because of the railroad that the town is here,” she said.

The town has “tremendous” freight traffic, she said, but that’s not a bad thing.

“Quite frankly,” she said, “we like the sound of the trains.”

“The Absolutely Worst Places to Live in America” was published by Thomas Dunne Books, an imprint of St. Martin’s Press. No one at Thomas Dunne Books or St. Martin’s Press could be reached for comment. The book is available at retailers such as Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com and costs $14.95. - Stevie St. John, The Barstow Desert Dispatch

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TRANSIT NEWS

NEW ROUTE FOR COMMUTER RAIL

MILWAUKEE, WI -- As soon as next month, regional leaders could start discussing whether to get aboard a $237 million plan to link Milwaukee, Racine, Kenosha, Wisconsin and the southern suburbs with commuter trains.

Map here:

[graphics.jsonline.com]

Rail backers are touting the plan's expected economic benefits, while the new Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Transit Authority is wrestling with how to pay for the service.

If the effort succeeds, it would bring back a mode of transportation that disappeared from Milwaukee about 40 years ago. Commuter rail lines run on existing freight tracks, connecting a major city and its suburbs. They're designed for local trips, unlike intercity Amtrak trains such as the Milwaukee-to-Chicago Hiawatha line.

In its latest form, the Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee commuter rail line, or KRM Commuter Link, would offer more frequent service and more stops - but at a higher cost - than the version that emerged from a previous study in 2003. Passengers would have to change trains to continue into Illinois.

The project's steering committee is recommending KRM trains run 14 round trips each weekday, and seven on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. With the aid of connecting buses and shuttles, workers could ride trains to and from their jobs, while others could use trains to reach colleges, shops, entertainment and festivals.

Trains would stop at downtown Milwaukee's Amtrak station; new stations on the south side (probably Bay View), Cudahy, South Milwaukee, Oak Creek, Caledonia and the Town of Somers; Racine's renovated train station; and Kenosha's Metra commuter train station. Some trains could continue to Waukegan, Illinois.

Shuttle buses would run from the downtown Milwaukee station to other downtown destinations; from the Cudahy station to Mitchell International Airport; and from the Somers station to the University of Wisconsin-Parkside.

Fares would be similar to Chicago's Metra trains, at less than $10 one-way between Milwaukee and Kenosha.

Separate from Metra

For years, the proposed rail line has been described as a Metra extension. But the new version would be a separate system connecting with Metra at Kenosha or Waukegan.

Metra, an Illinois governmental agency, has said it could not provide service to another state. The Union Pacific railroad pays for service between the state line and Kenosha because that is less expensive than building a new facility for trains to turn around at the border. And the South Shore line, from Chicago to South Bend, Indiana, is largely funded by Indiana taxpayers and run as a separate system, in coordination with Metra.

Wisconsin planners also found the KRM line would have more flexibility if it wasn't directly tied to Metra, said Fred Patrie, chairman of the KRM steering committee.

The 2003 study called for a $152 million line with seven round trips on weekdays and three on weekends and holidays. Patrie said closer study found a 14-train schedule would be more cost-effective, drawing 1.43 million rides a year. The price tag rose because of the increased service, inflation and the need to build a rail yard and shops instead of using Metra facilities, said Ken Yunker, deputy director of the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission.

Also, the 2003 study didn't include the Bay View stop, which was pushed by Milwaukee city officials and neighbors.

If authorities move quickly enough, service could start by 2010, providing an alternative to driving on I-94 when freeway reconstruction moves into high gear between Milwaukee and the state line, Patrie said.

Consultants also found that the rail line would spur development near stations; provide better access to jobs, colleges, cultural events and Mitchell International Airport; and help reduce traffic congestion, air pollution and urban sprawl, Yunker said.

But officials still don't know how they'd pay for the service. At a regional transit authority meeting Monday, Yunker suggested the federal government could pick up as much as 90% of the capital cost. Kenosha Transit chief Len Brandrup, an authority member, called that estimate unrealistic. Congress has authorized $80 million for the line to date.

Operating costs would run $14.7 million a year, with fares covering $3.8 million. The Virchow Krause & Co. consulting firm is studying nearly 20 options to pick up the remaining $10.9 million, ranging from sales, gas and property taxes to tax-incremental financing districts that would use tax growth from rising property values near stations.

Brandrup said new property taxes would be "dead on arrival." Milwaukee County public works chief George Torres, another authority member, and state Rep. Jeff Stone (R-Greendale) said they were intrigued by the tax-district idea. Brandrup said it would take years for property values to grow enough to produce a revenue stream.

It will be up to the regional transit authority to push the process forward for federal approval and to recommend how to finance it. New or increased taxes would need the approval of the state Legislature or local governments. Public hearings are expected in late December or early January.

Before that happens, the idea will be discussed by the Milwaukee, Racine and Kenosha mayors and county executives. Leaders of the Milwaukee 7 regional development group will discuss it Wednesday. - Larry Sandler, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

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LIGHT RAIL SYSTEM EXPANSION PREDICTED

SEATTLE, WA -- The nation's top transportation official visits the Puget Sound region on Monday, and a prediction is she'll announce another move to extend the region's light rail system north to the University of Washington.

Mary Peters, named transportation secretary by President Bush and confirmed just weeks ago, will visit Seattle and in Everett. In addition to her expected announcement of federal support for extending the line 3.1 miles from downtown, she is expected to pledge federal money for repairs to roads damaged in this month's floods.

Sound Transit Board Chairman John Ladenburg said he believes Peters will announce that her agency is recommending congressional approval of as much as $750 million in federal cash toward the $1.7 billion cost of the extension.

Ladenburg said he was speculating about Peters' announcement, which won't be official until she appears in Seattle on Monday with Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., who was recently elected to the fourth-ranking post in her party caucus and expected to soon chair a key transportation committee.

Sound Transit requested an initial $700 million to help finance the UW link and later requested $50 million more.

The Federal Transit Administration, part of the agency Peters heads, told Sound Transit a year ago that it was giving the UW project a "high" rating. Ladenburg said he expects the proposal to continue to do well "since it's the same rules" that determine a project's priority.

Murray spokeswoman Alex Glass could not confirm details of the announcement but said "it would not be shocking to me" if the next step for the rail extension was part of the news.

If so, it would be the second major federal grant for the Link Light Rail system. Sound Transit earlier received $500 million in federal cash for the first 15.6 miles of the rail system, between downtown Seattle and Sea-Tac Airport.

The agency hopes to begin extending the system from downtown to the university by way of Capitol Hill by mid-2008 and begin operating it by 2016. The initial link from Westlake Mall to the airport is scheduled to beginning running in 2009.

Peters is scheduled to make her announcement during a 09:30 tour of the downtown light rail tunnel. Then she'll meet at 14:00 with Murray and Gov. Chris Gregoire at Paine Field in Everett to announce federal assistance for flood damage, which hit Snohomish and Skagit counties particularly hard.

Peters' first stop will be at 08:20 at the Colman Ferry Dock, where she'll be briefed about the state ferry system and greet passengers as part of a press "photo-op." - The Seattle Post-Intelligencer

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THE END