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Railroad Newsline for Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Compiled by Larry W. Grant

In Memory of Rob Carlson, 1952 – 2006

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RAIL NEWS

ENGINEER MISSING AND FEARED DEAD AFTER FREIGHT TRAIN DERAILS IN BRITISH COLUMBIA

TRAIL, BC -- A crewman is missing and feared dead after a train carrying fertilizer came off its tracks in Trail yesterday, spilling some of its load.

The Canadian Pacific Railway train was heading into a marshalling yard in Trail from Warfield at about 15:30 hours when its braking system apparently failed.

The train was hauling ammonium sulphate fertilizer for Teck Cominco Ltd.

Two of three men in the lead locomotive were accounted for last night. The third, the train's engineer, had yet to be found.

"There are any number of possibilities [about what may have happened to him]," said Sgt. Nick Romanchuk of the Trail RCMP last night. "Given the time that's past [since he was last seen] there's certainly a possibility he may have succumbed in the crash."

Romanchuk said the Transportation Safety Board is investigating, along with CP Rail Police. BC Ambulance personnel also responded to the incident along with crews from Trail Regional Fire Rescue and Teck Cominco fire department.

The two found train-crew members were in what company spokes-man Mark Seland described as a "critical stress debriefing" last night. The men suffered minor injuries.

Seland said brake failure may have caused the crash.

Witnesses reported hearing a loud roaring sound as the train rolled down the hill, then a mighty crash.

"We do know that the train did encounter some problems with braking and that's what led to this incident," Seland said.

He said the two locomotives and eight cars carrying fertilizer left the tracks near Highway 22A.
"Some of them, we don't know how many of them, have spilled their load," Seland said.

He said CP Rail is confident ammonium sulphate does not pose an environmental hazard in solid form.

"In a solid format [the fertilizer] will not migrate. It's not flowing to a body of water," Seland said. - Matthew Ramsey, The Vancouver Province

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BNSF PROFIT FALLS, MEETS WALL STREET VIEW

CHICAGO, IL -- U.S. railroad Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. Tuesday reported a lower quarterly profit after a charge for environmental costs but met analyst expectations as all hauling units saw revenue up.

BNSF shares slid more than 2 percent after the announcement.

The Fort Worth, Texas-based company posted first-quarter net income of $349 million or 96 cents a share, compared with $410 million or $1.09 a share, a year earlier.

Excluding a charge of 14 cents related to higher environmental expenses, BNSF earned $1.10 a share for the quarter.

On average Wall Street analysts had expected earnings per share of $1.10, according to Reuters Estimates.

"I think this shows BNSF continues to do well even when U.S. economic growth is slowing," said Don Hodges of Dallas-based Hodges Fund, which manages assets of $1 billion and owns BNSF stock.

"They still have good pricing power, and they're operating more efficiently," he added.

Hodges Fund's single largest position is in BNSF stock. The fund first started buying the railroad's shares in 2004 when they were trading at around $35, Hodges said.

BNSF pre-announced the 14 cent charge in early April, saying that it was related to a site cleanup in the state of Washington and another in California.

The company said in a presentation for analysts that it expects freight revenue to grow by 5 percent to 6 percent, although freight volumes will remain flat, and earnings per share will be roughly flat with the same period in 2006.

The railroad reported first-quarter revenue of $3.54 billion, up from $3.37 billion a year earlier.

Analysts had forecast first-quarter revenue of $3.64 billion.

BNSF said revenue at its consumer products division rose 5 percent to $1.31 billion from $1.25 billion a year earlier.

Revenue at the company's coal hauling unit was up 11.8 percent, agricultural products revenue was up 4.9 percent and industrial products revenue was 0.5 percent higher.

The number of rail cars in BNSF's network declined slightly to 2.507 million from 2.521 million a year earlier. Revenue per car rose to $1,414 from $1,336.

Earlier this month Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. said it had bought a 10.9 percent stake in the railroad, making Berkshire BNSF's largest shareholder. Berkshire Hathaway also spent $700 million on stakes in two as yet unnamed railroads.

Buffett made his name by investing in companies with strong management and businesses he considers undervalued.

Over the past few years the railroads have seen rising profits on the back of higher U.S. imports, strong demand for coal from utilities, improved operations and better margins.

BNSF is widely seen as a market leader in many areas.

Hodges Fund's Hodges said Buffett's investment in BNSF was "reassuring."

"This confirms what we have felt all along, that this is a growth industry with good long-term prospects," he said.

In trade on the New York Stock Exchange, BNSF shares were down $1.99 or 2.15 percent at $90.61. - Reuters

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HISTORIC STEAM LOCOMOTIVE TO VISIT PACIFIC NORTHWEST ON HERITAGE TOUR

Photo here:

[www.uprr.com]

OMAHA, NE -- Union Pacific Railroad's historic steam locomotive, No. 844, will travel more than 3,000 miles from its base in Wyoming on a 29-day, four-state tour to the Pacific Northwest, to celebrate the railroad’s history and heritage.

The "Pacific Northwest Portland Rose Heritage Tour" will begin on May 3 when No. 844 leaves Cheyenne, Wyoming, and travels to Rock Springs, Wyoming. The locomotive will make overnight stops and be on display in:

· Rock Springs, Wyoming

· Pocatello, Boise, Nampa and Montpelier, Idaho

· La Grande, Hinkle, The Dalles, Portland, Oreegon

· Tacoma, Washington

before arriving back in Cheyenne on May 31.

"This will be the first time No. 844 has operated north of Portland and we look forward to bringing a piece of living history to this part of our rail network," said Steve Lee, Union Pacific’s manager – operating practices and locomotive engineer. "We are extremely proud of our collection of historical railroad equipment, which is the largest of any U. S. railroad, especially our steam locomotives."

While in the Pacific Northwest, No. 844 will pull a special public excursion train on Saturday, May 19 between Tacoma and Everett, Washington. The Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation is sponsoring the Puget Sound Steam Special. For ticket information contact TicketsWest at www.ticketswest.com or 800-992-8499.

Joining No. 844 for a portion of the trip, between Portland and Everett, Wash., will be the Southern Pacific steam locomotive No. 4449. This will mark the second time these two steam locomotives will pull the same train, the first was when they both pulled a few legs of the American Freedom Train during the United States’ bicentennial celebration in 1976.

No. 844, also known as Union Pacific’s "Living Legend," returned to service in 2005 after one of the most extensive steam locomotive overhauls in the United States since the 1950s. The work began in 2000 and affected its running gear, pumps, piping, valves and springs, along with replacement of its firebox and extensive boiler work. The cab interior also was refurbished. No. 844 was the last steam locomotive built for Union Pacific Railroad and was delivered in 1944. A high-speed passenger engine, it pulled such widely known trains as the Overland Limited, Los Angeles Limited, Portland Rose and Challenger.

When diesel-electric locomotives took over all passenger train duties, No. 844 was placed in freight service in Nebraska between 1957 and 1959. It was saved from being scrapped in 1960 and held for special service.

No. 844 has run hundreds of thousands of miles for UP's Heritage program. It has made appearances at Expo '74 in Spokane, the 1981 opening of the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento, the 1984 World's Fair in New Orleans and the 50th Anniversary Celebration of the Los Angeles Union Station in 1989.

A Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) transmitter was installed on one of the rail cars that will travel with No. 844. The GPS system has been integrated with a map on UP’s Web site. Enter the word "Steam" in the search box on the homepage for a shortcut to the map.

Web site visitors will be able to access route maps with varying amounts of detail. The GPS system will update the map every five minutes showing No. 844’s location. - Mark Davis, UP News Release

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END OF THE LINE NEAR FOR TRAIN-TRACK DINER

CHICAGO, IL -- The food is typical fast-food fare -- hot dogs, sandwiches and burgers -- and the furnishings are run-of-the-mill diner, with vinyl tablecloths and a jukebox.

But when a Lionel train toting entrees emerges on tracks running from the kitchen and young customers start to squeal "choo-choo," it becomes apparent why a visit to Snackville Junction, 9144 S. Kedzie Ave. in Evergreen Park has become a tradition that, in many cases, spans generations.

"If I had a nickel for every time a customer tells me that they came here when they were a kid, and now they are bringing their grandchild, I'd be a millionaire," said Jeff Silhan, who has owned the restaurant for 21 years. "It's one of those places that you eventually outgrow, but then you get married and want to bring your kids, and then those kids grow up and bring theirs."

As much as Silhan loves the tradition behind the 60-year-old restaurant, he's had enough. The 55-year-old former paramedic recently retired from the Chicago Fire Department and doesn't want to be tethered any longer to a full-time business.

The restaurant closes Sunday. He's still looking for a buyer.

The clue to Snackville Junction's allure over the years is simple, he said.

"It's the goofy train," he said with a laugh.

On Monday, customer Bill Hynes sat on ketchup-and-mustard-color barstools with his 5-year-old son, Liam.

Liam wiggled excitedly in his chair when a train whistle sounded, and a tiny Union Pacific engine appeared on tracks leading from the kitchen, pulling their lunches in plastic mesh baskets behind it. After a waitress handed them their baskets, the train continued along its path and returned to the kitchen on tracks behind the soda pop machines and coffee pots.

"Choo, choo," Liam crowed.

"I like trains," he said later as he munched on a french fry. "I have a train movie."

Hynes remembers hanging out at the diner's former location, 11016 S. Western Ave., in Chicago's Beverly neighborhood as a teenager. He didn't return until he had children, he said. Now, he and Liam visit regularly.

Silhan bought Snackville Junction in 1986 when it was still on Western Avenue. When his lease ended in 1996, he announced he was closing. But about 200 pleading phone calls later, Silhan decided to look for another location.

In the new spot, Snackville continued to offer a kid-friendly menu, such as the Conductor (junior cheeseburger), the Clubcar (BLT) and a Cheddarnooga Choo Choo (a burger with cheddar), while the trains made their continuous loop around the counter.

Silhan has about 20 Lionel trains, though on any given day, five are in the repair shop, he said. Children sometimes get too excited and knock them off the tracks.

Birthday parties have been popular, as is the free Thanksgiving dinner that Silhan and his staff cook every year for the neighborhood.

Colleen Kelly, 19, had birthday parties at Snackville Junction when she was a child. Once she turned 16, she started working as a waitress behind the counter. David Stange, a cook, remembers walking to the restaurant from school.

"When I tell people where I work, they say, 'You work at the train place?'

" Kelly said. "I love the atmosphere, the kids."

George Heinz of Evergreen Park stopped in Monday for one last lunch. Heinz came in for Thanksgiving dinner, he said, and had been looking forward to eventually showing the trains to his new grandchild.

"I wanted to bring my grandson in, but he's only 4 months old," he said. "I guess it's too late." - Alexa Aguilar, The Chicago Tribune

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FORMER ZOO TRAIN OPERATOR NOT SURPRISED BY WEEKEND CRASH

MEMPHIS, TN -- Ten people hurt when a train ride at the Memphis Zoo tipped over are recovering at home Monday night.

The Memphis Zoo is still not releasing the identity of the train's operator or what his or her future is with the zoo.

Action News 5 reporter Blair Simmons talked to a former zoo train operator and he says he's not surprised by this weekend's crash.

Marleigh Patton's Girl Scout trip to the zoo turned into a train wreck Saturday when the train ride she was on with five of her friends crashed.

She says the train was taking a curve too fast, "me and Adriana was screaming stop, stop," says Patton.

But the train's operator didn't stop. Patton flew out of the train car scraping her face, splitting her lip and gashing her knee.

Nine others had similar injuries requiring X-rays and stitches.

As a former zoo train operator, Jamie Dickey, says it was just a matter of time before something like this happened.

"Everyday made me nervous, everyday," says Dickey.

Dickey says there aren't many requirements to be a train operator at the zoo. He says all they required of him was a driver's license.

Dickey says there's no real science to that either.

Dickey adds, "the driver inspects it, but driver is typically somebody like me who has no training in trains, maybe a high school kid, college kid, seasonal employees. They take one look at it. Looks fine to them and there you go. "I think an accident was bound to happen before too long. The way the train is constructed, the tracks laid out, it's kind of dangerous.

But, Dickey says, the zoo does need to do something about the train before anybody else gets hurt.

Zoo officials say they will pay the hospital bills for the ten people who were hurt and they are still investigating the incident.

They hope to have a full report by Tuesday. At least three victims have hired an attorney.

One attorney says they are investigating to see if the zoo was negligent. - Blair Simmons, WMC-TV5, Memphis, TN

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CP RAIL'S PROFIT JUMPS DESPITE WEATHER

Photo here:

[ca.today.reuters.com]

VANCOUVER, BC -- Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. reported an 18 percent jump in first-quarter earnings on Tuesday, despite harsh winter weather that disrupted operations in Western Canada.

The company said while trains delayed by weather and slower port operations in Vancouver hurt the quarter's freight revenue, it still expects to handle that traffic, including export coal shipments, later in the year.

"I am absolutely delighted (vice president for operations, Brock Winter) and his team have come through hell," Chief Executive Fred Green told analysts.

The company had net earnings of C$128.6 million ($114.8 million), or 82 Canadian cents per share, in the first three months of 2007. That compares with a profit of C$108.8 million, or 69 Canadian cents a share, a year earlier.

In March, CP officials had warned that they expected earnings to be hit by both weather conditions that damaged its mainline in British Columbia and disruptions caused by a strike at larger rival Canadian National Railway.

Analysts surveyed by Reuters Estimates had expected earnings of 77.6 Canadian cents per share, with individual predictions ranging from 64 to 86 Canadian cents.

The railroad estimated that weather problems eroded earnings by about 10 Canadian cents a share.
Excluding foreign exchange gains and losses on long-term debt, diluted earnings per share rose 8 percent to 78 Canadian cents from 72 Canadian cents.

Canadian Pacific, which has operations in Canada and the United States, said revenue in the quarter was C$1.09 billion, up from C$1.07 billion a year earlier.

CP said its operating ratio -- a transportation industry measure of efficiency -- improved to 79.5 percent from 79.6 percent a year ago. It would have improved by 200 basis points without the weather-related problems, the company estimated.

The carrier on Tuesday boosted its free cash outlook to C$300 million in 2007, up from an earlier estimate of C$250 million, citing a reduction in CP's cash pension funding requirement to about C$100 million.

CP now plans to buy back up to 15.5 million of its outstanding common shares for cancellation, representing about 10 percent of the public float. That's about 10 million more shares than it had announced in March.

Under Canadian securities law, the most the company can repurchase is 2 percent per month, so the impact of the buyback on earnings per share will likely not be seen until next year, executives told analysts.

CP's chief rival Canadian National Railway, which was hurt by the same Western Canadian weather problems and suffered a two-week strike in the quarter, reported a 10-percent drop in its first-quarter profit on Monday. – Reuters

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AAR SAYS MAJOR FREIGHT RAILROADS TO SPEND $9.4 BILLION ON IMPROVEMENTS IN 2007

WASHINGTON, DC -- United States Class I freight railroads will invest $9.4 million in 2007 this year for various initiatives designed to increase capacity, improve service for shippers and rail customers, and augment existing track and equipment according to Edward R. Hamberger, president and CEO of the Association of American Railroads.

Speaking Surface Transportation Board hearing for Ex Parte 671, Rail Capacity and Infrastructure requirements earlier this month, Hamberger said that this investment trumps last year's $8.6 billion and is a new spending record. He added that railroad capital spending has increased by nearly 60 percent over the last four years. And he also said that the huge investments made by railroads reflect their "extreme capital intensity," noting that in the past ten years railroads have spent an average of 17.2 percent of revenues on capital expenditures in comparison to an average of 3.4 percent for manufacturing.

As has been the case in the past few years, railroad freight volumes have continued to rise at unprecedented levels -- as evidenced by the industry's record-breaking 2006 performance. But the uptick in volume has also brought about capacity constraints at various junctions and corridors within the rail network, with excess capacity disappearing from many critical segments of the U.S. rail network, Hamberger said in his testimony.

AAR director of editorial services Tom White told Logistics Management that long-term growth for the railroads has arrived and it is reflected in the growing year-over-year investments.

"Everybody is pretty much convinced that while long-term growth is here, there is also an economic slowdown [at the moment], but that may provide railroad carriers with an opportunity to get ahead of the game to prepare for when things start to pick up again," said White.

Other key spending drivers, said White, include adding capacity which will benefit shippers because railroad carriers will be able to handle more freight and improve service levels simultaneously. He added this will also result in less congestion on the rails as well, which tends to slow freight movements down.

And the whole purpose of these improvements through this increased investment is to allow railroad carriers to handle greater volume with greater efficiency, which works out to the advantage of shippers, said White.

Another point raised in Hamberger's testimony was that freight railroads are at the forefront in terms of computer usage and information technology implementation to "improve overall capacity and the fluidity of their operations."

William J. Rennicke, director of Boston-based Mercer Management Consulting, said that technology is aiding infrastructure and capacity improvements in various ways.

"Things like wireless and digital signal systems are being widely used and are much easier to maintain than the previous analog systems," said Rennicke. "When you look at these investments, it is not just about infrastructure. It is also the technology behind those dollars that is giving railroads a boost."

Infrastructure initiatives

Here are some examples of the $9.4 billion being invested by U.S. freight railroads this year into capacity and infrastructure improvements, according to the AAR:

· BNSF Railway Co. plans to double- or triple-track on about 30 miles of its Southern Transcontinental Route between Southern California and Chicago and is also adding roughly 60 miles of third and fourth main track in the Powder River Basin and plans to complete about 50 miles of double track in Nebraska and Wyoming

· CSX will spend $800 million for infrastructure improvements, with some of the funding going to intermodal products, including an expansion of terminals in Buffalo, Tampa, and Bedford Park, Illinois. It is also collaborating with the Port of Savannah, Georgia to construct an on-dock loading facility

· Norfolk Southern expects to spend $610 million for rail, crosstie, ballast, and bridge programs, including $73 million in infrastructure investments for increased capacity

- Jeff Berman, Logistics Management

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FELONY CHARGE LEVELED IN RAILROAD CROSSING CASE

LAPORTE, IN -- Driving around railroad crossing arms is something many drivers have probably done at some point.

But, for one LaPorte man, it could mean going to prison.

Marty Kraus, 30, of the 100 block of Laurel Street, is charged with neglect of a dependent, a Class D felony.

Police said he was taken to the LaPorte County Jail after he was caught driving around the arms of the Pulaski Street railroad crossing Wednesday.

LaPorte Police Chief of Detectives Dennis Behenna said more officers are arresting drivers on the felony charge for what's typically viewed as a traffic violation.

"It's entirely different if you're in the car by yourself, but you're endangering the life of the child," Behenna said.

According to police, officer Joshua Mann happened to see Kraus pass a truck already stopped behind the crossing arms for the oncoming train and maneuver across the tracks.

The train was about 75 yards away when Kraus made it through, police said.

He was quickly pulled over.

In the back seat was his 6-year-old daughter, who was just then trying to put on her seat belt, police said.

According to police, Kraus told the officer he was trying to get his daughter to school.

Mann also ticketed him for disregarding a railroad signal, a child restraint violation and driving on a suspended license.

Those alleged infractions could have played a role in the decision to take Kraus to jail, Behenna said.

If convicted of child neglect, Kraus could face anywhere from a six-month to three-year sentence. - Stan Maddux, The South Bend Tribune

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BNSF POISED TO MAKE MEMPHIS INTEGRAL PART OF SYSTEM

The BNSF Railway Company has taken another step toward expanding its local footprint in Memphis, Tennessee. Earlier this month, BNSF filed a $2.1 million building permit to convert a vacant building into office space and locker rooms for employees.

Memphis could become an integral component of BNSF as employees work to increase velocity and delivery of goods across the Southeast.

"BNSF Railway is expanding its intermodal facility at Tennessee Yard in Memphis to meet increasing freight transportation demands for the region," Joseph Faust, regional director, Public Affairs, said. "Memphis is a major gateway to the Southeastern United States. There's a demand for moving goods to Memphis where we interchange with other rail carriers to distribute to destinations throughout the Southeast."

Currently, the Memphis facility handles 250,000 intermodal lifts a year.

"The numbers of lifts may double in our expansion phases," said Faust. "We think within the next five years, conservatively speaking, we may be at 500,000 lifts – with the ability to increase that," adding that it's conceivable for BNSF to reach one million lifts as the Southeast population grows and the arrival of manufactured goods from Asia increases.

The expansion of BNSF in Memphis should create a ripple effect of other new developments and growth in an area buzzing with warehouses, distribution centers and other transportation industries. As BNSF ramps up its expansion plans here, Faust said, there are still many unknowns, such as how much the company's presence will grow and how soon. BNSF will work to form partnerships with local officials to ensure compatibility.

"BNSF Railway’s expansion efforts in Memphis will require the company to work cooperatively with the city management, as well as regional and state agencies," Faust said. "It is important for all parties to understand the significant impact this kind of expansion can bring to the community." - Eric Smith, The Daily News, BNSF Today

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BIPARTISAN LEGISLATION FOR A 25-PERCENT TAX INCENTIVE FOR CAPITAL EXPENDITURES REINTRODUCED

Bipartisan legislation has been reintroduced by Senators Trent Lott (R-MS) and Kent Conrad (D-ND) that would provide a 25-percent tax incentive for capital expenditures for new expansion purposes. Railroads, ports, shippers, trucking companies and other transportation businesses all qualify for the tax credit. The Freight Rail Infrastructure Capacity Expansion Act (S. 1125) is intended to help combat congestion across the nation’s increasingly clogged transportation network. The next step in the legislative process is to have an identical bill introduced in the House, which is expected to happen in the near future.

The Department of Transportation predicts that by the year 2020 freight rail infrastructure will need to meet a 67-percent spike in freight traffic. This is one step in the process of making sure commerce is not halted in the United States as it faces this spike.

BNSF supports the bill along with the railroad industry and will be lobbying to help make sure it is enacted into law. This bill would help BNSF expand capacity more quickly and improve velocity while benefiting the entire nation’s network of railroads. - BNSF Today

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AUTHORIZATION FOR CONTAINER TERMINAL MASTER PLAN EXPECTED

HOUSTON, TX -- The port commission of the Port of Houston Authority on Monday was expected to authorize the creation of a master plan for the development of a huge container terminal adjacent to Galveston Island.

The plan will look at the construction of a terminal on 1,200 acres of land on Pelican Island, just north of Galveston's harborfront on property already owned by the Port of Houston and Port of Galveston.

The proposed terminal would cost some $1 billion to build out and, depending on financing and permit issues, would likely not go into operation until between 2016 and 2021. At full build-out, it would have six vessel berths, while the still-expanding Bayport container terminal will have seven.

The Pelican Island project would face major infrastructure challenges, such as expanding and constructing railroad lines, and would need to pass several environmental hurdles in both the permitting process and expected objections from environmental groups.

Houston's 30-year-old Barbours Cut Terminal is operating at 150 percent of capacity, and the Bayport facility will absorb 25 percent of its workload when the recently opened first phase is fully operational.

Port officials say there will be enough container business 10 or 15 years from now to justify a third terminal.

The Port of Houston owns the bulk of the land on Pelican Island's southeast side -- some 1,100 acres -- with Galveston owning an adjacent 100-acre waterfront parcel.

The board of trustees of the Galveston Wharves, which oversees Port of Galveston operations, was also expected on Monday to approve the master development plan. - The Houston Business Journal

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LEGAL TROUBLE IN WEST END DEPOT RUBBLE

Photo here:

[www.wfaa.com]

Caption reads: A lawsuit filed 11 months ago by the city of Dallas against a West End property owner and demolition contractor claims the demolition of the historic Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad depot took place without a proper permit. In pretrial developments, the city's request for the reconstruction of the depot was dismissed. (Ben Sklar/Dallas Morning News)

DALLAS, TX -- The dusty tumble of concrete and brick has occupied the western edge of the West End for so long now -- almost a year -- that it seems a permanent part of the landscape.

But behind the scenes, the legal fight over the demolition of the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad depot lurches along in the run-up to the trial for the city of Dallas' lawsuit against property owner TCI West End Inc. and demolition contractor Weir Industries.

Map here:

[www.dallasnews.com]

One of those pretrial developments drastically alters what the city hoped would happen to the three-acre parcel at 302 N. Houston St. - a new depot building, as close to identical to its predecessor as possible.

"The trial judge [Jim Jordan] has granted the property owner's summary judgment motion in part and dismissed our claims for an injunction requiring reconstruction of the building," said Chris Bowers, chief of litigation for the Dallas city attorney's office.

The rest of the city's lawsuit remains in place, Mr. Bowers said. And since the lawsuit was filed 11 months ago, Dallas has gained a co-plaintiff, the Texas Historical Commission.

The depot, built about 1925, was largely demolished over the weekend of April 29, 2006. The city maintains that demolition of the sprawling, single-story red brick depot took place without a proper permit and without the permission of the city's Landmark Commission and City Council -- necessities for demolishing buildings in the West End Historic District.

Photo here:

[www.dallasnews.com]

Caption reads: The lawsuit surrounding the freight depot, built about 1925, is scheduled to go to trial in a Dallas district court on Aug. 6.

The only permit issued for demolition work on the property, the city said, was for a small 1970s addition covering 500 square feet, and that permit was revoked a week before the work took place.

Al Weir of Weir Industries told The Dallas Morning News last year that his company had a permit.
"The one I have is to demolish the building and clear the lot," he said.

At that time, he blamed any problems on "some ambiguity between the city and Transcontinental," which lists the same address as TCI West End and conveyed the depot property to TCI West End in March 2006.

That permit is at the center of the lawsuit, scheduled to go to trial in a Dallas district court on Aug. 6.

But there could be a whole lot of legal wrangling between now and then.

Attorney Mitchell Madden, representing the defendants, has filed a motion for summary judgment regarding the Texas Historical Commission's role in the lawsuit. That action is scheduled to be heard May 1.

Defense attorneys also requested that the court drop from the lawsuit a notice of lis pendens -- a warning to potential purchasers of the property that there is pending legal action. Two Dallas County judges and a local appeals court rejected that request, and it is now before the Texas Supreme Court.

"It's a continuing effort to address the trial court's action in denying removal," Mr. Madden said. "We're simply seeking appellate review."

According to city officials and West End business people, the 130,200-square-foot depot property is up for sale. The property is valued at $5,893,550 by the Dallas Central Appraisal District. The reported asking price is about $70 a square foot, Mr. Bowers said, or about $9 million.

"We've had some discussions with a potential purchaser," Mr. Bowers said. "Basically, if you buy the property, you buy the lawsuit."

With the brisk construction of the nearby Victory development and the continuing evolution of the West End, "I'm sure that property is worth quite a bit more now than it was a year ago," said Bill McKee, chairman of the board of the West End Association.

Reflecting that, the city of Dallas has amended its lawsuit and added a claim alleging that TCI West End misled the city with its application for a demolition permit and was unjustly enriched as a result.

"So we seek an order that would put the property in trust for the benefit of the city," Mr. Bowers said.

If the city ultimately wins its suit, resulting in a significant financial penalty against the demolition company and property owner, Mr. McKee said he personally would like to see the money allocated toward construction of the planned West End Festival Plaza.

But no matter how the legal matters turn out, he and many in the West End want the issue settled, and soon.

"We'd love to see that rubble gone, absolutely," he said. "And then some kind of development going in there would be wonderful.

"In the West End, it's prime time." - Michael E. Young, The Dallas Morning News

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CN PROFIT FELL 10 PERCENT ON WEATHER, STRIKE

TORONTO, ON -- Canadian National Railway Co., the country's largest railroad, said first-quarter profit fell 10 percent as a two-week strike and unprecedented storm damage boosted costs and damped revenue.

Net income was C$324 million ($289 million), or 63 cents a share, compared with C$362 million, or 66 cents, a year earlier, Chief Executive Officer E. Hunter Harrison said today on a conference call. Sales rose 0.5 percent to C$1.91 billion.

Harrison is struggling to prevent labor conflicts with conductors and yard workers from overshadowing gains from higher freight rates and lower operating expenses. Severe storms in western Canada led to track-damaging landslides.

"They weathered the storm very well, and now the storm is over and they're back on track,'' Dan Ortwerth, a St. Louis- based analyst for Edward Jones & Co. said in an interview. "I had projected volumes getting hit worse than they did.''

Avalanches and landslides in western Canada blocked the Montreal-based railroad's main line to and from Vancouver's port in March, contributing to C$30 million in weather-related damage, while the February work stoppage cut revenue by C$60 million, Executive Vice President James Foote said.

"In one day we had 14 avalanches, the kind of thing we've never experienced before,'' Harrison said on the conference call.

Analysts' Estimates

Per-share profit trailed analysts' projections of 64 cents, the average of 19 estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

Shares fell 45 cents, or 0.8 percent, to C$55.85 at 4:15 p.m. in Toronto Stock Exchange trading. The company announced earnings after the market closed. Shares have gained 12 percent this year.
The railroad announced a quarterly divided of 21 cents a share will be paid June 29.

Average freight price increases of 4 percent in the quarter helped increase the amount charged per railcar by 5.4 percent to C$1,551, the company said in a statement.

Rising shipments of grain, coal, fertilizer for U.S. buyers will more than offset lower demand for lumber and construction materials, Foote said in the call with analysts. That will help boost freight charges by 4 percent to 5 percent in 2007, and drive up full-year revenue by 5 percent to 6 percent, he said.

Work stoppages resumed this month after union members voted down a one-year labor contract. The union asserted that the accord, reached after the February strike, didn't address "harassment'' used by management to boost productivity.

Canada's Labor Minister Jean-Pierre Blackburn today named Andrew Sims, a mediator with the Alberta Labour Relations Board as the arbitrator in the labor dispute, the government said in a statement.

Sims has 90 days to review the best final offers from both parties, and will then select one of those offers to stand as the binding, collective agreement. Union members returned to work on April 19 after Canadian lawmakers passed a back-to-work bill. - Rob Delaney, Bloomberg News

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DEPOT ONCE CENTER OF TOWN

Photo here:

[www.saukherald.com]

Caption reads: The West Union depot structure is being preserved in the back yard of the home Pat and Don Miller (above) live in, about two miles southeast of town, alongside Silver Creek. (Carol Moorman/Sauk Centre Herald)

SAUK CENTRE, MN -- Like many smaller communities today, West Union, Minnesota has lost a number of businesses and remains pretty much a bedroom town for larger towns such as Sauk Centre, Osakis and Long Prairie. Businesses in town such as a hotel and restaurant which later became the Sidewalk Pub, lumber yard, hardware store, blacksmith shop, grocery store and meat market, even an ice cream store, flourished. But today there are fewer area farms and farmers, and better means of transportation allowing residents to go elsewhere to do business.

With the population at a high of near 150 a half century ago, the town realizes only about 80 today.

A couple of generations ago farmers came in to receive a hair cut from Joe Marthaler Sr. at his hardware store, leaving whatever the customer wished as a donation. St. Alexius Catholic Church was home to many families, and an October Sunday was set aside for sausage suppers which is one tradition still in existence in West Union.

Within this early setting came the tracks of the Great Northern Railroad, long before it made national television news when one of its passenger trains rolled on its side after rails split from a -30 degree nighttime temperature.

For decades three passenger trains would come from each directions, passing through town as youngsters waved to the engineer and fireman. These trains only supplemented the number of freight trains, from steamers to later diesels, which carried livestock and grain one way, bringing in return farm machinery, hardware store items, and the like along the route from the Twin Cities to Seattle.

One important building in the midst of all this commerce was the West Union depot. Thankfully, although the train tracks have been uprooted to make way for walking, bicycling, and snowmobiling along the Lake Wobegon Trail, the depot is being carefully preserved in the backyard of Pat and Don Miller about two miles southeast of town, alongside Silver Creek.

The Great Northern Railroad came through starting in 1878 with the depot being built along the edge of present-day West Union Park shortly thereafter.

Records disclose that different organizations had used the depot as a meeting place. One notice was displayed in the depot which announced the defeat of a liquor license to someone.

Another memento told of a directors meeting of the Silver Creek Cemetery Board on May 26, 1892. W.J. Wagoner was one of the earliest depot agents with other names such as Garrett Solie of Osakis who doubled as a photographer and had a studio in the depot.

Section crewmen lived in the village, and single men often boarded in homes. (The section crew repaired ties and track, checking the track each day for possible flaws in their "pumpers"). There was a section house built exclusively for the section foreman and his family.

The depot was a pickup spot for the mail. The third train coming in from the east was the catcher train. A mail bag was hung on an arm rail in such a manner that it would be snatched up by a railroad man standing within a mail car while the train was moving at a 60 miles-per-hour clip. Meanwhile, another in the mail car tossed the mail bag for West Union out an opening towards the platform, sometimes missing its target.

As postmaster, Leo Schlicht would keep a watchful eye to see where the mail bag finally stopped bouncing. Sometimes he went "as far as three blocks away,' according to an account in the Sauk Centre Herald of May 11, 1888.

Mrs. Ruth Heuber, a school teacher at the grade school, used the train many times after school let out to return to her home in Sauk Centre.

The West Union grain elevator and cattle corrals were busy places at certain times of the year until the 1960s when the trains stopped rolling. Area farmers brought their grain initially to the elevator by horse-drawn wagons while cattle were moved by walking the herd to town. This would change with the times as livestock and grain trucks were introduced.

Millers moved farm to present site in 1967

Pat and Don Miller purchased the depot which they used as their farm home for some time after their purchase in Nov. 1967.

"The building was so wide the movers had to bend a utility pole on the east side of West Union to make it around the corner," Miller said. "We poured a cement footing and two rows of blocks to set it on."

In renovating the ex-depot, the Millers were able to make a durable home which included a one-car garage, a small office, kitchen, workroom, living room, and three bedrooms, plus baths upstairs and downstairs, family room and small "junk room."

The depot proved to be a good home for a family of six until 1982 when they moved 100 yards away. At that time his son Gene and wife Linda and family bought the home and made many decorative changes. "They have done remarkable things in outfitting the rooms to a quaint decor with extensive use of cabinets," explained Pat. - Harry Hanson, The Sauk Centre Herald

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HOLLISTER OPENS COMMUNITY CENTER IN OLD MOPAC DEPOT

Photo here:

[www.bransondailynews.com]

Caption reads: Officials hope the Hollister Community Center will become a benefit to local residents and tourists. (BDN photo by Brandon Cone)

HOLLISTER, MO -- The historic Hollister train depot was recently rechristened "The Hollister Community Center" and city officials hope that it will be a boon for visitors and residents alike, adding to its already rich history.

The depot was built in 1906 and used by the Missouri-Pacific railroad for many years until the railroad opted to give it to the city of Hollister in 1987.

Until 1999 the building was used as Hollister's town hall, until the current town hall was completed. From 1999 until recently, the depot was used as the office of the Hollister Chamber of Commerce.

Assistant City Administrator Vonnie Mathiesen said since "the Hollister icon" was recently vacated by the Hollister Chamber of Commerce, several community groups have been making good use of it.

"We have a pretty varied group that has been using it," Mathiesen said of the Community Center. "There's a church that meets in there on Wednesdays and Sundays, a weight loss group that holds their meetings in there and a youth group that meets there among others.

"We want it to be used for community-wide meetings, receptions and group meetings. We've even had one wedding reception held in there."

Mathiesen said the depot would also continue to be host to many of the city's popular events such as the Grape and Fall Festival, the city's Founders Day celebration and the Santa Train.

She said having the depot available has also aided in the economic growth of the city.

"While Lowe's was being built, they set up temporary offices in there and conducted interviews, so we hope that we will be able to do that again as more new businesses come into Hollister," Mathiesen said. - Brandon Cone, The Branson Daily News

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TRANSIT NEWS

PHOENIX RAIL POWERS UP FOR TESTING

Photo here:

[www.kpho.com]

PHOENIX, AZ -- The Valley will see the powering-up of its first METRO light rail car Tuesday morning.

The car will use its own power to travel a one-mile section of Washington Street, between 44th and 56th streets, during a live wire test.

During the test, overhead power lines are energized and the vehicle moves at around 2 or 3 mph while engineers take electrical system readings

Testing will continue on the same one-mile stretch until next spring, when the test zone will begin to expand outward.

Tuesday's test will take place from roughly 10:30 to 14:00 hours. Phoenix police will pause traffic at the intersections while the METRO car passes through. - KPHO TV5, Phoenix, AZ

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TORONTO TRANSIT WORKER DIE IN SUBWAY TUNNEL ACCIDENT

TORONTO, ON -- A Toronto Transit Commission maintenance worker is dead after a piece of equipment crashed onto the work train he was aboard early Monday.

Two other workers were being treated for non life-threatening injuries at Sunnybrook Hospital. One suffered a broken rib and will likely be released later in the day, while the other is still being assessed.

The accident forced the closure of a stretch of the Yonge subway line, causing what one morning commuter called "pandemonium." By Tuesday morning, the TTC expects full service to resume.

An 11-member maintenance crew had just finished its shift removing asbestos in an underground tunnel when the accident happened around 04:30 hours ET in the southbound tunnel south of the Lawrence subway station.

Map here:

[www.cbc.ca]

The employees were on two subway work cars that were pushing a flatbed car carrying heavy pieces of metal equipment used as scaffolding by the asbestos cleanup crew.

A piece of equipment snagged a cable sticking out of the tunnel lining, causing the equipment to dislodge and fall on the subway car behind it, crushing and killing the operator inside, said TTC chair Adam Giambrone.

The operator, who had worked for TTC for the past five years, was described as a model employee.

The Yonge subway line was closed between York Mills and Eglinton as the Ministry of Labour investigated the accident. Crews were also busy fixing damaged cables and removing the work train from the tracks.

"It's a mess down there," Giambrone said.

Before city council resumed debate on the budget Monday morning, Mayor David Miller informed council of the death and asked for a moment of silence.

"The accident has been very shocking to all of us," Miller said later in the day, offering condolences to the family of the deceased.

Commuter chaos

Above ground, thousands of commuters jockeyed for a spot on buses shuttling them between York Mills and Eglinton stations.

One passenger, Hyacinth Clark, described the scene as "pandemonium."

"It's been like lemmings. One person goes one way and everybody goes that way," she said. "Nobody knows what they're doing, nobody knows what's going on."

Outside York Mills station, a massive crowd spilled onto all four corners of the intersection and sometimes onto the streets, stopping traffic in the northbound lanes of Yonge Street.

Several people complained of waiting three hours for an available bus. Others simply gave up and walked to work.

Giambrone thanked everyone for their patience, adding "We know everyone out there had a horrible day [trying] to get to work today."

"When something like this happens for whatever reason, there is no way to adequately replace our subway service," he said.

TTC officials vowed to have more buses running along the affected stretch for the afternoon rush. - CBC NEWS

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DEPOT DAYS STILL ECHO IN STATE STREET BUILDING

BELLINGHAM, WA -- When Automotive Parts Service closed last year, Gale and Gretchen Pfueller wanted to preserve their business's building on North State Street rather than sell it to someone who would knock it down.

Gale Pfueller said he and his wife appreciate the building's history, and are happy with their new tenant -- the division of the Opportunity Council that, among other things, weatherizes and repairs homes for low income people.

Employees remodeled the interior while preserving aspects of the building's origin as the northern depot for the interurban rail system that once linked Bellingham with Mount Vernon and points further south.

"This really fits into our approach," said Jon Martin, development manager at the division, called the Building Performance Center.

Union Depot opened in 1922 for Pacific Northwest Traction Co., a division of Puget Sound Traction, Light & Power Co., which, in time, evolved into today's Puget Sound Energy. The building served interurban passengers as well as "auto stage" (bus) riders.

Photo here:

[www.bellinghamherald.com]

Two decades earlier, a Boston firm, Stone & Webster Corp, that was getting into the transportation business in Seattle and elsewhere had bought several streetcar companies in Bellingham and Fairhaven. Stone & Webster's dream of an electric railway system from Vancouver, BC, to Olympia reached partial fruition.

Lines from Seattle to Tacoma and to Everett opened in the early 1900s. Service between Bellingham and Mount Vernon began 1912, with passenger cars departing every two hours from each end of the 27-mile line.

Alas, an interurban line from Mount Vernon to Everett was never built because of technical challenges and economic downturns. Instead, the company provided bus service between Mount Vernon and Everett, providing a rail-and-bus journey from Bellingham to Seattle that took just less than four hours.

But the northern part of the interurban never made money, and competition from autos, trucks and buses on new roads eventually doomed the operation. Northern interurban service ended June 1930.
Streetcar service in Bellingham lasted through New Year's Eve 1938. The last interurban run between Seattle and Everett came less than two months later.

In 1929, Ernest Pfueller, Gale Pfueller's grandfather, bought the Union Depot building to house his automotive parts business, then located where D'Anna's Café Italiano is now situated. For its part, Puget Power built a new depot and office building across the street at the corner of State and Magnolia.

Automotive Parts Service remained a viable family operation through four generations, with modest expansions to the south and the rear of the building, and the construction of a building next door, the home of Reed Auto Machine.

The Building Performance Center used to be at 1701 Ellis St., but that space was smaller and with a year-to-year lease. The deal with the Pfuellers provides a seven-year lease, an option for another seven years, and first right to buy the building if it goes on the market.

When workers remodeled the space, they cut and stained long fir shelves that once held auto parts to create door and window trim similar to original trim that remains from the depot days.

They also added an inside wall, but the interior still hints of earlier times when travelers gathered under the high ceiling to say good-bye and hello to friends, family and business colleagues.

Two old bathroom doors are still labeled "smoking room," and trim above a door still says "To stages." - Dean Kahn, The Bellingham Herald

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L.A. LEADS THE LEAGUE IN STADIUM TRANSIT ERRORS

LOS ANGELES, CA -- The second-to-last time that this column visited Dodger Stadium was in 2002, when it took only 30 minutes to get out of the parking lot after a weeknight game against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The final time that this column visited Dodger Stadium was in 2003 for a Bruce Springsteen concert. At that time, the parking fee was $10 for ballgames but was raised to $20 for the concert. Nice.

Now comes the Dodgers' new parking plan, which has brought fresh rounds of complaints over the bad traffic before and after games. So let's begin there..

How do other cities handle baseball traffic?

They have encouraged the building of new downtown stadiums near mass transit, or they have built mass transit near existing stadiums.

So baseball fans in Oakland, San Diego, San Francisco, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago (Cubs and White Sox), Cleveland, Denver, Houston, Minneapolis, New York (Mets and Yankees), Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Toronto and Washington can all take a subway or light rail to the game.

Metrolink and Amtrak trains have a station next to Angel Stadium in Anaheim, although the train schedules are a bit spotty for baseball fans. Even Phoenix and Seattle are building light-rail lines that will stop near their ballparks. It should be noted that Phoenix is a sprawling mess, and Seattle's traffic is five degrees beyond bad.

As for the Dodgers, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and its predecessor agencies offered bus service to the games from 1962 -- when Dodger Stadium opened -- until 1994, when it was halted for budget reasons.

In 2004, the Dodgers tried running a Friday night shuttle service from Union Station to the games, but that was stopped after one season because of low ridership. On average, the MTA reported, only 400 fans each game used the service.

The cash-strapped MTA last year looked into restoring bus service using a contractor, but decided not to because it would require an annual subsidy of $153,900 to $202,500 per year. County supervisor and MTA board member Mike Antonovich is still in the process of blowing a gasket that the shuttle isn't being run.

Sigh. No, make that 18 sighs.

And the historical perspective?

Let's go back to April 1962, when the first Saturday night regular season game at Dodger Stadium also caused a parking meltdown. How bad was it? The parking lot became so constipated with cars that the team had to turn away fans -- including those with tickets to the game, according to a Times story that year. And the game wasn't even a sellout.

"The Dodger management, which broadcast an apology over the radio late in the game for the mix-up, could only say it hoped to solve the problem in the future," The Times reported.

The lessons here?

In hindsight, building a stadium on a hill away from mass transit and surrounded by residential neighborhoods seems less than wise -- unless you believe thousands of idling cars are great for the environment.

And that's not even considering the many residents evicted from Chavez Ravine for a federal housing project that never got built, only to see the city sell the land to the Dodgers in a deal some said had "sweetheart" written all over it.

The other lesson is that when a city makes a big mistake in the realm of urban planning, the mistake usually sticks around for decades. The good news, however, is that a few good bulldozers can fix even the worst of mistakes. - Steve Hymon, The Los Angeles Times

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CELEBRATE CITY'S STREETCARS

Photo here:

[www.coloradoan.com]

FORT COLLINS, CO -- The Fort Collins Municipal Railway Society and the Fort Collins Museum are celebrating 100 years of Fort Collins streetcars starting May 5.

The summer-long celebration will kick off Birney Car 21 clanging its way down the Mountain Avenue tracks. The Fort Collins Museum, which owns Car 21, invites the public to visit the trolley depot in City Park near the tennis courts.

On May 5, children can create and color their own trolley car before they ride Birney Car 21. This museum plans to make this a monthly event.

If you want a ride, the trolley operates from 12:00 to 17:00 hours Saturday, Sunday and holidays. Fare is $1 for adults, 75 cents for senior citizens and 50 cents for children. - The For Collins Coloradoan

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THE END