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Railroad Newsline for Thursday, April 26, 2007

Compiled by Larry W. Grant

In Memory of Rob Carlson, 1952 – 2006

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RAIL NEWS

HAZMAT TEAMS PUMPING GAS FOR OVERTURNED TANKER

Photo here:

[origin.insidebayarea.com]

RICHMOND, CA -- Contra Costa County and city of Richmond hazardous materials experts are in the process of pumping between 4,000 and 5,000 gallons of gasoline out of an overturned big-rig tanker that was struck by a train in Richmond, California Wednesday morning, county Hazardous Materials Specialist Adam Springer said.

The crash was first reported at about 07:15 in the 1300 block of Canal Boulevard, according to Richmond police Lt. Mark Gagan.

Only a small amount of fuel, about 20 gallons, leaked out of the damaged tanker, the county's hazardous materials department reported. "Fortunately for us, the train wasn't moving that fast," Richmond Fire Chief Michael Banks said.

The train, a BNSF Railway Company engine, also hit the truck's tank high enough up that it mostly struck air space, which was also lucky, Springer said.

The big-rig was carrying two tanks of unleaded gasoline, but only the rear one overturned, officials reported.

The Port of Richmond was briefly closed and businesses in the in the 1400 block of Canal Boulevard were evacuated immediately following the incident, Gagan said.

The port has since been reopened and businesses were running as usual, Springer said. The only business still affected by the incident is a ConocoPhillips loading rack that sits about 200 feet from the overturned tanker.

Banks said that first responders put foam blankets down over the leaked gas to suppress fumes.
Hazardous materials crews then disconnected the power from the tanker and grounded it to make sure no sparks would ignite the gasoline inside.

They then drilled a hole in the top of the tanker and pumped the fuel out into a new container truck, Banks said.

Authorities don't know what caused the train to hit the truck and the incident remains under investigation, Banks said. - Bay City News Service, InsideBayArea.com

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ARIZONA LAWMAKERS WON'T STOP RAILROAD PLANS

PHOENIX, AZ -- State lawmakers aren't going to block railroads from condemning private property to build new switching yards or tracks. Without comment, the state Senate on Tuesday removed provisions from a legislative proposal that would have required rail companies to obtain permission of the Arizona Corporation Commission before using their power of eminent domain.

Instead, the measure now says railroads must hire independent experts to study the impacts of their expansion plans. At that point, the Corporation Commission could suggest -- but not require -- the company to pick alternate sites.

The Sun first reported in August that Union Pacific is considering extending a new rail route through Yuma to connect to a planned megaport in Punta Colonet, Baja Calif. Many local officials and farmers were upset after hearing the news citing that the public had not been engaged in the process. Bid proposals for the megaport, which is south of Ensenada, are expected to be released in May. Uncertainties of what the Mexican government will decide to do has left Union Pacific officials up in the air on how they will proceed with the project, as previously reported in The Sun.

Rep. Jonathan Paton, R-Tucson, said the change came amid legal question of whether the state can restrict where railroads can locate. Paton conceded that, even after studies and public hearings, a railroad still would remain free to pick the site it wants.

"They are not exploring other options because they don't have to,'' Paton said. This, he said, at least requires not just independent studies of impacts, including economic and environmental, but also a hearing at the Corporation Commission that he said provides a "soapbox'' for residents.

Ken Rosevear, executive director of the Yuma Chamber of Commerce, said removing the provision basically renders the legislative proposal useless.

"The purpose of the bill was to establish some oversight on what the railroad was doing," Rosevear said. "It's certainly a green light to go forward. If the railroad can go through without any oversight, it would expedite their process."

Sen. Amanda Aguirre, D-Yuma, says she thinks the proposal adds another level of community involvement.

"The intent is to make the railroad work more closely with community and the commission, which I believe they will do because it is in their best interest," Aguirre said. "Ultimately, the railroad has the power to decide to follow the state's recommendations or make their own decision."

Aguirre added that railroad companies would still have had the right to exercise eminent domain.

Paul Muthart, the general manager for Pasquinelli Produce and a member of Arizona Common Sense, a local community group examining the railroad issue, said he thinks the proposal is still accomplishing what it was intended to do because it still involves an independent regulatory body overseeing the process so that concerns that may arise can be carried forward to the federal level.

However, even in its altered form, Union Pacific spokesman Chris Peterson said the legislation still is illegal, as the Surface Transportation Board has "exclusive jurisdiction'' over location of railroads.

"The federal courts ruled a similar South Dakota law to be preempted and this legislation could face a similar challenge,'' he said. "So what the state may be buying is an expensive federal lawsuit.'' - Howard Fischer, The Yuma Sun

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RESIDENTS TARGET RAIL PLANS

Photo here:

[www.presstelegram.com]

LONG BEACH, CA -- Like many Westside residents, Danny and Billie Larragoitiy have family members suffering from asthma.

For years, they've blamed the high levels of diesel pollution from nearby port operations for the neighborhood's high asthma rates, which USC studies have shown is twice the state average.

So when Union Pacific and Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroads began talking about increasing their operations, the Larragoitiys joined a coalition of neighbors committed to fighting expansion.

To make their point, neighbors pooled more than $1,000 in recent weeks and purchased 550 bright orange-and-black yard signs denouncing the proposals.

They've also been going door to door to chat with neighbors and gain support.

"Asthma isn't something we had in our family before," said Billie , who put a sign in the yard of her longtime home Tuesday morning. "It wasn't until the railroad and all the trucks started coming that people started getting sick."

The group, led by resident and community activist John Cross, posted the signs on fences, yards, windows and businesses beginning Monday. They're targeting the area of West Long Beach bordered roughly by Pacific Coast Highway, the Terminal Island (103) Freeway, Santa Fe Avenue and Wardlow Road.

Their goal is to draw more attention to the fight.

"It's like David versus Goliath," Cross said. "The railroads have had the advantage since they drove the first spike in the ground, but we're not backing down."

In March, Union Pacific submitted a $300 million plan to the Port of Los Angeles to double capacity at its Intermodal Container Transfer Facility, which sits within the L.A. port's jurisdiction just west of Long Beach at Willow Street and the Terminal Island (103) Freeway.

At the facility, trucks drop their containers onto waiting rail cars, which then transport the containers out of the port complex.

Under its expansion proposal, the rail operator plans to use the cleanest, quietest yard equipment possible, including electric cantilever and gantry cranes.

Approval is required from the L.A. Harbor's five-member commission.

BNSF, the region's other large rail operator, has also proposed a new intermodal facility just south of the UP yard. The company did not return a phone call placed Tuesday. - Kristopher Hanson, The Long Beach Press-Telegram

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JUST A MATTER OF TIME

PIERRE, SD -- Gov. Mike Rounds thinks it is only a matter of time before a regional railroad finds private funding to increase their services through South Dakota.

The Republican from Pierre discussed Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad's planned expansion project, among other topics, at a Chamber of Commerce Luncheon at the Ramkota RiverCentre Tuesday and said he continues to support the project.

"It's not a matter of voting and it's not a matter of saying, 'Do we believe it or not?' It's a matter of 'Is there benefit there?' The answer's yes." Rounds said. "Now is there detrimental impact as well? Sure. There's no question about that, because when you come along side the track and you have more rail activity on the track, then being close to the track becomes less desirable. I recognize that."

The DM&E project would rebuild 600 miles of track across South Dakota and Minnesota and add 260 miles of new track around the southern end of the Black Hills to reach Wyoming's Powder River Basin. It would haul low-sulfur coal eastward to power plants, running through Fort Pierre and Pierre.

The development could result in 34 trains going through town a day.

DM&E had sought a $2.3 billion federal loan to help finance the project, but the Federal Railroad Administration rejected the application earlier this year.

Kevin Schieffer, DM&E CEO and president, has said he will look toward private funding for the project now, and Rounds said he thinks Schieffer will find it.

"I do know that they originally had thought years back that it would be something that could be privately funded," Rounds said. "The economies right now, with coal in this country ... still lend themselves to a very successful DM&E project."

Rounds said he would like to continue to find ways for DM&E to build a bypass around Pierre and federal funding for such a bypass could be an option in the future.

"But at this stage of the game (a bypass is) a long ways off and the reason is because you would also have to have a location where you could do it," he said.

Rounds said he has not met with any DM&E officials recently and the state has not been asked to give any funding to such a bypass.

"What we have said is that the state would assist in terms of trying to find some public funding for parts of a bypass if there was also an interest on the part of the DM&E," he said. "That we would assist them in their funding needs, we've never done that, and I'm not prepared to do that today." - Crystal Lindell, The Pierre Capital Journal

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WHO'LL STOP THE TRAIN?

SANTA ANA, CA -- He is an unlikely hero.

As a child, he was picked on because of a speech impediment. As an adult he drank himself into oblivion in his bedroom. And when he finally settled on a passion in life, he chose a hobby whose fans are chided as "foamers," because they tend to be single guys who foam at the mouth at the mere sight of a train.

Even his mom says of Chris Guenzler's Big Day: "Sometimes I think he overdoes it. At the moment I've got a green (swimming) pool out back. He was supposed to have kept it pure, and I just found out the city is coming to look at my green pool, so my blood pressure's up."

Yet Guenzler, 49, of Santa Ana is about to ride into history. At 19:20 hours Wednesday, he'll board Amtrak's Southwest Chief in Fullerton. And in two days, that train will cross a bridge high over the Missouri River.

Bingo.

In the small world of train enthusiasts, it's an epochal event -- a "gigantic deal," says the host of the Internet radio show, "Let's Talk Trains."

"Everyone in the train world will know it was Chris Guenzler," says the founder of trainweb.com.
In this circle of enthusiasts, it as an event worth stopping the train for. But it's important to remember, it's a small circle of enthusiasts - and a big world.

"This is the first I've heard of this," says Lena Kent, spokeswoman for BNSF Railway, which owns the tracks over which Guenzler will make his mark. "I'm not aware of us stopping a train anywhere."

Guenzler is not concerned. It is a rainy Friday evening and his only concern at the moment is getting to Irvine Regional Park in Orange - to ride a kiddie train for nine-tenths of a mile before calling it a night.

Photos here:

[www.ocregister.com]

SAVED BY THE BELL

Trains have always rescued Chris Guenzler.

He was born with a blockage of the ear canal. At first, who knew? It wasn't until his mom rolled little Chris in a stroller down to watch the trains. Toot. Too-oot. He never flinched. She took him to a doctor.

"The train's the thing that changed my life," he says.

Unfortunately, he'd already developed a speech problem, which invited teasing. That's why he liked to bike alone down Lincoln Street to the tracks. No talking. No taunting. Just the roar and rush of trains.

One day, he got to walk through the combined El Capitan Super Chief on display at the Santa Ana station. From then on, whenever he saw a train during family vacations, Chris would holler to Dad to stop the car. And he always picked the campsite adjacent to the tracks.

"The boys just loved it," recalls Nancy Guenzler. "I'm just thinking, 'Oh gee, I hope it doesn't derail.' "

Trains rescued him again as an adult. He began riding in earnest in 1980, but began drinking in earnest in 1988, spiraling into a secret life of alcoholism in the bedroom of his parents' home.
Some nights he'd use the bedroom window to sneak in extra whiskey. Other nights he'd stick out his head to hide the fact he was vomiting up every meal.

In 1995 he quit drinking and vowed to ride a train through every state in the union sober. He did. Then all the rail miles of Canada. Then there were rare mileage trips, photo freight trips and 12 years of nightly, sobriety rides to San Diego.

Slowly the miles began to mount. As did his reputation. This time, trains were not only rescuing Chris Guenzler, they were turning him into a celebrity.

IT'S CHRIS GUENZLER!

Trains have delivered him to Al Capone's hotel room. To minus-42-degree nights. To scenes of majesty and mayhem. He's seen a man throw himself in front of a train, and he's found another hit by a train. He's ridden hand-cars, incline cars, open-air cars and dinner cars. Made mail runs, mining runs and mountain runs.

Along the way, he started writing his tales online.

An unlikely hero, maybe, but Guenzler is now a bourgeoning, online star with Brillo-pad hair, photographic memory and a "Revenge of the Nerds" charm. No pretense. No fashion. No illusions. Just an intense, white-hot love affair with everything train.

After touring Amtrak's repair facility outside Indianapolis recently, he and a friend sat in their car speechless.

"We didn't want to move," he says. "We were still in shock from one of the most incredible experiences of my life."

Such passion has attracted a following. People now recognize him -- like the time he was snapping pictures of a locomotive in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

"This guy and girl said, 'Oh my heavens. It's Chris Guenzler! What are you doing in Harrisburg? We read your Web site all the time.' "

Another time he was photographing a train in Minnesota when a fan from Texas recognized him.
"There's nothing like it in the world," Guenzler says.

He's the No. 1 guest of the Internet radio show "Let's Talk Trains," (http://letstalktrains.us) hosted by Richard Hamilton, one of 13 friends joining Guenzler for this week's trip.

And he's about to be the No. 1 train rider of modern times, says fellow rider Steve Grande, whose Web site trainweb.com has attracted more than 39 million visitors since 1998.

How does he know? Because Guenzler keeps meticulous records.

Ask him how far it is from the Boston train station to the Back Bay station, and he will run -- literally RUN -- to a back room, spilling with boxes, bins and junk, and return with an official railroad timetable. How official? Well, it's titled, "Penn Central Northeastern Region Timetable No. 6, Effective 4:01 a.m. EST, Oct. 29, 1972."

Old, he admits, but more accurate than Amtrak's, which rounds off to the nearest mile. The distance, he clarifies, is not one mile, it's 1.3 miles.

He then points to a huge plastic bin of such timetables - purchased over 27 years to track every 10th of a mile he's ever ridden. In a few days, the grand total will hit 1 million miles.

On a bridge high over the Missouri River.

ADVENTURE GETS BETTER

If you're ever stuck in Portland till 04:30 hours because of a freight derailment; or stuck in Whitefish because of an avalanche; or stuck in Copper Canyon because of falling rocks -- you could find no better traveling companion than Chris Guenzler.

He's been known to sleep in crew bunkhouses when all the hotels are booked. To remind upset passengers to look outside at the fresh-fallen snow. To serve as tour guide, historian, jokester, raconteur and unofficial helper of the lost.

"Every trip is an adventure," he says. "And when things go wrong, the adventure gets better."
All he was hoping for is that they might stop the train a minute when he hits 1 million miles on his favorite bridge.

"If they announce it," he says, "I'd walk through the train and say hi to everybody."

Then he'll call a classroom of students at McFadden Intermediate School, where he works, sip a Coke, and enjoy the rest of his adventure.

If they don't stop, that's all right too, he says. Over the past million miles he's learned - the joy lies in the unexpected.

Audio slide show here:

[media2.ocregister.com]

- Tom Berg, The Orange County Register

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ROCK COUNTY, WISCONSIN RESIDENTS SEEK HELP AFTER SECOND TRAIN DERAILMENT

EDGERTON, WI -- Some neighbors south of Edgerton in Rock County said they're teaming up with town board members to try to solicit some state help with monitoring the Wisconsin and Southern Railroad.

Video here:

[www.c3ktogo.com]

The action comes after the second derailment in their backyards in just more than two months, WISC-TV reported.

Dave Markson lives in a small neighborhood in the Town of Fulton, which saw its second derailment at about 17:00 on Saturday.

"We heard screeching and screaming noise and I told my wife I've never heard the wheels on the train make that kind of noise," Markson said.

Markson later discovered that his neighborhood was having its second major train derailment in two months by the same railroad in nearly the same spot.

Some old lines of railroad track are all that remain of a seven-car derailment Saturday, WISC-TV reported. A 17-car derailment back in February is still being cleaned up. Boxcars still litter the right of way.

"It was probably 100 feet to 200 feet north of where we are right now," Markson said of the February derailment.

In February, 15 cars and two locomotives in a 62-car train hauling lumber and butter and other goods careened off the track. Some neighbors woke up to find a wreckage in their backyards.

Now some living between the railroad and the Rock River said they are worried about the latest derailment.

"If we had a derailment carrying dangerous chemicals, where would we stand? The only road across this trestle is the only way out and it was blocked Saturday and during the last derailment," Markson said.

Neighbors said that the Wisconsin and Southern Railroad was running trains along the line again Sunday after laying down some new bedrock.

Railroad workers on the scene said they couldn't comment but officials did by telephone, telling WISC-TV that all indications are that a so-called "sun kink" or sudden temperature rise probably bent the rail, causing the derailment.

They also said they meet or exceed all maintenance and inspection requirements.

"We're maintaining the track properly and meet all federal standards," said railroad Superintendent Steve Bekse. "The (Federal Railroad Administration) said we have to inspect once a week and we do it three times a week."

The chair of the Town of Fulton board said that it is sending a letter to the governor and state railroad commissioner seeking help in getting the entire line fully inspected.

The railroad leases the track from the state. The state owns the land and helps fund capital improvements, WISC-TV reported.

Wisconsin and Southern said the governor's proposed budget has up to $10 million to lay completely new track on the line and said it is "counting on" that budget getting passed. - WISC-TV, Madison, WI

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ALASKA HOUSE PUSHES EARLY RAIL EXTENSION FUNDS FOR PORT

WASILLA, AK -- An amendment Monday from the state House floor would authorize the Alaska Railroad to finance a 43-mile Port MacKenzie rail extension earlier than officials in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough had hoped.

State representatives Mike Chenault, Bill Stoltze and Les Gara tucked an additional $300 million for a rail extension from Willow to Port MacKenzie into House Bill 229, which is scheduled for a third reading on the House floor today. If approved, it moves to the Senate.

Alaska Railroad spokeswoman Wendy Lindskoog said the borough would have to prove the merits of a rail extension and the railroad board would have to approve a financing plan. Mat-Su Mayor Curt Menard is a member of that board.

The Willow Area Community Organization and several other recreational groups from there opposed the railroad corridor going through Willow. The bill originally authorized $2.6 billion in tax-free railroad bonds to fund a coal gasification plant for Nikiski fertilizer company Agrium.

“This is the first step that is needed to get the project done,” said Borough Manager John Duffy. “The rail extension down to our dock is critical to moving forward with port development.
If we’re going to move forward with a $2.6 billion investment, we ought to be maximizing the statewide benefits.”

Duffy on Monday said the rail line to Port MacKenzie would cut transportation costs for shipped materials and would open up new markets for untapped resources in Interior Alaska, such as limestone and molybdenum, crucial for making stainless steel.

“For Agrium alone, the rail link would save $5.2 million a year in rail costs,” Duffy said.
Agrium U.S. governmental relations manager Lisa Parker could not confirm those numbers Tuesday.

Agrium, faced with winter natural gas shortages, plans to build a coal gasification plant, using Healy coal to power its fertilizer factory by early 2012. The company needs about three million tons of coal each year. Port MacKenzie and the Anchorage port are the forerunners of a coal-storage facility to ship the coal on barges to Nikiski.

Mat-Su officials said using the Anchorage port would mean that a 100-car, coal-filled train would rumble through Wasilla every 18 hours to meet that quota.

In a state Senate fact-finding hearing last week, Parker said the company would rather use the borough-owned port than the Port of Anchorage to store and ship coal to Nikiski.

“If all were equal between the Port of Anchorage and Port MacKenzie, we would prefer Port MacKenzie. This helps Port MacKenzie,” Parker said Tuesday.

Parker said Agrium would decide where to situate the coal storage facility in 2008.

Duffy said borough officials had planned to ask next year for the railroad bond authorization.
The borough is still looking for $12 million from the state this year to perform an environmental impact study to identify a route and study financing methods. Duffy said he hopes that money will come easier now.

“We’re looking for that in the capital budget,” Duffy said. Picking a route isn’t shaping up to be an easy task. Willow residents are split over whether they want another rail route running through their community. “I’d say the greater, broader spectrum of people in Willow … all the guides and the people like myself involved in tourism, which is the major part of this community, oppose that route,” said Vern Halter, an Iditarod musher and member of the Mat-Su Planning Commission.

Halter said he believes the rail line would bisect Willow and damage the community fishing and trail system, killing a way of life there. Jim Huston, president of the Willow Chamber of Commerce, said he doesn’t see it that way.

“Chamber of Commerce voted quite one-sidedly to support that spur, to get more of that freight traffic away from Willow,” Huston said. “We wanted to make sure we have plenty of underpasses for trails.” - Rindi White, The Anchorage Daily News

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STOLEN TRUCK LEFT ON TRACKS, STRUCK BY TRAIN

BAKERSFIELD, CA -- Victor Campos rushed into a liquor store Tuesday afternoon to buy a bottle of juice as he left his truck running in the parking lot.

Campos, who was on his way to a his landscaping job, then saw the tail end of his truck as it sped off westbound on Rosedale Highway.

About 10 minutes later, Kern County deputies found the stolen vehicle.

"But you're not going to be able to take it," a deputy told him, according to Campos.

"The train got it."

Someone stole the tan Ford F-250 truck and left the big pickup on a railroad track underneath Rosedale Highway near Jewetta Avenue at about 14:00 hours, according to Campos.

The thief jumped out of the truck before a train smashed into the vehicle.

The thief has not been found.

"He or she was gone when we got there," said Lt. Mike Rascoe with the Sheriff's Department. A deputy at the scene of the accident confirmed Campos' story.

The twisted, mangled vehicle was towed as Campos watched. He searched the dirt ground to see if any of his possessions such as his cell phone was spared from the crash.

"It's crazy," said Campos, 22. "At least I wasn't in the truck." - Felix Doligosa, Jr., The Bakersfield Californian

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CN RAILWAY COMPANY TOUTS SAFETY WEEK

Photo here:

[www.memphisdailynews.com]

Caption reads: SAFE PASSAGE -- Canadian National Railway Co.'s Rail Safety Week continues. Company risk managers and rail police will be on hand to discuss avoiding danger Thursday at a rail crossing on Fite Road in North Memphis. (PHOTO COURTESY OF CANADIAN NATIONAL RAILWAY CO.)

MEMPHIS, TN -- Trains rumble through Memphis, Tennessee every day, generating money for the local economy in the form of cargo loaded or unloaded in town.

All that activity and all those goods create more jobs and more demand for warehouse space, boosting the area's logistics and distribution industries.

But the city's heavy rail traffic brings as much potential for disaster as it does for dividends.

Vehicles and pedestrians have to cross those busy train tracks, which is why Canadian National Railway Co. (CN) is sponsoring Rail Safety Week through Sunday.

The national awareness campaign is highlighted with Thursday's safety blitz at a rail crossing on Fite Road in North Memphis, east of U.S. 51. CN risk managers and railroad police officers will be on hand from 09:00 to 10:00 hours to discuss ways people can avoid the dangers that surround railways.

"It's one of the ways we try to spread the message of safety ... to the public," said Jim Kvedaras, senior manager of U.S. public and government affairs for CN. "We've picked a number of representative crossings across our system to conduct these safety blitzes."

The blitzkrieg

Kvedaras said the company has been hosting Rail Safety Week for "20-plus years." CN has targeted cities where it has significant operations.

"We'll go into different communities and different crossings just so we can keep the message fresh and get the message in front of new people," he said.

CN, whose U.S. headquarters are in Homewood, Illinois, wants to make sure Memphians get that message.

The company is one of five Class I railroads in town. It has 145 miles of track in Tennessee. It runs between 20 and 25 trains daily through the Memphis area, plus another five or six local trains that deliver or pick up cars from local businesses near the main rail lines.

CN employs about 400 people in the city at its intermodal facility in the Frank C. Pidgeon Industrial Park, which boasts 160,000 intermodal lifts per year, and at its Johnston Yard freight yard.

So, a safety blitz here makes sense, especially in light of the hundreds of rail-related fatalities each year across the nation. In 2006, there were 530 trespassing and 362 vehicle-crossing deaths in the United States, according to the Federal Railroad Administration.

"We're imploring drivers to be aware of their behaviors not just at CN crossings, but at any rail crossing in North America," Kvedaras said. "We're imploring them to just be ready for a train that can be arriving at any time from either direction along the tracks."

Thou shalt not trespass

This year's safety campaign stresses the dangers of trespassing. More than 53 percent of trespassing incidents result in death, a 14.5 percent increase from 2005.

"Industry-wide, we're seeing a decrease in the amount of crossing accidents and fatalities for vehicles versus trains," Kvedaras said. "At the same time, the railroads are reporting an uptick in the number of trespassing incidents that they're finding on their properties, and that's concerning."

Trespassing incidents happen when pedestrians walk along a track and are struck by a train. Often, it happens with people driving all-terrain vehicles and snowmobiles along a track, who are unable to hear an approaching train.

For Kvedaras, reducing the number of incidents involving pedestrians and vehicles is of the utmost importance for all railroad companies.

"Safety in all aspects is absolutely mission critical for CN, as well as any railroad in the U.S.," he said. "What we're trying to do is find the best ways to mitigate these instances where people are just putting themselves at risk for no reason. We don't know why they put themselves at risk, but we see it on a daily basis."

Risky business

One of the most obvious places where pedestrians and trains present a volatile mix is on the University of Memphis campus. A rail line that runs parallel to Southern Avenue bisects the campus, separating major parking lots and athletic facilities from the dorms and academic buildings.

On the occasion that a train stops and blocks access, students sometimes climb between train cars to avoid delay. More often, whenever a horn sounds in the distance, signaling another approaching train, students scramble across the tracks to avoid the wait.

Derek Myers, deputy director of police services, acknowledges that this is a tragedy waiting to happen.

"You kind of hold your breath, probably like the conductor's doing, because you can hear him lay on the horn when he sees people doing that," Myers said. "It's not a very smart thing to do, and we definitely discourage that."

Myers said the university sent out a school-wide e-mail alerting faculty, staff and students to the dangers of trying to "beat" a train.

"We just wanted to remind them that if a train does happen to come to a complete stop, don't ever go under or over between the rail cars," he said.

Red handed vs. dead-handed

Meanwhile, talks continue for tunnels under the tracks to allow for cars and students to move safely across the campus without crossing railroad tracks. Until that happens, Myers said the University's police officers will talk to students if they catch them in the act.

"The officers do take the time to say, 'Hey, do you not realize that that was extremely unwise?'" he said.

Another unwise practice occurs at the campus' rail crossing, where vehicles often swerve between the crossing's safety arms. Myers said the university police department, with the city's blessing, is issuing more tickets to drivers.

Myers said there have been no vehicle or pedestrian accidents caused by a train on campus, but the possibility remains as long as students and drivers have no other choice but to cross the tracks.

"We all know, obviously, the potential for extreme, even life-threatening injuries there," he said. - Eric Smith, The Memphis Daily News

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'HELL ON THE HILL'

TRUCKEE, CA -- Since it didn't snow very much this winter, some of us have been worried that the missing storms would come back to haunt us this spring when bicycles and boats have replaced skis and snowboards. True to form, an active Pacific storm pattern this April has been delivering weather systems every few days like clockwork, freshening up the slopes for the diehards who are savoring their last runs of the season.

Spring punch

The calendar may say April, but in the volatile climate of the mountainous West, spring weather can still pack a wild punch. In late March 1880, Truckee residents were enjoying a series of mild sunny days and were feeling optimistic that the heavy winter they had endured was finally over. Their optimism faded quickly, however, when a relentless barrage of April storms dumped a record 25 feet of snow on Donner Summit.

Winter-weary residents in the Sierra Nevada traditionally look forward to April as the beginning of spring when the snowpack melts and days grow warmer, but weather-wise locals know that late-season storms often sweep in from the Pacific Ocean. "March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb," claims the old weather adage, but early western settlers learned the hard way how misleading this flatland folklore can be in the mountains.

Throughout all four seasons, the atmosphere attempts to equalize arctic and equatorial temperature imbalances, but this battle is especially fierce in the spring. Infusions of subtropical moisture often clash with intrusions of maritime polar air, producing prodigious amounts of rain and snow. Indeed, these highly unstable atmospheric conditions can generate the most severe weather of the yea r- as witnessed 125 years ago in the phenomenal spring of 1880.

Cabin fever

The hard winter of 1879 -80 had been a tough one in the Sierra and Western Nevada, so by the end of March everyone was enjoying the first blossoms of spring and anticipating warm sunny days ahead. The snow was melting fast and Truckee locals were already talking boating and fishing. Residents in western Nevada had also been feeling good about the welcome spell of spring-like conditions. In Carson City, journalist and weather sharp Dan De Quille asserted "there is no longer any doubt but that the spring rise is upon us. One saloon owner ordered a double quantity of beer to be brewed for the coming week. He expected to be selling 500 kegs a week to thirsty miners and teamsters by the middle of April.

Despite the prevailing optimism, the Storm King had a cruel April Fools' Day joke to play on residents in the region. On April 1, a vigorous storm slammed into the region which smothered the Sierra Nevada west slope at Cisco Grove under four feet of snow within 24 hours.

The rapid buildup caused a massive snowslide near Emigrant Gap, which buried Central Pacific Railroad's tracks under 75 feet of snow, ice and rock. Racing to the scene, a repair train smashed into a stalled passenger car, nearly killing several occupants asleep in their berths. Hundred of railroad men were deployed to shovel the tracks to get the line reopened.

Hail today

The powerful storm was only the first of several major low-pressure systems barreling in from the Pacific Ocean. For three weeks blizzard conditions raged in the Sierra where the storms dumped a record 298 inches of snow on Donner Summit. Deadly avalanches caused by the continuous heavy snowfall destroyed miles of snowshed and blockaded the vital trans-Sierra train route for days. Shattered structural timbers and large boulders incapacitated train plows and created the need for hundreds of hired laborers to shovel the tracks by hand.

In Nevada, blustery, downslope winds generated hazardous conditions. In Carson City, wind-whipped dust and dirt reduced visibility to 20 feet and airborne gravel stones stung pedestrians and horses like hail. Several women were bowled over by the fierce gale. Professor Charles W. Friend, Nevada's first professional weatherman, measured wind gusts in excess of 40 mph. Behind the wind was rain, and lots of it. Rain and snow lashed western Nevada for days. More than five inches of rain soaked residents in Carson City, which significantly boosted their previously lackluster season to 11.30 inches. Reno picked up three inches of precipitation that month, nearly half of that city's total for the water year. The late rains were beneficial for farmers and ranchers in drought-stricken Nevada, but it was the railroad workers up on Donner Summit that took the brunt of it.

Suicide run

The responsibility for maintaining train traffic through the mountains rested squarely on the burly shoulders of experienced Central Pacific Railroad crews. In the desiccating heat of summer, they fought forest fires or locomotive smokestack sparks that often threatened to burn down the extensive, and expensive, wooden snowsheds that protected the track. In the frigid wonderland of winter, they battled avalanches and shifting drifts with every weapon in their arsenal. The stretch of track between Truckee and Blue Canyon is the worst on the line, and in the early days, the only mechanical way to remove the snow was with a Bucker snowplow. By stacking six to 12 locomotives behind a giant V-shaped snowplow made of wood and weighted with iron, crews could clear the rails of deep heavy snow.

Even without the added danger of deadly avalanches or precipitous cliffs, operating a wedge snowplow took guts and nerve. Central Pacific engineers called it a "suicide run" because they were never sure if they would survive the impact. Locomotives were backed up for a quarter mile to gain running room before all throttles were thrown open and the train roared down the track. Plow crews had to brace firmly before hitting the first snowdrift at 40 mph and then duck when huge chunks of snow shattered the glass windshield. Thick wooden boards were later added to protect the glass, forcing engineers to stick their head out of the side window to see ahead.

Taking the train

A particularly intense storm blasted the Summit on April 20 and 21, which was described as "the heaviest and most protracted one ever encountered on the line of the Central Pacific." Fighting the worst weather in its 13 years of operating over the Sierra, Central Pacific maintained a frantic pace trying to keep the tracks clear. Rushing to a snowshed cave-in, a special plow train manned by 80 men jumped the icy rails at high speed, ripping through hundreds of feet of snowshed timber. Amazingly, no one was hurt. Later that same day, fate was kind again when a large avalanche overran a stranded train, sweeping five freight cars into a deep chasm but missing several occupied passenger cars.

The mail must get through

Giving no respite, potent storms continued to hammer the mountains. For three days during the middle of the month, two feet fell every 24 hours, completely inundating Truckee. By the third week of April, with the town buried under 16 feet of snow and the ice measuring 10 feet thick on Donner Lake, the Truckee Republican newspaper proclaimed the storm to be unequaled in living memory.

As the storms churned on without a break, the snow reached incredible depths throughout the region. More than 20 feet of it covered the ground at the McKinney estate on the West Shore of Lake Tahoe. John McKinney reported that more than 36 feet fell at his place near Sugar Pine Point that winter, with nearly 17 feet in April. Several massive avalanches as much as half a mile wide roared into the Truckee River canyon north of Tahoe City, destroying homes and temporarily damming the rushing waters of the Truckee.

Travel in the mountains became a life and death struggle as the snowstorms continued their assault. After making his scheduled delivery to Tahoe City, Truckee mailman John Hyslop became besieged at Lake Tahoe by blowing and drifting snow. After three frustrating days of waiting out the storm, he grew determined to return to Truckee, daring to challenge the elements. Sinking to his knees despite skis 11 feet long, his perilous journey over avalanche paths took him two days owing to fresh snow 12 feet deep on the roadway.

As May approached, the weather finally cleared, leaving a snowpack nearly 31 feet deep. Donner Summit received almost 67 feet of snow that winter, and more than one-third of it fell in April.

Springtime in the Sierra enjoys a well-deserved reputation for beautiful sunny days, but the April showers that bring May flowers sometimes arrive wrapped in a blanket of white. - Mark McLaughlin, The Truckee Sierra Sun

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STATE OF MISSOURI URGES CAUTION AT RAILROAD CROSSINGS

KANSAS CITY, MO -- Authorities want motorists to take extra precautions when they pull up to a railroad crossing.

Instead of trying to beat an approaching train, they want motorists to wait and allow the train to pass.

That was the message Missouri law enforcement and transportation officials hoped to convey on Tuesday at 16 railroad crossings in Cass, Clay, Jackson and Platte counties.

"We want motorists to be aware of their surroundings," said Rod Massman, the Missouri Department of Transportation's administrator of railroads.

"Motorists should always expect trains and obey the warning devices that are there."

The effort was part of Missouri Railroad Safety Week. Authorities handed out pamphlets and tip sheets, and gave drivers wearing their seat belts a coupon for a free soft drink.

Several railroad companies and police departments also participated in the event.

Over a four-year period ending in 2006, 21 railroad-crossing crashes resulted in three fatalities and seven injuries in the four counties in Missouri that include parts of Kansas City, officials said.

On Easter, three Northland teenagers were killed when a train slammed into their car in Excelsior Springs.

Massman said Tuesday's event was planned before the crash in Excelsior Springs. However, it was important to raise public awareness, he said.

Missouri has about 3,800 public railroad crossings. - Glenn E. Rice, The Kansas City Star

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RAIL YARD PROJECT MOVES FORWARD

CRYSTAL LAKE, IL -- A plan to relocate three sets of railroad tracks along Main Street moved ahead with the force of a locomotive Tuesday night, thanks to a 6-1 vote from the Crystal Lake, Illinois City Council.

Council members gave city staff the go-ahead to execute a $412,141.27 contract with Schaumburg-based TranSystems Corp. for preliminary engineering on the relocation of the Union Pacific rail yard west of Main Street. The company's responsibilities will include the plan's conceptual development, drafting preliminary plans, and managing funding applications, among others.

Longtime relocation advocate and project originator Ralph Dawson cast the lone vote against the agreement, saying he didn't agree with spending public dollars to relocate a private company. But his peers on the board said the proposal could hold the key to a redeveloped entrance into downtown Crystal Lake.

"A half-million dollars to do something for [Union Pacific] and a couple of property owners, I have a problem with it," Dawson said. "I have to support this issue because I think it's the right thing to move this railroad, but I'm not happy with the way we're moving it at this time."

TranSystems in February introduced a $6 million proposal that would include swapping the current Union Pacific-owned land west of Main Street between Crystal Lake Avenue and Route 14 for city property south of Crystal Lake Avenue near the old Oak Industries building.

Union Pacific's current three-track holding area would be expanded to five tracks, while existing railroad crossings - located west of Main Street into the Jewel parking lot, on Main Street at the Camfill Farr facility, on Main Street in front of the Columbia College campus, and on Crystal Lake Avenue just east of Main Street - would be removed.

They received the necessary stamp of approval from Union Pacific, and city officials since have been researching the logistics and possible funding sources. Mayor Aaron Shepley has maintained that funding will come from state and federal grants or from the Main Street tax-increment financing district, and would not require taxpayer dollars.

"In order to move forward, we need at least a 30 percent plan," City Building and Engineering Director Victor Ramirez told council members Tuesday. That, he said, would give potential financiers a tangible idea of the project.

"That's really a key component at this point," Ramirez said.

Council members David Goss and Howard "Howie" Christensen both said property owners whose plans to develop land near the tracks could move forward from the relocation must help fund the proposal.

Immanuel Lutheran Church plans to build an expanded facility and school and sell off additional lots for a senior-living complex and commercial development west of Main Street. Real-estate developer the Hummel Group wants to build a combined commercial and residential space on the former Hines Lumber site.

"The possibility for downtown Crystal Lake and Main Street is just phenomenal," council member Jeffrey Thorsen said. "I've always felt that Main Street is crippled by those tracks." - Regan Foster, The Northwest Herald

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NORFOLK SOUTHERN PROFIT FALLS, BEATS ANALYST VIEW

CHICAGO, IL -- Railroad company Norfolk Southern Corp. on Wednesday reported a lower quarterly profit citing softness in the U.S. economy, in particular the housing and automotive sectors, but beat analyst forecasts.

The Norfolk, Virginia-based company posted first-quarter net income of $285 million, or 71 cents a share, compared with $305 million, or 72 cents a share, a year earlier.

Analysts on average had forecast earnings of 70 cents a share, according to Reuters Estimates.

"We are encouraged with our performance in the first quarter, especially in light of the softness in the economy," Chief Executive Wick Moorman said in a statement.

The railroad reported first-quarter revenue of $2.25 billion, down more than 2 percent from $2.30 billion in the same quarter in 2006.

Analysts had expected revenue for the quarter of $2.29 billion.

Norfolk Southern said in a statement that "continued weakness in the automotive and housing industries contributed" to a 4 percent decline in freight volumes on its network during the quarter. - Reuters

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GRAND CENTRAL TERMINAL EXTERIOR RESTORATION HONORED

NEW YORK, NY -- Metro-North Railroad has been recognized for excellence by the New York Landmarks Conservancy for its recently completed cleaning and restoration of Grand Central Terminal's limestone facade and iconic clock and statuary grouping.

The railroad received the Lucy G. Moses Award for its $27 million effort that kept the terminal under scaffolding and tarps for two years.

It is the third time in the award's 15-year history that Metro-North has won for excellence in historic preservation: In 1998, the railroad won for its elegant reclamation of the Harlem-125th Street Station and in 1999 the massive interior renovation of Grand Central Terminal took the prize.

"Metro-North is honored to receive the Lucy G. Moses Award for our work on the exterior of Grand Central Terminal," said Metro-North President Peter Cannito. "This project involved more than the painstaking removal of decades of grime - although that is what the public sees. It also allowed for the repair of time-worn sections of stone. As the modern-day stewards of this incredible landmark, Metro-North firmly believes that both restoration and cleaning are essential if the Terminal is to endure for another hundred years. This project combined the two beautifully." - EmpireStateNews.net

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TRANSIT NEWS

LIGHT RAIL TO FOREST GROVE STILL A DISTANT DREAM

FOREST GROVE, OR -- As leaders here continue talks with officials from TriMet and neighboring governments, it's money that keeps plans for a light rail transit plan between Hillsboro and Forest Grove just a concept on the drawing board.

A consultant hired by the City of Forest Grove earlier this year released a detailed study on a six-mile light rail line that would start at the end of existing MAX tracks in downtown Hillsboro. It would use state-owned railroad tracks that run north along Highway 8, which right now is the only vein for traffic between Hillsboro and towns farther west. One TriMet bus line, number 57, goes to downtown Forest Grove, where the conceptual light rail extension would end.

With a price tag of at least $200 million to build the light rail extension, Washington County and cities of Forest Grove, Cornelius and Hillsboro must agree to pitch in and help pay for it.

Forest Grove Mayor Richard Kidd said those costs would pay off in economic development. Plugging Forest Grove into TriMet's metro-wide MAX system, he explained, would reduce traffic along Highway 8, boost growth and tourism and connect the city's approximately 20,000 residents to other urban centers.

"This will draw support from a lot of different people," Kidd said.

MAX service to Hillsboro opened almost a decade ago, and critics say it's brought crime and homeless migrations to the Westside's small, bedroom communities. On the other hand, supporters say the light rail system and its prominent stations are easier for TriMet and public law enforcement to patrol.

"It's not a promoter or a deterrent," Kidd said.

Conceptual plans call for eight new stations with four in Forest Grove, two in Cornelius and two new ones in Hillsboro. Trains could run every 15 minutes throughout the day. However, freight lines that presently use those tracks around eight times a year may have to travel sometime between 12:00 and 02:00 hours, Kidd said.

Forest Grove plans to publicly address the plan several more times this year. What happens after that involves a complex journey through state and federal approval and funding groups before the city can review official plans and work out the kinks.

So far there is no set project start date.

First, the city needs to establish a cooperative entity with Cornelius, Hillsboro and the county and adopt light rail as the preferred mode of transportation in the area. A lot of this depends on what Metro, a regional authority on land use, transportation and growth issues, says in its regional transportation models. - Ellen Ast, The Hillsboro Argus

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RAIL, STREETCAR PLANS COMPETE FOR SUPPORT

Photos here:

[www.madison.com]

MADISON, WI -- Details are emerging this week about possible passenger rail systems designed to provide relief to Madison and Dane County residents mired in increasingly sluggish rush-hour traffic.

The systems being studied are controversial because they are costly and because of a conflict between proponents of streetcars -- which would move people around within Madison - and commuter trains -- which would move passengers between the city and some of its suburbs.

Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz turned up the heat Monday, suggesting that commuter rail advocates slow down their plans so Downtown streetcars can be further developed and integrated into a comprehensive system.

Dane County officials who are moving forward with a commuter rail project immediately rejected the idea.

"The mayor is out of sync with the broader community here," Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk said. "There's been this collaborative effort going on called Transport 2020, which he has been a part of, but he broke off of that process to create a separate streetcar study."

The Transport 2020 task force, a group of citizens and city, county and state officials who've been studying county transit options for 10 years, is about to select a final route for a commuter train. That will advance the process of obtaining funding from the Federal Transit Administration's "New Starts" program.

The streetcar study process is a couple of years behind the commuter rail study in terms of applying for federal funding, said David Trowbridge, a city planning and development employee in charge of both projects.

Trowbridge noted, however, that adding a streetcar component to the commuter rail project at this time could sink the application for federal funding by making it too expensive.

Trowbridge said his job has been to keep the community from getting bogged down by the competitive nature of the two projects -- streetcars and commuter rail.

"What I'm trying to do is keep both moving forward," Trowbridge said. "They're both needed for a strong redevelopment scheme of the central city. Let's move forward one step at a time."

Trowbridge said both projects are trying to address one problem -- road congestion.

"We don't have enough roads to accommodate all the driving people want to do," Trowbridge said.

Cieslewicz, who wants to address the problem by encouraging commuters to live Downtown and ride a streetcar to work or to the store, said Monday that a potential four-mile streetcar route could cost $58 million and be paid for with federal funds and increased tax revenues from higher property values.

Falk and County Board Chairman Scott McDonell, who want to address the problem by enabling commuters to take a train Downtown from the east and west suburbs, expect to learn more Wednesday about cost estimates for a commuter train.

Those cost estimates will be used to narrow down a final route after a public hearing on May 3.
The two finalist routes for the commuter train terminate in Middleton to the west. On the east end, one alternative leads to Sun Prairie and the other to the Dane County Regional Airport.
Several other options have been eliminated, mostly because of potential cost or lack of ridership.

"If all decisions are made expeditiously," Trowbridge said, a commuter train could pull into Madison by 2011.

Cieslewicz, however, said streetcars, commuter rail and Metro buses all need to part of one vision.

"I don't know, frankly, if it makes sense to go ahead with a New Starts application now," Cieslewicz said. "Maybe we should delay that and have this whole vision first before we go ahead with that."

Tom Rubin, a Los Angeles-based transportation consultant, has been critical of developing rail projects before a city can support them. He emphasized the need for a proper planning process that examines all reasonable alternatives, including buses.

"I'm not impressed by what I've seen," Rubin said of both the city's and county's planning processes. "In my experience, unfortunately, sometimes these plans wind up being the justification of a decision that has been made long before."

The latest rail developments have been more than 15 years in the making.

Madison in 1992 and Dane County in 1998 concluded that rail options should be further explored, and a county plan published in 1997 recommended conducting an "alternatives analysis" in order to obtain federal funding.

That analysis began in April 2000 under the direction of Transport 2020, a collaboration between Madison, Dane County, UW-Madison and the state Department of Transportation.

In 2002, Transport 2020 published its first-phase findings. In what was called the "full system vision," the report outlined a long-term combination of local and express buses, park-and-ride lots, commuter rail and streetcars. Cost estimates put the start-up price tag for such a plan at $283 million (adjusted for inflation), with $221 million for the commuter rail and the rest for Metro bus upgrades.

The first phase was to be a core commuter rail from Middleton to East Towne Mall -- later extended to Sun Prairie - along with express buses and park-and-ride lots. Downtown streetcars and commuter rail extensions to Fitchburg and other Madison suburbs were to be developed in future phases.

Cieslewicz, however, said he never agreed with that plan. "I always felt that streetcars were very important for the city and have always been skeptical of commuter rail," Cieslewicz said. "I did feel that Transport 2020 was focused almost exclusively on commuter rail."

Cieslewicz has promoted Downtown streetcars since he was director of the environmental group 1,000 Friends of Wisconsin. As soon as he took office as mayor in 2003, he asked the city staff to evaluate integrating streetcars with the reconstruction of East Washington Avenue.

In December of that year, he asked Transport 2020 to reconsider the commuter train idea and make streetcars "the main backbone of the system."

By the end of 2004, however, the city and county split on the best way to move forward with streetcars.

"Both the county executive and I asked the mayor to make the streetcar committee part of Transport 2020, and he didn't do that," Dane County Board Chairman Scott McDonell said.

Last week, the Dane County Board passed a resolution urging the city to make its streetcar proposal part of Transport 2020 and also stating opposition to county or federal funds for streetcars at this time.

Greater Madison Area Chamber of Commerce president Jennifer Alexander has met with Cieslewicz and Falk multiple times to emphasize the need for a unified approach to regional transportation planning.

"One of the feelings we've had is it should be one comprehensive plan and we should be seeking federal funding for that, first and foremost," Alexander said. - Matthew, The Wisconsin State Journal

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HEMPSTEAD PETITIONS AGAINST LIRR THIRD TRACK

HEMPSTEAD, NY -- Hempstead town officials are expected to launch their second petition drive Wednesday against the Long Island Rail Road's proposed third track project.

"We have wetlands in the sites of this proposed third , said Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray. "Schools parks will be impacted."

The LIRR plans to seize portions of up to 107 properties -- some temporarily, others permanently -- for two related projects between Queens Village and Hicksville on the railroad's main line: the construction of a third track and the elimination of five grade crossings in Westbury and New Hyde Park.

Murray said she supports the grade crossing eliminations -- which could affect 27 properties in New Hyde Park, including up to 19 full seizures -- because those projects would increase public safety and reduce traffic congestion.

But she said the railroad has failed to justify a third track.

LIRR officials say the third track would increase capacity, allowing the addition of 218 daily trains for 24 million more riders expected by 2030. It would allow the railroad to expand reverse-commute service and is a prerequisite for the East Side Access project, which will bring the railroad into Grand Central Terminal, the officials said.

To build the track, the LIRR plans to seize small portions of up to 80 New Hyde Park properties in permanent or temporary easements. Hempstead town spokesman Mike Deery said the project's expanded tracks would run close to the gymnasium of Floral Park-Bellerose School and could encroach on the the Floral Park Village Recreation Center.

The LIRR is expected to issue a draft environmental impact report on the project by the end of the year.

Hempstead officials conducted their first petition drive in 2005, submitting 10,000 signatures to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

In a news conference scheduled for Wednesday morning at the Floral Park LIRR station, town officials are expected to announce a second petition drive, prompted by Gov. Eliot Spitzer's continued support for the third track project, Murray said.

"The MTA can't even manage its current infrastructure adequately," said Murray, who planned to highlight crumbling platforms at the Floral Park station. "Commuters would be much better served if the railroad looked inward."

MTA spokesman Jeremy Soffin said the LIRR has spent more than $400 million over the past 13 years to rehabilitate and renovate stations.

"At the same time, we must invest in the critical expansion of our network to support a growing and changing regional economy," he said. - Jennifer Maloney, Newsday

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THE END