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Railroad Newsline for Wednesday, December 06, 2006

Compiled by Larry W. Grant

In Memory of Rob Carlson, 1952 – 2006

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RAIL NEWS

CONGREGATION MOURNS LOSS OF BELL TAKEN FROM SOUTHEAST TARRANT COUNTY CHURCH

TARRANT COUNTY, TX -- For almost 60 years, the 300-pound cast-iron bell outside Retta Baptist Church echoed across the southeast Tarrant County countryside on Sunday mornings, a clanging reminder of time for worship.

Recently, the bell fell silent after the church got a new automated bell system. But the old bell, taken from a 1920s-era steam locomotive, remained dear to the congregation.

Now, it's gone, stripped away around Thanksgiving.

"It's a sad deal," said church member James Ferguson. "Just an empty spot now."

Investigators believe thieves may have thought the bell was made of copper, said Terry Grisham, a spokesman for the Tarrant County Sheriff's Department.

Thefts of copper have increased because its price has risen to all-time highs. Last month, someone stole an estimated $500 worth of copper from eight air conditioners at Handley Meadowbrook Christian Church.

But Retta's bell is iron with a bronze coating, Grisham said.

"The bell's color probably fooled them," he said. "It's not worth as much at the scrap yard as they may think."

However, Ferguson said, the bell could be worth several thousand dollars to a collector of railroad memorabilia.

After learning of the theft, Ferguson said, he researched the bell's history. In the 1940s, as railroads began replacing steam locomotives with diesel units, the Texas & Pacific Railway welcomed area churches to take the bells from retired engines.

The pastor and another church member drove a Ford roadster with a rumble seat to the rail yard to get it.

"One of our eldest members recalled that the bell was so heavy, they didn't think they would make it back," Ferguson said. "It was weighing the bumper down to the ground."

For years, the bell rang for worship services, funerals and weddings.

"You could hear it everywhere," he said. "It was so loud."

The bell was mounted under a brick archway. The thieves probably backed a pickup up to the church off Rendon Road, south of Farm Road 1187, and clipped the bolts, he said.

Church members hope the thieves have a change of heart or a guilty conscience, he said.
CrimeStoppers has offered up to a $1,000 reward for information leading to their arrest.

"All we need is a phone call, and we'll even go pick it up," Ferguson said. "Just leave it somewhere. We just want it back."

BELL THEFT

Anyone with information about the theft of the Retta Baptist Church's bell is asked to call 817-469-TIPS.

- Alex Branch, The Fort Worth Star-Telegram

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TEXAS STATE RAILROAD MEMBERS MEET TO ELECT OFFICIALS

PALESTINE, TX -- Members of the Texas State Railroad Operating Agency met Monday morning in Palestine to elect officers and discuss an upcoming trip to Austin.

The president of the new group is Steve Presley, a Palestine City Council member and current chairman of the Texas State Railroad Preservation Task Force. The vice president is Charles Hassell of Citizens 1st Bank in Rusk and the Friends of the Texas State Railroad group.

The secretary is Dale Brown, city manager of Palestine.

Other members of the agency include Dan Davis, Bob Goldsberry and Marie Whitehead.

The members were appointed by the mayors of Rusk and Palestine and approved by the city councils. There are three from Cherokee County and three from Anderson County.

The operating agency was created by an interlocal agreement approved by the city councils of Rusk and Palestine.

The agency would be capable of accepting assets of the Texas State Railroad from the state and contracting with a potential private operator interested in running the railroad if the state decides to give up its control of the financially-strapped state park, officials have said.

"The (purpose and goal of the) operating agency is to present the best case that we can for saving and preserving the Texas State Railroad for our local communities and the state of Texas," Presley said. "We want to be sure that if only limited funding is available, that the railroad is saved and we feel this can be done through a private operator with less money than with the state operating it."

He noted that if there is a private operator in charge of the railroad, "We want to be sure that the railroad is protected and made better."

Presley pointed out that the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is representing the side of what it would cost and what it would take for the state to continue operating the railroad.

"No one, unless it's us, represents the other side of how it would be done if a private operator operates it," he said.

All of the current members of the Texas State Railroad Operating Agency are also members of the Texas State Railroad Preservation Task Force, which was formed in February at the request of state Sen. Todd Staples, R-Palestine, and state Rep. Byron Cook, R-Corsicana, and at the direction of the mayors of Rusk and Palestine.

The remaining members of the task force not a part of the operating agency as well as the task force advisory members will be asked to be advisory members of the operating agency, Presley said.

It is not clear what role the task force will play now that an operating agency has been set up.

Also Monday, members of the operating agency discussed their plan to meet with Texas Parks and Wildlife officials Tuesday in Austin to discuss what's next in the process of saving the railroad.

Meetings of the Texas State Railroad Operating Agency are open to the public and are subject to open meetings laws. - Megan Middleton, The Tyler Morning Telegraph

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BNSF ISSUES WEATHER RELATED DELAY UPDATE REGARDING ILLINOIS

This is an update to the winter weather Service Advisory issued on Monday, December 4, 2006, regarding the delay of traffic moving throughout the state of Illinois.

The severe weather conditions continue to cause train delays across the state of Illinois. However, weather is forecasted to improve over the next several days, allowing BNSF Railway Company personnel to accomplish necessary signal repairs to facilitate train movement.

Continued signal outages will result in delays between 24 and 48 hours to traffic in this region.

The following trains are currently holding on line and estimated departure times have not been determined. Updates will be provided as departure information becomes available.

Corwith:

Q CHILAT1 03

Q CHILAC2 03

Q CHILAC4 03

S CHISCO1 05

Q CHILAC2 04

Q CHILAC2 05

S CHIOIG1 05

Q CHISBD6 05

LPC:

S LPCOIG1 03

S LPCLBT1 04

S LPCLHA1 02

S LPCLHW3 04

S LPCLHT1 04

S LPCLAC1 05

- BNSF Service Advisory

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BNSF ISSUES WEEKLY PRB COAL UPDATE FOR DECEMBER 5, 2006

Average Daily Joint Line Train Loadings Set Record in November

The BNSF Railway Company and Union Pacific Railroad loaded a record average of 67.1 trains per day on the Joint Line in Wyoming in November 2006. The previous record of 66.5 trains per day was set in June of this year.

Average BNSF daily train loadings for the Powder River Basin (PRB), including Wyoming and Montana mines, totaled 49.3 trains per day the week ended December 3, 2006, compared with an average of 44.3 trains per day for the week ended December 4, 2005. Various mine issues reduced loadings an average of 5.6 trains per day for the week ended December 3, 2006.

Year-to-date through December 3, 2006, BNSF has loaded a total daily average of 49.5 trains in the PRB, up 10.0 percent from the 45.1 trains loaded through the same period in 2005.

Systemwide, BNSF has loaded a total of 264.3 million tons of coal through December 3, 2006, up 10.4 percent from the 2005 year-to-date total of 239.5 million tons. BNSF surpassed full-year 2005 total system coal tonnage of 259.2 million on November 27, 2006.

Construction Projects Update

Turnouts are being installed on 6 miles of new second main track between Bayard and Degraw, Nebraska. The additional trackage is scheduled to go into service in late December.

Final grading for 14 miles of new second main track between Angora and Northport, Nebraska, has been completed. Seven miles of track have been laid, and are scheduled to go into service in January 2007.

Rough grading for 6.4 miles of new second main track between Ashland and South Bend, Nebraska, has been completed. Final grading is scheduled for completion by the end of this year, and the new track is expected to go into service in the second quarter of 2007. - BNSF Service Advisory

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CONDUCTOR INJURED AFTER CAR STRIKES TRAIN

CARSON, CA -- A Union Pacific conductor hanging from the back of a train was critically injured Monday when a truck slammed into him and pinned him against the car in Carson, authorities said.

Although it initially appeared the man might die from his injuries, he was recovering at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center as the day progressed, sheriff's deputies said.

The accident occurred about 09:45 on the tracks that run alongside the San Diego (405) Freeway at Wilmington Avenue.

Union Pacific spokesman Mark Davis said the conductor and other employees were moving cars in its industrial yard in the area.

The conductor was hanging onto a grain car as it was pushed east, slowly into the roadway, Davis and deputies said.

Although a witness at the scene said otherwise, Davis said the railroad warning lights were flashing.

At that moment, a delivery truck driver exited the freeway and turned right onto Wilmington. He hit the train, wedging the conductor in between the side of the truck and the grain car.

Davis said the driver should have seen the train.

"It looked like there was nothing to obscure the view looking both left and right," he said.

Firefighters took about 20 minutes to free the conductor from between the vehicles.

Carson sheriff's Sgt. Dale Johnson said traffic detectives were investigating whether the warning lights were indeed on. There are no crossing arms at the intersection.

The injured conductor was in his 30s. His name was not released pending notification of his relatives.

Sheriff's deputies are conducting the investigation. No one was cited at the scene. - Larry Altman, The Daily Breeze (LAX to L.A. Harbor)

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TRAINS CARRY MANY HAZARDOUS MATERIALS THROUGH SOUTHERN ILLINOIS REGION

CARBONDALE, IL -- On any given day at any given hour, train cars carrying such hazardous materials as sulfuric acid and liquefied anhydrous ammonia are rumbling through Southern Illinois.

The two chemicals are in the upper tier of the Top 125 hazardous commodity movements by tank car through Illinois, according to the "2005 Annual Report on Accidents/Incidents Involving Hazardous Materials on Railroads in Illinois" compiled by the Illinois Commerce Commission.
Also topping the list are chlorine, petroleum gases, propane and inhibited vinyl chloride. Phenol, one of the chemicals released in Monday's derailment, is the 27th most common hazardous material transported by rail car.

Although train derailments garner much attention on the rare occasions they occur, chemicals are more frequently released from trains due to leaks and human error than actual derailments.

There were 57 instances of hazardous material leaks in 2005 due to circumstances other than derailment. These leaks had various causes, including fuel line cracks, overfilled tanks and human error.

Railroads are responsible for keeping track of where hazardous materials are traveling on a given day, said Steve Kulm, director of public affairs for the Federal Railroad Administration.

"The federal government does not maintain an active database of what hazardous materials are traveling through which state or community," Kulm said. "That is held by private railroad companies. We have access to that information when we need to, but it's not something we maintain."

Communities interested in learning about hazardous materials transported through their borders have some ability to find out, Kulm said, but only to a certain degree.

"Upon request by the local community, they will be provided a list of the top 25 hazardous material commodities that get shipped through their communities in a given year - not hazardous materials per train, but an annual total," Kulm said.

"Therefore, local community first responders will have an ability to train for the likeliest scenario should something happen."

The Rail Safety program administered through the Illinois Commerce Commission is responsible for checking the track-worthiness of all vessels carrying hazardous materials through the state of Illinois, said Michael Stead, Rail Safety program administrator.

"Federal regulations require railroads are supposed to meet terms regarding what type of vessel and railroad car are used to transport, how that particular container is identified and proper placarding so any employee that will be sending or receiving know what type of commodity is inside the car so they can handle the proper way, whether it's corrosive or ammunition or something highly flammable," Stead said.

Although there were 68 documented releases of hazardous materials - 11 because of derailments - in 2005, railroads are for the most part very compliant with the regulations put before them, Stead said.

"They are required by federal regulation to comply, but it's a big part of a railroad company's business and in their best interest to make sure they're safely hauling hazardous materials," Stead said. - Ashley Wiehle, The Carbondale Southern Illinosian

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RAILPOWER ANNOUNCES SETTLEMENT OF CONTRACT WITH A CUSTOMER

MONTREAL -- Railpower Technologies, a leader in specialized energy technology systems for the transportation industry, Monday announced that it has reached an agreement with a customer to terminate the contract for the procurement of 35 yard Green Goat locomotives.

This contract represented the majority of the provision for contract losses of approximately $21 million shown on the balance sheet as at September 30, 2006. The performance of this contract was suspended in the third quarter of 2006, pending negotiations with the customer.

The settlement will have a significant positive impact on the Company's balance sheet as the provision for contract losses is expected to decrease by $18.7 Million in the fourth quarter of 2006.

"We are pleased to have reached an amicable resolution with this customer and we are confident in our ability to enter into new contracts on normal commercial terms with this and other customers. This settlement will allow us to focus on expanding sales of and delivering our RP-series road switcher locomotives," said José Mathieu, President and CEO of Railpower.

"We believe that this customer and many others throughout North America will embrace the significant fuel savings and environmental benefits offered by this state of the art technology."

Pursuant to the settlement agreement, the Company will pay an amount of approximately $1.1 million against full release and discharge of its obligations related to the contract. The Customer will return the three Green Goat locomotives that had been previously delivered and the Company will make them available for sale.

These locomotives are the latest generation model and are ideal for lighter duty cycle use, particularly by industrial customers.

The Company does not anticipate any difficulty in reselling them to such customers within a short period of time and at an acceptable price.

A key element of Railpower's growth strategy is to increase the market penetration of RP-Series road switchers. These locomotives can provide fuel savings of up to 35 percent and reduce NOx (Nitrogen Oxides) and other particulate emissions by approximately 80 percent.

The Company's order backlog currently stands at 113 units, of which 105 are RP-series locomotives. - newswire.ca

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MEXICAN RAILROAD PRICES OFFERING OF KANSAS CITY SOUTHERN SHARES

Railway holding company Kansas City Southern said late Monday that shareholder Grupo TMM SA, a Mexico-based transport and logistics company, priced its planned offering of 1.5 million KCS shares at $26.65 a share.

Kansas City Southern will not receive any proceeds from the sale, which is expected to happen Thursday.

Grupo TMM got the shares in March as payment for the resolution of a tax refund claim and a dispute with the Mexican government over the purchase of the company's Mexican rail operation, Kansas City Southern de Mexico. - The Associated Press, The Kansas City Star

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TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY MEETS WITH DM&E OPPONENTS, SUPPORTERS

ROCHESTER, MN -- Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters stepped into the 9-year-old debate over the expansion of the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad on Monday, visiting railroad headquarters and the city where opposition is strongest.

Peters came on a "listen and learn" tour to acquaint herself with the dispute. The DM&E is seeking a $2.3 billion loan from the Transportation Department's Federal Railroad Administration to finance an upgrade that Rochester opposes over safety concerns. The railroad has already secured federal regulatory approval.

The transportation secretary, who assumed her post just in September, met for about 90 minutes on Monday morning at DM&E headquarters in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, with DM&E President and CEO Kevin Schieffer, U.S. Sen. John Thune, South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds and other officials to hear the case in favor for the railroad's expansion.

Thune said he, Rounds and people from the state's other congressional offices encouraged Peters to decide on the project based on its merits and not emotion and politics.

"That was pretty much the essence of the message - don't make this based on who's making the most noise or emotion surrounding it," he said.

Peters followed that with an hour-long afternoon meeting in Rochester at a retirement high-rise one block from the DM&E tracks with U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Rep.-elect Tim Walz, and officials from the Mayo Clinic and local government.

The Mayo Clinic and Rochester oppose the $6 billion project, arguing the increased high-speed train traffic through the city could threaten the safety of patients at the clinic, which lies a few hundred yards from the tracks. The project would rebuild 600 miles of track across South Dakota and Minnesota and add 260 miles of new track to reach Wyoming's Powder River Basin coal mines. Both sides gave Peters documents making conflicting claims about the DM&E's safety record.

Peters left Rochester quickly after her meeting, giving no insight into what she might do. There was no stated timetable for Peters to take her next steps.

Coleman said Peters wants to digest what she learned Monday.

"There will be another step," Coleman said. "I asked her to go back and process a mitigation program that makes sense."

Coleman said that means a package that would protect the Mayo Clinic but that is still acceptable to the DM&E. And he said that if he sees progress, he would back away from his earlier threat to try to kill the project if there's no solution by year's end.

The impasse between Rochester and the DM&E is simply too deep for the parties to negotiate themselves out of it, he said.

"I am satisfied the secretary is fully engaged," he said. "If she wants a few more weeks, I'll give her that."

Chris Gade, a spokesman for the Rochester Coalition, said the DM&E's proposal as it currently stands is a threat both to the community and U.S. taxpayers. The group argues that the DM&E won't be able to repay the $2.3 billion loan, a charge the railroad disputes.

"The direct involvement of the nation's top transportation officials is very encouraging and a sign that this project may get the level of scrutiny it deserves," Gade said.

Thune, who was the DM&E's chief lobbyist before he was elected to the Senate in 2004, said the initial application for the project was made in February 1998. He said the railroad has offered three mitigation plans that were all rejected.

"So it's now almost nine years that this project has been scrutinized and analyzed and litigated and everything else," he said. "Now is kind of critical time. If it's going to move forward, it needs to move forward." - The Associated Press, The Winona Daily News

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TRAIN DERAILS NEAR CHRISTOPHER, ILLINOIS

FRANKLIN COUNTY, IL -- An 80-car Union Pacific train transporting hazardous material derailed near Zeigler early Monday morning sending 21 railroad cars careening off the track and resulting in the evacuation of approximately 100 residents.

Chuck Novara of the Southern Illinosian took this photo:

[www.southernillinoisan.com]

The derailment also resulted in an extended weekend for approximately 600 students in the Zeigler-Royalton Unit K-12 complex that is less than three miles from the site.

Ryan Buckingham, director of Franklin County Emergency Management, said the exact location of the derailment is approximately two miles south of Christopher and two miles east of Illinois 148. The derailment took place near Mitchell Lake, causing additional concern for emergency and hazardous material workers who braved temperatures hovering in the teens to begin the tedious clean-up process.

Bucking-ham said a "voluntary evacuation" began shortly after 03:00, only minutes after authorities were notified of the accident. Approximately 70 homes were evacuated to a temporary shelter set up at the Christopher Community Center.

"We decided it was in the best interest of public safety to evacuate the residents from the immediate area," Buckingham said. "We used our 911 mapping system to determine how many homes we would evacuate by using emergency response guides. We had great cooperation throughout the county with all of our emergency responders."

James Barnes, director of media relations with Union Pacific Railroad, said the cause of the derailment is under investigation.

"We just want to make sure people are as safe as possible," he said, "which is why we got together with local authorities and evacuated all residents within a half-mile radius in an effort to secure the area."

Barnes said it may take the company days before the wreckage is removed and the railway repaired for further use. Barnes also confirmed that phenol was spilled in the derailment. Phenol is a poisonous, white, crystalline compound derived from benzene and used in various resins, plastics, disinfectants and pharmaceuticals. The train was en route from Houston to Chicago.

"We use this particular route an estimated 20 times per day," Barnes said. "That's what we would term medium volume traffic."

The railroad transports a wide array of items such as coal, automobiles, lumber and ethanol, Barnes said.

Tracy Karnes, an EMT with Mercy Regional Ambulance, said 11 of the evacuated residents were transported to local hospitals with various complaints. Karnes said six were taken in private vehicles and five were taken by ambulance. She said most were complaining of irritation to their eyes, throat, nose and skin. All those who sought medical assistance were treated and released, Karnes said.

Immediately after the derailment Franklin County authorities quickly cordoned off the site, blocking entrance to Yellow Banks Road from both Illinois 148 between Christopher and Zeigler and from Illinois 37 between Benton and West Frankfort. Yellow Banks Road is a frequently traveled road that allows drivers to travel between Illinois 148 and 37 while bypassing both Christopher and Benton.

On Dry Road, only a short distance from the derailment site, more than a dozen tractor-trailer trucks that had hauled the huge, heavy equipment to the site could be seen.

Buckingham said several private businesses responded with food and drinks for those displaced from their homes and for workers at the scene. At midday more than 100 meals had been served from the Christopher site by local volunteers from the American Red Cross.

Speaking at a press conference held at the community center, Craig Lemmon, a lieutenant with the West Frankfort Fire Department, said he received the initial call at 02:50 and responded to the scene. Lemmon said the force of the derailment had pushed some railroad cars on top of other cars. He it was immediately determined that a "hazmat (hazardous material) incident" had taken place.

Lemmon said three of the 21 cars that overturned were carrying hazardous products. He said the hazardous materials included alkyl phenol and lubrisol. Alkyl phenols are used as antioxidants in plastics and rubber products and lubrisol is an oil additive. Both are liquids, Lemmon said.

There are no fires involved with the derailment and the spilled liquid is confined to a single area, Lemmon said. There is also no danger of any contamination to Mitchell Lake, located only a short distance from the wreckage.

Kevin Turner, with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, also appeared at a midday press conference.

"We are looking at this not only from the human health perspective but also from the environmental perspective," Turner said. "Of the 21 cars derailed, there are only three that we are really concerned about. Two of these cars contain lubrisol, a petroleum product used as an additive for lubricating oil. The other car of concern contains alkyl phenol. It is in a tanker car and it is a corrosive liquid. We are doing air monitoring with all three cars."

Turner said air results at midday were negative at the site.

"That's very good news," Turner said. "The other good news is that it is cold outside so therefore this stuff does not react like it would if it was 90 degrees. That is something that is also in our favor."

Turner said much work lies ahead for the large number of workers involved in the cleanup effort.

"It is a complete mess back there and it is going to take a long time to clean up," he said. "Folks that live in that area should be prepared because there is going to be a lot of equipment, a lot of people and a lot of activity to get this cleaned up." - Jim Muir, The Carbondale Southern Illinosian

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UP CAN KEEP $3 MILLION IN FATAL ARKANSAS TRAIN-VAN CRASH, COURT SAYS

LITTLE ROCK, AR -- An insurance company does not have a valid claim to more than $3 million it tentatively paid in a settlement over a Union Pacific train crash with a van that killed a Louisiana woman and her daughter, a federal appeals court said.

A three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday overturned a ruling by U.S. District Judge Harry F. Barnes, who agreed with Ohio Casualty Insurance Company that it did not have to pay part of a settlement reached in the Aug. 7, 2000, wreck.

Minza Johnson, 44, and her daughter, Christin Johnson, 14, of Natchitoches, Louisiana, were killed in the Lafayette County crash. Joseph Johnson, Minza's husband and Christin's father, sued Union Pacific for allegedly failing to provide adequate signs in a construction zone at a railroad crossing. Union Pacific settled the suit for $12.5 million.

At the time, Ohio Casualty, which insured Tri-State Traffic Control Inc., the company that provided traffic control and warning signs for Union Pacific, agreed to pay $3 million of the settlement but reserved the right to deny coverage if a court later determined that the insurance policy didn't cover Union Pacific.

The appeals panel Monday said the policy did cover Union Pacific, and overturned Barnes' Sept. 21, 2005.

The van and train collided around lunchtime at the crossing on Arkansas 29 about a half mile north of the Louisiana border. The Johnsons were in the van. Joseph Johnson was injured, as was passenger Katie Colvin, 14, of Coushatta, LA, state police said at the time.

The appeals panel noted testimony from Kenneth W. Heathington in the state lawsuit that the traffic control plan, signs and flagging at the crossing were substandard. The court said Heathington testified the number of signs was inadequate, the signs were not installed correctly and one of the signs was lying on the ground. Flaggers also were at lunch at the time of the accident.

On appeal, Union Pacific argued that the railroad company was an additional insured party under the contract it had with Tri-State and that even though the written contract had expired, Tri-State continued to work for Union Pacific and the accident "arose out of Tri-State's work."

Ohio Casualty said Union Pacific wasn't covered because it wasn't specifically named in a written contract with Tri-State at the time of the accident.

The appeals court said Union Pacific's status as an additional insured party didn't automatically end when Tri-State's written contract with the railroad company expired.

Also, referring to Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary for the definitions of "to be" and "currently," the appeals court said the Ohio Casualty policy took effect when the insurance company issued the policy Jan. 22, 2000, and was in play when the accident occurred. - Peggy Harris, The Associated Press, The New Orleans Times-Picayune

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STATE AND RAILROAD MUSEUM STORES TO HOST OPEN HOUSES

CARSON CITY, NV -- The Nevada State Museum and the Nevada State Railroad Museum will be holding store open houses from 12:00 to 20:00 Wednesday, featuring 10 percent to 20 percent off regular museum store prices.

All proceeds will benefit the museums. - The Nevada Appeal

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DEADWOOD-RAPID CITY PASSENGER LINE ADVANCES

BELLE FOURCHE, SD -- A proposed passenger railroad between Rapid City and Deadwood, South Dakota could be chugging toward reality next year.

A report to the Northern Hills Regional Railroad Authority last week revealed that court matters and financing issues are coming to an end.

Ralph Justen, president of Black Hills Transportation, said negotiations with the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad will result in BHT being able to use DM&E track from Rapid City to Whitewood beginning in 2007. BHT plans to run a passenger train to and from Rapid City during the Sturgis motorcycle rally and later take passengers to Deadwood and back by building a rail line from Whitewood to Deadwood.

Financing issues are still in the works, but Justen said BHT is seeking money from a variety of sources including private loans, federal and state grants and bonding companies.

BHT has applied for a South Dakota Department of Tourism matching grant that would pay for an economic development study. BHT officials are also updating a feasibility study originally drafted by Hollywood actor Kevin Costner in 1996.

Costner proposed the rail line in the early 1990s but turned the project over to Black Hills Transportation in 2005. Costner remains a minority investor in the current project.

Justen said BHT is developing a marketing plan to run simultaneously with its planned Whitewood-to-Deadwood rail line construction some time in April or May.

"We would like to start building this spring if at all possible," Justen said.

He said legal issues could slow the process. One case is on appeal to the South Dakota Supreme Court; a second is pending in circuit court.

Certain landowners along the proposed rail line between Whitewood and Deadwood are challenging the authority's claims to the rail bed. They believe the right of way reverted into private hands when commercial rail service ended. - The Associated Press, The Casper Star-Tribune

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RAILROAD A ROUTE TO TRUCKEE'S WINTER WONDERLAND

TRUCKEE, CA -- The completion of the first transcontinental railroad across the United States in May 1869 finally opened the door to safe travel from coast to coast. The Iron Horse was a revolutionary transportation technology and the first to provide comfortable passage over storm-wracked Donner Pass during the winter months. The railroad was also a vital component in the development of skiing and winter sports in the Truckee and Lake Tahoe region.

Building a railroad over the Sierra Nevada, however, was a major challenge to the men laying the rails, especially during the heavy winters of 1867 and 1868. Forty-four snowstorms during the winter of 1867 took a lethal toll on the Chinese railroad crews struggling to reach the Sierra Crest west of Coburn's Station (soon re-named Truckee). Total accumulation on Donner Pass that year exceeded 40 feet, which effectively shut down all construction except for tunnel work. One avalanche wiped out an entire work camp. When the bodies were discovered the following spring, work tools were still clutched in their hands. The weather-related delays were critical since Central Pacific Railroad was in a race with the Union Pacific to lay as much track as fast as possible. The more miles of track each company threw down, the more money and land grants they would earn from their government contracts.

Whatever it takes

In their fourth year of construction, the Central Pacific crews were working up the Sierra west slope. Due to the hardness of the granite and severity of the weather, construction progress was being measured in feet, not miles. In order to accelerate their eastward progress, Charles Crocker, associate of Leland Stanford, Mark Hopkins and Collis P. Huntington (later known as the "Big Four"), ordered a third of the Chinese crews ahead into the Truckee River Canyon to prepare the road there. In December 1866, laborers constructed huge sleds by fitting large logs together. Using these oversized toboggans, they hauled three locomotives, 40 cars of rolling stock, and tons of rails and supplies over the snowbound pass. The leapfrog strategy worked. Despite the blizzards in the high country, laborers managed to build nearly 40 miles of railroad through the Truckee River Canyon.

Throughout the following summer and fall, the 10,000 hard-working Chinese laborers hired by Central Pacific pushed the track east, reaching Donner Summit on Nov. 30, 1867. The mild autumn weather ended in December when a series of powerful Pacific storms slammed into California. The construction crews working at near 7,000 feet in elevation were exposed and vulnerable to the blinding blizzards and crushing avalanches. Snowslides delayed the supply trains, but the crews continued to work through the storms. When the snow piled so high that the workers could not throw it over the embankment, it was shoveled into empty boxcars and shipped to Sacramento where it was dumped into the river.

Theodore Judah, the brilliant engineer who had surveyed the line over the Sierra, had no real understanding of the great danger, power, and frequency of snowslides.

The track was built along the avalanche-prone, steep-sided slopes; sometimes the railroad clung to bare granite cliffs. To protect the railroad from heavy snow and frequent avalanches, Central Pacific was forced to construct nearly 40 miles of wooden snowsheds. Where a roadbed could not be built, a tunnel was chipped and blasted out. In the heavy snow belt between 6,000 and 7,000 feet, nine tunnels were excavated, totaling 5,158 feet in length. At Donner Summit, Tunnel No. 6 was carved through 1,659 feet of solid granite. Despite the constant digging and the use of 300 kegs of black powder daily, the rock was so hard that the Chinese laborers could gain only eight inches a day.

And over

Although ice and snow remained 12-feet deep in many places, by June 1868, trains were running all the way to Lake's Crossing, the site of present-day Reno, Nev.

Constructing a railroad 88 miles over the rugged Sierra between Newcastle and Truckee had taken 11,000 men 38 months of backbreaking work. In comparison, to complete the railroad from Truckee, east across the desert to Promontory, Utah, a distance of 571 miles, took 5,000 men just one year and 27 days. For the crews that built the line over the Sierra Nevada, their Herculean effort not only connected California with the rest of the nation, but it provided the transportation necessary for the beginning of the winter sports industry in the mountains.

Once the transcontinental railroad was built, Truckee and eventually the Lake Tahoe region became an easily-accessible winter wonderland. The patriarch of Truckee, Charles F. McGlashan, was an intelligent and energetic jack-of-all trades. Among his many accomplishments, he practiced law, served as school principal, wrote the first authentic history of the Donner Party, and was the long-time editor and owner of the Truckee Republican newspaper. In the 1890s, McGlashan proposed his vision that Truckee, and eventually Lake Tahoe, would become major attractions for people looking for winter sport excitement. Ice Carnivals and other mid-winter festivals spurred thousands of people to take the train from the mild flatlands for fun and frolic in the snowdrifts around Truckee.

Southern Pacific Railroad capitalized on the newfound excitement about winter sports by establishing "Snowball Specials," express trains that conveyed hundreds of tourists from the California lowlands to Truckee every weekend. Hilltop, the small hill with an open slope just south of downtown Truckee, provided an excellent place to sled and ski. In 1910, an old steam engine from an abandoned lumber mill on the Little Truckee River was hauled in by oxen-drawn wagon and converted into a pullback lift. Some ski historians believe that this was the first mechanical lift of its kind in the United States. Soon Norwegian-style skiing became popular in the United States and Truckee was on the forefront of this popular new sport. The Truckee Ski Club, later the Truckee Outing Club, was organized in 1913. This was the first formally organized ski team in the Sierra.

Bring it on

The greatest boost for winter sports arrived when the California Highway Commission decided to make Highway 40 an all-year transcontinental route, realigned it, and undertook the expensive task of keeping it open throughout the winter. Ski resorts and lodges quickly sprung up along the highway; the Auburn Ski Club made its headquarters on 740 acres at Cisco, about 20 miles west of Donner Pass. It was one of the most highly developed systems of competitive ski courses and instruction hills on the continent. One outstanding feature was its Class "A" championship ski jump; its vertical drop of 251 feet enabled world-class jumps exceeding 300 feet.

Skiing and ski resort development hit the big time when Squaw Valley hosted the 1960 Winter Olympics. With the completion of Interstate 80 over Donner Pass a few years later, Truckee clinched its role as the hub of winter sports in the Central Sierra. - Mark McLaughlin, The Truckee Sierra Sun

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TRANSIT NEWS

CALTRAIN'S NEW HOME NEARLY COMPLETE

SAN JOSE, CA -- First, it was a hope. Then, a concept. Plans were drawn up, ground was broken -- and now, Caltrain's new home is nearing completion.

Close to three-quarters done, the transit agency's 22-acre maintenance and operations facility is not yet free of blemishes -- but about 100 construction workers are striving to complete the facelift.

Monday morning, the press were guided through stacks of steel girders and piles of concrete, through steady drilling and the acrid smell of paint, to catch a glimpse of a project, which Caltrain views as central to its re-invention. "We spent $140 million of public money," Caltrain spokesman Jonah Weinberg said, "and we thought people would like a few pictures and a story."

The pictures reflect a state-of-the-art campus for the transit agency, and the story represents much more than maintenance for Caltrain's fleet of 29 locomotives and 110 passenger cars.

That's because the project -- known as the Centralized Engineering, Maintenance and Operations Facility (CEMOF) -- not only bundles the nitty-gritty of running an $83.3-million-a-year railroad operation onto a single campus, but also bestows the agency with a new luxury.

Back when Caltrain was Southern Pacific, maintenance was handled in South San Francisco. That facility was demolished more than a quarter-century ago. As a result, Caltrain has maintained its fleet on the fly -- treating small problems on the tracks and sending locomotives out of town to repair more complex issues.

Since Caltrain introduced the Baby Bullet trains in 2004, pushing its daily operations to running 96 trains a day, the agency has needed a central maintenance and operation facility more than ever. Located less than a mile from downtown San Jose -- between mile 46.5 and 46.9 of Caltrain's 52-mile track -- the new facility represents an agency first.

The center is a 58,000 square-foot maintenance building made of steel girders, concrete blocks and aluminum facade. In early summer, when the building is complete, all maintenance will be taken care of beneath one roof -- at a fraction of the cost and much to the relief of workers, who now resort to crawling underneath cars, rain or shine, to make repairs.

Inside the building, inspection pits and platforms facilitate daily and seasonal check-ups and emergency repairs.

On the CEMOF grounds, tanks containing 70,000 gallons of diesel fuel will replace the fleets of trucks now necessary to refuel the trains along the tracks; a 400-foot-long train wash will make the trains spic-and-span; and an on-site water treatment plant will clean up the industrial waste.

On the maintenance building's west side lie 12 tracks for storage, and near the facility's southern entrance is the dispatch operations building. Currently, Caltrain's dispatch center -- something like an air traffic control system for trains -- occupies cramped headquarters in a leased, single-story office building in San Jose.

The money for the $140 million facility came primarily from the federal government -- which ponied up $106 million -- and the rest from a combination of state and local funding.

"This is something that's not only been wanted, but sorely needed," Caltrain Board Member Art Lloyd said.

Ultimately, said Lloyd, Caltrain's new maintenance and operations facility represents another step toward the agency's future -- a program which will culminate in plans to move from diesel to electric trains by 2025.

"Caltrain is looked at as one of the most progressive and successful commuter rail operations in the United States, and this facility is going to enhance and improve our operational competence," said Lloyd.

"We've come into the modern world." - Michael Manekin, The San Mateo County Times

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SACRAMENTO LIGHT-RAIL EXTENSION TO OPEN FRIDAY

SACRAMENTO, CA -- Sacramento Regional Transit District officials have confirmed that the half-mile light-rail extension to the Amtrak depot, known as Sacramento Valley Station, will open as scheduled Friday.

The extension, between 7th and K streets and the railroad station, is the first connector to link light-rail with Amtrak's Capitol Corridor trains.

Regional Transit spokeswoman Jo Noble said Regional Transit will be testing trains on the line prior to the grand opening, but no problems are anticipated.

"At this point, it's a go for Friday and everything looks good," she said.

The new line's debut coincides with the opening of two light-rail stations, at 8th and K streets and at Sacramento Valley Station.

Noble said even after the 8th and K street station opens, workers will be finishing up with landscaping and shelter construction.

The opening of a third stop, at 7th and I streets, has been delayed by weather and the discovery of Native American remains. Late spring rains and the surprise discovery of unmapped utilities put the entire project behind a few months. - The Sacramento Business Journal, courtesy Coleman Randall, Jr

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KANSAS CITY LIGHT RAIL

Dreamers build cities

Just by accident, I came across an article about your recently passed light-rail measure. I think it's great. But as I quickly searched for further information about the system, I came across all of the opposition to it. Just about everyone in a position of power seemed to be against this proposal. Too bad, but also too familiar.

I don't know anything about Clay Chastain, but it seems that everything worth having in a city, including many things we come to cherish in our cities, was pushed through by a dreamer, a true leader, even egotists, charlatans and schemers. That's just the way it is.

All the big stuff, the difficult stuff, the beautiful but costly stuff, the stuff that will be around decades later after all the easy, cheap stuff is torn down, all that is usually built or championed by people with oversized personalities and egos to match.

Voters have given the leaders in Kansas City a golden opportunity to roll up their sleeves and go to work on a big plan for the city. The question is, are there enough big people in Kansas City?

John Doxey
Decatur, Ga.

Future of transit in KC

Star columnist Yael Abouhalkah can't quite accept the voters' judgment in approving Clay Chastain's "wacky" light-rail plan. Could it be that he is miffed by the voters' repudiation of the truly "wacky" Smart Moves diesel bus scheme that Abouhalkah and others had been attempting to foist on the metropolitan area?

In "KC getting cold shoulders from the suburbs" (11/30, Opinion) Abouhalkah laments voters' implicit rejection of Smart Moves, which Johnson County mayors and Kansas lawmakers refused to endorse earlier this year as the answer to the transportation needs of the Sunflower State.

Abouhalkah interprets voter approval of the Chastain initiative as a defeat for bistate cooperation. Actually Kansas City voters were only joining the Kansas officials in saying they wanted a better plan than the poorly conceived and inadequate Smart Moves. And, in endorsing Chastain's vision, they threw the door wide open to cooperation by the entire metropolitan area in a true 21st century transit system that will benefit everyone.

As for Abouhalkah's concerns about Union Station's financial situation, Chastain's light-rail plan, which includes a terminal at Union Station, will be a boon for the station, returning it to its intended use as a rail hub and uniting the entire metropolitan area from north to south, east to west.

Thomas Bogdon
Kansas City

Add light rail to SmartMoves

Norman Rockwell's "Kansas City Spirit" celebrated our determination to rebuild our city after the devastating flood of 1951.

In the 21st century, disheartened by a different sort of flood - one of failed light-rail ballot initiatives - politicians and transportation officials retreated to craft Smart Moves, a comprehensive and regional vision for transit based on Rapid Rider buses and Freeway Flyer coaches.

Light rail once was to serve as the spine of Smart Moves, but it has since fallen from that vision. The most recent version of its comprehensive report states that the use of fixed-guideway transit is "to be determined."

With the success of the light-rail initiative, now is the time to re-incorporate it into Smart Moves. This is a good plan with plenty of political capital. It would be an even better plan with light rail. With the help of Congressman Emanuel Cleaver and Sen.-elect Claire McCaskill, it would have the political support that is crucial for federal funding.

More federal funding should be available since the chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee will be Jim Oberstar of Minnesota - a longtime public transit proponent from a Midwestern state that has fallen in love with its new light-rail service.

Kyle Gradinger
Philadelphia, Pa.

- Letters to the Editor, The Kansas City Star

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THE END