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Railroad Newsline for Friday, May 04, 2007

Compiled by Larry W. Grant

In Memory of Rob Carlson, 1952 – 2006

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RAIL NEWS

GENESEE & WYOMING ISSUES UPDATE ON ALABAMA RAIL TRESTLE DERAILMENT

GREENWICH, CT -- Genesee & Wyoming Inc. provided the following update on Wednesday's derailment that occurred just west of Myrtlewood, Alabama.

Six people were injured when a freight train carrying segments of solid rocket boosters for NASA derailed on GWI's Meridian & Bigbee Railroad (M&B). Five of the injured were accompanying the booster segments in a passenger car that derailed. Two of the five were airlifted to nearby hospitals with injuries that have been reported as not life-threatening.

The sixth person injured was the locomotive engineer, who is an M&B employee. He sustained cuts and bruises and was treated and released yesterday.

No other injuries were reported.

The derailment occurred as the eastbound train with two locomotives and 14 cars reached the east end of a 650-foot-long, 10-foot-high trestle over a slough, or boggy area. The trestle failed in the incident, with the two locomotives and four cars derailing. The cargo did not spill.

A full investigation of the incident is underway. Repairs to the under-deck structure of the trestle were completed by a bridge contractor earlier this week, and the trestle was tested prior to being placed back in service yesterday morning. Whether any connection exists between the repairs and the incident will be determined by the investigation.

The M&B received the train in Meridian, Mississippi, for delivery to Montgomery, Alabama.

Representatives of the booster segment manufacturer; NASA; federal and state railroad authorities; the EPA; the Alabama Emergency Management Agency; and a derailment-response contractor were all at the scene by last evening, as well as GWI personnel including Chief Operating Officer Jim Benz and Vice President of Safety Gerry Gates.

"Our foremost thoughts and concerns are with the injured," said Mortimer B. Fuller, chairman and chief executive officer of GWI. "Safety is the number- one priority of our company. A thorough investigation will be conducted to determine exactly what happened."

Benz said that daily M&B traffic of approximately 100 freight cars in each direction would be temporarily rerouted while the damage from yesterday's incident is repaired. He said it is too early to know how long repairs would take, pending the investigation, but anticipates one month. Cleanup and repairs were underway last night and this morning.

GWI is a leading operator of short line and regional freight railroads in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia and Bolivia. Operations currently include 48 railroads organized in 10 regions, as well as service at 12 U.S. ports, contract coal loading and industrial switching.
GWI operates more than 6,800 miles of owned and leased track and approximately 3,700 additional miles under track access arrangements. - PRNewswire.com, Source: Michael E. Williams, Genesee & Wyoming, Inc.

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TRAIN WITH SHUTTLE PARTS DERAILED HOURS AFTER TRESTLE WORK

BIRMINGHAM, AL -- A railroad trestle that collapsed under a train carrying huge segments of space shuttle booster rockets had reopened only hours earlier after repairs, officials said Thursday.

Authorities said an investigation would determine whether the repair work was a factor in the accident, which occurred in rural west Alabama near the Myrtlewood community.

The same train had derailed days earlier in Kansas, officials say, although there was no apparent link between the accidents.

NASA, meanwhile, said the shuttle's schedule should not be affected by the derailment since the booster manufacturer, ATK Launch Systems of Brigham City, Utah, has replacement rocket segments in stock.

Six workers were hurt when a special train carrying eight 150-ton segments of solid rocket boosters derailed about 9 a.m. CST Wednesday. The train was headed to NASA's Kennedy Space Center from Utah with booster pieces intended for shuttle launches in October and December.

Two of the injured were hospitalized, one listed as critical and one fair Thursday. But NASA, the rocket manufacturer and a spokesman for the train line said none of the injuries was life-threatening. The crash site was so isolated it didn't pose a threat to the public.

The Connecticut-based Genesee & Wyoming Inc., parent company of the Meridian & Bigbee Railroad, said the 650-foot-long, 10-foot-high trestle that collapsed had reopened only hours earlier after repairs to its supports by a contractor.

The company said the trestle was tested before the approach of the train, which consisted of two engines and 14 cars.

"Whether the repairs were a factor in the accident will be determined by the investigation. It's too early to say," said Mike Williams, a spokesman for Genesee & Wyoming.

A spokesman for the Federal Railroad Administration, Warren Flatau, said an investigation of the accident would include a review of the repair work.

"They will interview the train crew and those responsible for maintaining and repairing the track," he said.

A NASA spokeswoman in Washington, Katherine Trinidad, said the same train had a mishap five days earlier near Bunker Hill, Kansas, where two rail car axles came off the tracks while the train was traveling less than 20 mph.

None of the rocket segments was damaged in the accident, she said, and the train resumed its eastward trek in less than six hours.

June Malone, a spokeswoman at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, which manages the shuttle's rockets, said officials had yet to determine the extent of any damage from the second accident, but no flight delays are expected.

"It's probably going to be a couple of days before we can get in and really look at the hardware," she said.

Each of the shuttle's reusable twin boosters are 150 feet tall and consist of four propellant segments. The segments are metal cylinders loaded with fuel similar in consistency to the rubber eraser on a pencil. - Jay Reeves, The Associated Press, The Birmingham News

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JUDGE REJECTS RULE INTENDED TO LIMIT TRAIN YARD POLLUTION

A federal judge has struck down rules that sought to cut pollution from Southern California railroad yards by limiting locomotive idling times.

U.S. District Court Judge John F. Walter ruled in favor of railroad companies, which had sued the South Coast Air Quality Management District last year and argued that the regional rules are preempted by federal regulations protecting the free flow of interstate commerce.

"Rules at issue in this case are exactly the type of local regulation Congress intended to preempt ... to prevent a 'patchwork' of such local regulation from interfering with interstate commerce," said Walter's decision, issued Monday in Los Angeles.

Photo here:

[www.pe.com]

Caption reads: The South Coast Air Quality Management District wanted the Colton rail yard, above, and others monitored for health risks. (2005/The Press-Enterprise)

The ruling was a reminder of the South Coast district's limited authority in its fight against the nation's worst smog. The air district has almost no authority over mobile sources -- cars, trucks, trains, airplanes and ships -- which cause about 80 percent of air pollution in the geographic basin that stretches from Los Angeles to the Inland area.

Locomotive emissions are regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. However, air-district officials believe they have the authority to regulate rail yards under the federal Clean Air Act, which compels state and local officials to take all feasible measures to cut unhealthful air pollution, said Sam Atwood, a South Coast spokesman.

A state study done in 2004 found that diesel pollution from a large Union Pacific yard in Roseville increases the cancer risk for nearby residents. Medical researchers also have linked diesel soot to heart disease and premature deaths, among other health problems.

The air district's rules would have limited locomotive idling to 30 minutes and required the railroads to track idling times. Railroads also would have been required to assess the health risks faced by residents living near 19 rail yards, including yards in Mira Loma, Colton and San Bernardino.

The district board adopted the rules last year but enforcement was suspended pending the outcome of the lawsuit filed by the Association of American Railroads, BNSF Railway and Union Pacific Railroad.

The rules were tougher than voluntary cutbacks that railroad companies agreed to in negotiations with the California Air Resources Board in 2005.

Tom White, a railroad-association spokesman, said by phone that he could not comment until he had a chance to discuss the decision with association attorneys.

The BNSF Railway Company did not return phone calls Wednesday but issued a news release.

"The court has recognized the importance of having consistent nationwide regulation of rail operations," the release said.

The company, between 2000 and 2010, will have spent some $300 million on technologies to reduce emissions and improve air quality, according to the statement.

Union Pacific officials could not be reached Wednesday.

Teresa Lopez, who lives across the street from the sprawling BNSF rail yard in San Bernardino, said she was disappointed.

"It's big business that always seems to take over," she said. Diesel soot often blows over the fence and envelops her property, she said.

"I honestly thought something would get done," Lopez said by telephone.

Atwood said the air-district board will discuss the decision and a possible appeal when it meets Friday in Diamond Bar.

Locomotives are responsible for more than 32 tons per day of air pollution in the South Coast basin, the equivalent of 1.4 million cars, pickups and SUVs, according to Atwood. Locomotive pollution in the region also exceeds the combined emissions from 350 of the largest factories and industrial sites.

Atwood said the district was trying to protect people's health. "We don't believe we are interfering with the railroads," he said. - David Danelski, The Riverside Press-Enterprise

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AMTRAK SUNSET LIMITED DERAILS; SERVICE DISRUPTED IN ONTARIO, CALIFORNIA

ONTARIO, CA -- Amtrak service in southern California was disrupted Wednesday afternoon, when a train derailed.

The incident occurred in Ontario, California -- about 50 miles east of Los Angeles.

Officials say several cars and two engines appear to have derailed, initially attributed to a track problem.

The affected train is the Sunset Limited, which reportedly derailed five miles east of Ontario, at 16:25 hours. The train is a one-engine passenger-car train. It was traveling about 10 mph when the derailment occurred.

No one was injured.

There were 182 passengers and crew aboard, according to an Amtrak official.

The cause is still under investigation, and Amtrak officials are now trying to decide the best way to get the passengers moving again. - KABC-TV7, Los Angeles, CA, courtesy Coleman Randall, Jr

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CANADIAN PACIFIC SUBSIDIARY SOO LINE RAILROAD REACHES NEGOTIATED CONTRACT SETTLEMENT COVERING ITS LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS

CALGARY, AB -- The Canadian Pacific Railway Thursday announced it has reached a tentative contract settlement with the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, a Division of the Rail Conference of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (BLET).

The settlement is applicable on CP's US subsidiary, Soo Line Railroad, and covers 440 locomotive engineers.

The Soo Line and the BLET have agreed to apply the terms of the recently negotiated BLET national settlement, along with a commitment by the Soo Line to place its locomotive engineers in the Railroad National Healthcare Plans.

The settlement was reached April 23, 2007 and will cover a five-year period, from 2005-2009. It contains 17 per cent in general wage increases over this term. It also includes increases in employee premium cost sharing as well as several other benefit cost containment features.

The ratification process is expected to be completed by mid June. - Mark Seland, CP News Release

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YUMA OFFICIALS, RESIDENTS SHARE THOUGHTS ON UNION PACIFIC'S WITHDRAWAL

YUMA, AZ -- Local officials have expressed mixed reactions about the proposed Union Pacific railroad that would possibly extend from Yuma to a planned port in Punta Colonet, Baja California.

The Sun reported in August 2006 that Union Pacific had started studying the possibility of laying new tracks through Yuma to carry goods from the megaport.

The report has caused controversy, support and the formation of community organizations to study the issue.

Now that Union Pacific officials have shut the door on Yuma County and the possibility of a new rail line, here is what local officials and residents have to say:

"I’m surprised ... especially after all the effort and dollars they put into it," said Ken Rosevear, executive director of the Yuma County Chamber of Commerce. "But I also know it was controversial and it would have been a long, hard project to pull off."

Rosevear is also on the board of directors of Arizona Common Sense, a local group formed to study the issue. He said their group was never opposed to the line itself, just the direction it was taking.

"We (Arizona Common Sense) did not oppose the railroad. We opposed the proposed routes," Rosevear said.

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Chris Camacho, president and chief executive officer of Greater Yuma Economic Development Corp., said he hoped this wasn't the loss of a major opportunity for Yuma.

"This project ultimately had international and national implications, from a logistics perspective," Camacho said. "This rail line would have potentially offered our community - our region - a significant logistics opportunity for future jobs."

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Yuma Deputy Mayor Al Krieger said he thought this was purely a business decision on the part of Union Pacific.

"Union Pacific can do what Union Pacific does," Krieger said. "I think the economy of Yuma is strong and it's going to continue to be strong."

He added that another railroad company picking up the project may be possible.

"Just because Union Pacific pulls out doesn’t mean another railroad might not come through. There were lots of bidders on the project ... I wouldn’t say the issue is dead. We’ll just have to wait and see at this point," Krieger said.

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"First of all, I think the community was fairly divided over what was going to occur, if indeed the railroad did find a route that came through," said Yuma County Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Casey Prochaska. "The positives are, a lot of people in Yuma County learned how to communicate ... I think if we have future types of issues like this, with people looking at things that are going to impact our community, that we’ll have a better communication."

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Somerton City Manager Cliff O'Neil said Union Pacific's abandonment of the plan ended the city's concerns about it.

"It won't affect us at all. If they were going to commit, it was going to affect us but now that they're not, it won't," he said. "Our city council had expressed a concern about it splitting south county in half, and geographically separating us from San Luis (Ariz.) ... That problem solves itself, I guess."

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San Luis, Arizona, City Administrator Lee Maness said this was probably, overall, a good thing for southern Yuma County.

"I think they were going to face very strong opposition from the environmentalists, from the agriculture growers and even some of the workers. Because that was their livelihood, working here in that valley. I don’t know if that would have survived the obstacles they would have come up against," Maness said. "For southern Yuma County, I think that’s probably best that it not be located here."

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State Rep. Lynne Pancrazi, D-Yuma, who sponsored a bill this legislative session in response to the railroad company's plan to build a line through the Yuma area, said she was disappointed by Union Pacific's announcement.

"It's an opportunity we won't have now," Pancrazi said in a telephone interview from her office at the state capitol. "But there will be other economic development opportunities for Yuma."

Pancrazi, who first learned of Union Pacific's plan while attending a farm bureau meeting during her campaign, went on to say she was not against the railroad coming to Yuma, she just wanted the public to be involved in the decision-making process and the route not to go through any farmland.

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Mack Luckie, executive director of the Yuma Metropolitan Planning Organization, called Union Pacific's announcement a "loss for Yuma."

"It's my personal opinion that anything that brings economic growth to our area is a good thing," Luckie said. "I would liked to have seen it come through because it gave us some real opportunities that we are going to miss now."

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Mark Spencer, owner of Associated Citrus Packers Inc., said he was pleased to learn that Union Pacific had abandoned its plans to bid on the proposed railroad project.

"I think this is not just good news for the agricultural community, but the entire community," Spencer said. "I think Yuma will have many opportunities in the future to take advantage of our water and labor resources toward economic development for the entire community, but we need to be more selective toward those opportunities. And this was not a good one. There will be others that will be much better."

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As the chairman of the board for the Greater Yuma Port Authority, Gary Magrino said he was disappointed over the potential economic benefits to the county that have been lost as a result of Union Pacific's decision. Magrino has known about the proposed project for roughly three years.

Specifically, Magrino cited the potential for added rail support for south county, saying the railroad company's decision basically ends any possibility of that happening now.

"If Union Pacific isn't going to risk their capital to do it, no railroad will," Magrino said. "If they don't bring the tracks in, it will never happen."

Magrino explained that the Yuma area only has limited access to the Sunset Route, which is owned by Union Pacific, so by not getting the additional railway tracks the project would have required, the area won't ever get any better access to its railway system.

He added that he thinks the Punta Colonet project will still happen given that the nation's deep water ports in the western states that have rail access are operating at full capacity, but Yuma won't be a part of it.

Magrino said that if the train would have made a stop in Yuma County, the railroad company would have built a facility here, which would have been another economic boon to the area. It would also have been a significant opportunity to create future jobs.

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Yuman Kari Peterson, who was out shopping Tuesday evening at Yuma Palms Regional Center, thinks Union Pacific's announcement came as bad news for the area.
"If it is going to help our economy, it should be built," she said.

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While he didn't have an opinion about the railroad's decision, George Vogt who was shopping at Yuma Palms Tuesday afternoon, spoke from a strictly economic standpoint saying, "Anything that affects the economy in any way, especially if it's going to be bad, should be rethought."

- James Gilbert and Sarah Reynolds, The Yuma Sun

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COUNTRY GRAIN ELEVATORS WAIT OUT FINAL DAYS

Photo here:

[www.minotdailynews.com]:\oweb.net\minotdailynews.com\storyPhotos\WEBnorthgate.jpg&Width=285

Caption reads: On the south side of the Canadian border, two weathered grain elevators stand the test of time.

NORTHGATE, ND -- The days may be numbered for a couple of weathered grain elevators at Northgate.

Built more than 90 years ago, the wooden elevators used to be landmarks for travelers crossing the border between North Dakota and Saskatchewan at the Northgate portal. In the mid-1960s, the government built a new port of entry and rerouted the highway around Northgate and away from the two country elevators.

No longer landmarks and no longer a center for grain merchandising, the abandoned buildings are towering headaches for owner Bob Ganskop of rural Northgate. The elevators cost him $115 in taxes and $900 in annual rent to the railroad for the land they sit on.

“I am trying to get rid of them,” Ganskop said. “We are paying $900 a year just to sit and look at it.”

And he added, “It isn’t much to look at anymore.”

The pigeons, raccoons, deer and vandals are the only ones showing any interest in the buildings. And they haven’t been kind.

Years of disuse have taken their toll, too.

The “No Smoking” sign on the wall, the intact truck scale and an old transaction book on the counter make it appear that whoever walked away might have planned to come back. But the missing boards, broken windows and dirt and debris covering the green-shag office carpet indicate that no one ever did return.

“There’s a lot of good lumber in there if somebody would want to tear it down,” Ganskop said.

He considered doing the job himself, but discovered he’d have to pay for an inspection to first check for asbestos and other chemicals. The cost of dismantling and hauling away the lumber priced out at $8,000 about two years ago. Ganskop decided it wasn’t worth it.

The BNSF Railway Company won’t allow burning on the site because of the risk of harm to the nearby track.

So Ganskop pays the taxes and rent. The railroad initially wanted $1,200, but Ganskop worked with a railroad official in Minot to get the rent reduced.

Russell Miller Milling Co. built the smaller elevator in 1914 after Great Northern Railway platted the town. The company’s Occident Flour logo still appears on the elevator. The larger elevator, built by King Elevator Co., went up soon after as the town began to get established. Russell Miller Milling later bought the King elevator and moved it about three blocks so the elevators would stand side by side.

“I can just remember as a kid watching them move it,” Ganskop said.

Movers jacked the elevator up onto tracks, but two track-type machines couldn’t pull it. They brought in two farm tractors to provide more horsepower, he said.

In 1953, Peavey Co. purchased Russell Miller Milling and ran the Northgate elevators for 27 years.

Ganskop and his brother, Arthur, and a friend, Larry Olney, formed a corporation to buy the elevators in 1980 for about $40,000.

Ganskop said the company bought and cleaned grain and sold bags of fertilizer. The 40,000-bushel elevators accommodated the needs of area farmers on both sides of the border.

“We were buying some Canadian grain,” Ganskop said. “We bought durum and wheat from several farmers.”

Today the Canadian Wheat Board controls export sales, but at one time, Canadian farmers could buy wheat back from the Canadian Wheat Board and make money reselling it in the states, Ganskop said.

In 1986, Arthur Ganskop died, and the corporation’s business slowed. Bob Ganskop said he continued grain cleaning for neighbors and used the elevators for his own storage.

“What really caused it to close was the railroad,” Ganskop said. “We couldn’t handle the unit cars. Everything got bigger and bigger.”

The side rail was capable of handling only seven or eight cars, and the elevators usually only filled four or five. BNSF wouldn’t send a train up for fewer than 17 cars. The elevators hung in there for a while because a potash company that used to operate down the track allowed Ganskop to hook up a car to its train.

Now 100-unit trains that pass through Northgate stop at the huge, metal bins built by General Mills in 1998, but just rumble by the old, wooden elevators.

Northgate is one of several tiny communities in North Dakota that have abandoned, wooden elevators still standing. They catch the eye of photographers and history buffs who recognize them as relics of a different era.

Bruce Selyem, director of the Country Grain Elevator Historical Society in Bozeman, Montana, said about 27,000 grain elevators existed in the United States in the mid- to late 1930s.

The wooden elevators were built so sturdy that those not torn down or burned still stand, he said.

The big beams that hold up the structures have become valuable in the construction industry.

“The beams are pretty impressive. You can’t even get them anymore. Trees just don’t grow that big anymore,” Selyem said.

Ganskop said the Northgate community would like to keep the elevators because of their historical significance. However, Northgate no longer is a booming little town with a hotel, bank, grocery store and other businesses. All that is gone. Where the school once stood, a bar remains as the town’s only business other than General Mills.

Northgate is down to about a half-dozen residents. A similar number live in North Northgate, just across the border.

“The older generation that knew that as a landmark is gone,” said Alice Ganskop, who shares her husband’s feeling that it may be time for the elevators to go.

One option is to bulldoze the elevators if a neighboring landowner consents to accepting the debris for burying.

“We are going to have to figure out something in the next few years,” Bob Ganskop said. - Jill Schramm, The Minot Daily News

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SP 4449: GETTING UP STEAM IN THE BROOKLYN YARD

PORTLAND, OR -- Probably the most famous railroad locomotive in the world is owned by the City of Portland.

It’s Southern Pacific steam engine #4449, restored by local volunteers; it pulled the United States’ “Bicentennial Train” around the country in 1976, the nation’s 200th anniversary.

Photo here:

[www.thebeenews.com]

Caption reads: Backing off the turntable onto its departure rails, near the Brooklyn Yard Roundhouse, SP #4449 delights the rail buffs standing nearby with their cameras by blowing off steam. (Eric Norberg/The Bee)

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This renowned steam engine, owned by the city, is one of the six largest such locomotives left in operation anywhere in the world. The Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railway (SP&S) #700, also owned by the City of Portland and maintained by the Pacific Railroad Preservation Association (PRPA), is another of those worldwide six. And a third steam locomotive is owned by the city and is still under reconstruction.

In the aftermath of a February article in THE BEE which inadvertently misallocated positions, intentions, and responsibilities among the PRPA, the Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation, Oregon Pacific Railway owned and operated by Dick Samuels, and possibly the PNWC -- followed by a series of corrective letters we printed -- we were invited by the ORTF to watch SP #4449 “steam up” for a trip to Albany for a minor repair, and to get a tour of the facilities where Portland’s historic locomotives are housed.

That housing is visible to anyone driving the Holgate Boulevard viaduct over the Union Pacific’s Brooklyn rail yard. To start with, there’s the Brooklyn Yard Roundhouse, in which restoration and maintenance takes place. It’s that rectangular building north of the west end of the viaduct, with the historic railcars nearby. (Roundhouses were seldom really circular, we learned on the tour.)

That particular roundhouse was built during World War II to handle the extra load of locomotive repairs during the war effort; afterward, another old, larger roundhouse nearby was removed; the temporary one remains there to this day. But, more on that shortly.

First, our look at spectacular SP #4449: This glorious piece of machinery, over 400 tons in weight, not only was seen steaming around the country in 1976, but it has been featured a number of times in railroad TV documentaries on such outlets as PBS and RFD-TV. It has appeared at regional events, and pulled special trains from the Brooklyn Yard over the Oregon Pacific tracks to Oaks Park.

Twenty-four hours, we learned, is the time it takes to build up its steam to the point where the locomotive is ready to move out. Doing so faster is possible, but creates unacceptable stress on the engine. In steam’s heyday, such locomotives were used so regularly that they were kept powered up continuously, despite the fuel cost in doing so. Today, #4449 is powered up only when it is going to go somewhere, and that’s infrequent enough that rail buffs show up with cameras when it’s going to move out. On April 5th, shortly after noon, THE BEE was there with the fans.

The locomotive emerged from the roundhouse backward at a slow speed, moved onto the huge rail turntable just outside -- on which it barely fit -- and the turntable was slowly rotated to align the engine to the set of rails for its departure. It then backed off, blew steam, and waited for its assigned time to leave on the Union Pacific “main line”, which was 14:00 hours.

Meantime, we were shown around a rail car owned by yet another group, the Pacific Northwest Chapter (PNWC) of the National Railway Historical Society. The PNWC’s #600 Mount Hood Pullman sleeper/lounge car was built in 1950, and retired in 1971. Now under restoration, it is already impressive to see.

At one end of the car are those ingenious small compartments you’ve seen in old movies, in which up to two people would travel together. In impossibly small space, beds could be drawn out; and, in a table not much larger than a bedside stand, is each passenger's bathroom, with a small washbowl with faucets under its flip-up lid, and a front panel which swings out to reveal – not a tiny refrigerator, as today’s hotel visitors might expect – but a personal commode, complete with toilet seat.

At the other end of the car, just past a small kitchen in which passenger snacks would be provided, is a lounge area. It was in this lounge, we’re told, that recently Mayor Tom Potter -- once himself a railroad employee -- learned to his surprise that Portland owned three historic locomotives!

Our host for the tour, the Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation, wanted it made clear that it is grateful to the Union Pacific for patiently providing, rent-free, for all these years, the space to house and restore not only the three locomotives, but also the many other antique locomotives and railcars visible in and near the roundhouse -- the rest of which are owned by other organizations and individuals. (PNWC, owner of the railcar we toured, is among the groups represented on the Board of the ORHF. We cannot understand how we could have gotten any of this mixed up in our previous article.)

The problem is, now Union Pacific needs the space, and is soon going to have to ask that all these locomotives and cars find quarters elsewhere. That has led to various and different plans -- misunderstandings of which inadvertently appeared in our February article, as reflected in a series of offended letters we subsequently received and printed.

Aware that THE BEE is, here, at risk of still not getting it right, but feeling a journalistic obligation to keep trying, here is -- we think -- what the current situation is.

All the groups involved are united in one thing at least: Finding a permanent and appropriate home in the city for Portland’s three historic locomotives. All rail enthusiasts will be relieved if one is found.

But, two sites are being separately advocated. The PRPA is among those who have long been in discussions with the city, with OMSI, and with Union Pacific, for purchase of land in the railroad yard directly opposite the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. “This will contribute to the ‘Industry’ part of OMSI’s mission,” we hear, “since at the moment it is almost entirely a science museum.” Apparently OMSI is enthusiastic about having the locomotives, and perhaps a museum associated with them, nearby. The site is already zoned for such use; Union Pacific owns it. But at present, no deal to acquire it apparently has been finalized.

Dick Samuels, owner of the Oregon Pacific Railroad which runs through Sellwood into Milwaukie, has long wanted to build a museum devoted to Portland railroad history. He points out that fifty years ago, the city announced that such a museum would be built on the former garbage dump just south of Oaks Bottom and just east of Oaks Amusement Park. Samuels first tried to build one several years ago near Garthwick, without success. He is currently in talks with Metro about exchanging part of the railroad right-of-way he owns in Sellwood (for use in completing the last link of the Springwater Trail) for a 99-year lease from Portland on the former landfill near Oaks Bottom. There he plans the construction of such a museum. His thought is that the three Portland engines could have a permanent home there.

Each of those two groups favors the location it is been working on for years. The Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation, on the other hand, is a nonprofit organization simply defining as its mission “to secure a permanent home for the City of Portland’s steam locomotives, preserve the Brooklyn Roundhouse, and establish a Rail and Industrial Heritage Museum.”

Although this group seems to favor the OMSI location, the top priority is that Portland’s unique trio of locomotives, currently administered officially through the Parks Department, find a permanent and sheltered home. When we probe on the point, we are told that ORHF would certainly have no objection to having TWO railroad heritage institutions in the city.

And, should the locomotives be relocated to the OMSI site, there would not be enough room there for all the other historic rail stock currently stored in and around the Brooklyn Roundhouse.
The Oaks Park site, if Samuels’ dream comes true, might be the very spot for the display and protection of those.

As for THE BEE, we are simply in favor of preserving the railroad history that Portland is unique in possessing. We wouldn’t mind seeing two institutions celebrating railroading either; Portland’s origins and development are strongly aligned with the development of the railroads. There were rails between what are today Eastmoreland and Westmoreland before there were any houses in the area at all!

We’re the City of Roses, and we’re a railroad town. - Eric Norberg, The Bee

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TWO ACCUSED OF DISRUPTING RAILROAD SIGNAL WITH COPPER THEFT

SAVANNAH, GA -- Two men were arrested and charged with stripping copper wire from a utility pole, disabling a train signaling device temporarily Wednesday.

David Sutherland, 61, and William Stokes, 49, were both apprehended after a CSX signal maintenance worker spotted the two along the tracks where signaling problems had been reported.

They fled into a nearby wooded area, and railroad security caught one and called for assistance from Savannah-Chatham Police. After officers arrived, they found the other man walking out of the woods covered in mud, police said.

A police dog linked Sutherland's scent to a tool used to steal the wire, and officers recovered 50-100 pounds of wire that had been ripped down nearby.

Detectives were trying to determine if the two were linked to other copper thefts. Records from local recyclers indicated they had conducted at least four transactions in a month, police said.

Sutherland and Stokes were charged with theft, committing an unlawful act in public transit by rendering a safety device inoperable, and possession of tools for the commission of a crime. - The Associated Press, WLTV-NBC12, Jacksonville, FL

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COUNCIL STILL INTERESTED IN RAILROAD QUIET ZONES

OCEANSIDE, CA -- The Oceanside, California City Council is still interested in possible “quiet zones” along its coastal railroad tracks, despite an estimated cost of $7 million to $9 million.

Without voting last night, the council told the city's staff to continue to refine costs and perhaps hold public meetings to see if residents who live near the tracks would help pay some of the costs.

Federal rules require train engineers to sound their horns 15 to 20 seconds before entering a crossing.

To create quiet zones and excuse train operators from sounding the 100-decibel blasts, crossings need safety improvements such as raised medians and gates to prevent cars from going around signal arms.

The five Oceanside intersections under consideration are at Surfrider Way, Mission Avenue, Wisconsin Avenue, Oceanside Boulevard and Cassidy Street.

At least four dozen trains a day -- Coasters, Metrolinks, Amtraks and freights -- run on the line.

Acting City Engineer Scott Smith said there is not a lot of money for the proposed improvements, although the city is still waiting for a response to a request for $2 million in federal money.

Setting up an assessment district of about 1,000 nearby properties would help cover the cost, he said.

Each property owner would pay $320 a year to cover $7 million in bonds or $725 a year for $9 million in bonds.

In addition to the construction costs, Scott said, the city would have to pay $25,000 to $50,000 to maintain the equipment, such as the signals.

Councilwoman Esther Sanchez said she doesn't “want a single dime of Oceanside's money” going toward the quiet zones because she thinks they are unnecessary.

“I do not see a problem” with the noise, said Sanchez, who lives near the rail.

Councilman Jack Feller disagreed. He said the city needs to figure out how to create quiet zones because downtown residents should feel safe crossing the tracks.

“It's really a safety zone, not a quiet zone,” Councilman Rocky Chavez said.

Mayor Jim Wood said the east-west Sprinter line that will go from Oceanside to Escondido will have to be addressed, as well. - Lola Sherman, The San Diego Union-Tribune

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DISNEY LENDS LOCOMOTIVE

Photo Gallery:

[www.ocregister.com]

FULLERTON, CA -- For the first time in its 52 years, the C.K. Holliday Locomotive No. 1 will leave Disneyland and trundle down Harbor Boulevard for a guest appearance at this city's ninth-annual Railroad Days on Saturday and Sunday.

The 9-ton engine will be loaded onto a flatbed truck about noon Friday for the half-hour trip to the Fullerton Transportation Center, 122 E. Santa Fe Ave.

This marks the second year the amusement park has allowed one of its five steam engines off of the premises.

The C.K. Holliday, which has circled Disneyland since it opened in 1955, was recently retrofitted with new parts so it can operate with cleaner, biodiesel fuel.

The resort will also lend its Kalamazoo rail handcar, long displayed in front of Disneyland's Main Street train station.

The prized engine, named for Cyrus Kurtz Holliday -- the founder of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad -- is one of two built at the Disney studios.

Locomotive draftsman Ed Lingerfelter modeled the engine on the Lilly Belle, Walt Disney's one-eighth scale engine that circled his back yard.

Employees from the park's roundhouse will be at the Fullerton event to discuss the locomotive.
The Southern California Scenic Railway Association will also offer tours of two vintage cabooses set up on a side track at the Fullerton station.

Holliday engineer Damian Stellabott, 34, of Fullerton said he won't be able to attend this weekend's railway gathering. But he is thrilled train fans will be able to explore the cab where he has sat for seven of his 17 years at Disneyland.

With an oil can in his pocket, the engineer arrives each morning to fire up the boiler, check the water and fuel, wipe case grease off of the bearings and make his test run around the park.

"There are people who get on the train and ride it for hours, especially when it rains," Stellabott said. "It's the only attraction that you can stay on continuously." - Barbara Giasone, The Orange County Register

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DEALS FOR MANY IN 2002 DERAILMENT CASES

MINNEAPOLIS, MN -- Law firms in Fargo and Minneapolis say they have settled the majority of court cases arising from a deadly Canadian Pacific Railway derailment and chemical spill on the edge of Minot five years ago.

The settlements came just weeks before more hearings were scheduled in the legal battle that has dragged on for years.

Attorneys Mike Miller in Fargo and Gordon Rudd in Minneapolis said Wednesday that their firms have reached personal injury settlements for 1,000 clients, as well as a class action settlement for people affected by the derailment who have not filed individual lawsuits. That settlement must still be approved by a judge. It could involve thousands more people.

Details of the settlements were not released. A Minnesota state court jury last year awarded four derailment victims nearly a total of $1.86 million for their injuries, before other claims stalled in the courts.

Miller said other law firms have sued the Canadian Pacific over the derailment but "this is going to take care of the vast majority of claims."

"Our clients are going to be very happy," he said. "I know I'm really satisfied with it."

Railroad spokesman Mark Seland said Canadian Pacific would not comment on details of the settlements because of the outstanding lawsuits and the fact that the class action settlement is not final.

"We're pleased that we're able to settle this large number this week," he said. "We'll continue with our attempts to deal with the remaining cases."

The early morning derailment Jan. 18, 2002, on the west edge of Minot released a cloud of anhydrous ammonia, a toxic farm fertilizer. One man, John Grabinger, died trying to escape and hundreds of other people were treated for burns and breathing problems.

The National Transportation Safety Board later ruled that inadequate track maintenance and inspections were to blame, a finding the railroad disputed.

Lawsuits were filed in both North Dakota and Minnesota after the wreck. Minneapolis is where the Calgary, Alberta-based railroad has its U.S. headquarters.

U.S. District Judge Daniel Hovland in Bismarck ruled in March last year that the Federal Railroad Safety Act protects the railroad from such lawsuits. Miller appealed the ruling to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and a hearing had been scheduled for the middle of this month. It has now been postponed, Miller said, and it will be canceled when the settlements become final.

Seland would not comment on the railroad's reasons for settling. Miller said he thought the upcoming court hearing and pressure from Congress "played a role in them getting more realistic and finally coming to the table with some real offers."

"It was becoming crunch time," he said.

Seven members of Congress from North Dakota and Minnesota last fall joined the legal battle stemming from the derailment. North Dakota Sens. Kent Conrad and Byron Dorgan and Rep. Earl Pomeroy, and Minnesota Sens. Mark Dayton and Norm Coleman and Reps. Jim Oberstar and Jim Ramstad filed a legal brief supporting the 8th Circuit appeal by derailment victims.

The brief took issue with Hovland's ruling, saying Congress did not intend that railroads should be immune from injury lawsuits.

Hovland noted in his ruling that "the judicial system is left with a law that is inherently unfair to innocent bystanders and property owners who may be injured by the negligent actions of railroad companies."

Rudd said Wednesday that he hoped the settlements would not end efforts in Congress to clarify the Federal Railroad Safety Act.

"Without such action, the railroads will have no incentive to maintain their rail," he said.

Canadian Pacific attorney Tim Thornton said at the time the legal brief was filed that the lawmakers were not in Congress in 1970 when the Federal Railroad Safety Act was passed and were not qualified to speak on the intent of what is known as "pre-emption."

Thornton did not immediately respond to telephone and e-mail messages Wednesday seeking comment on the settlements.

Hovland's ruling dismissed a class action lawsuit against the railroad. Under the class action settlement that has been reached, "a new action has to be commenced or that one has to rise from the dead," Miller said. It could be months before the details are resolved, he said.

The class action will not include people who have filed lawsuits or who have signed what Miller termed "valid" releases of liability for the railroad. People with valid claims also will have the option of opting out of the class and proceeding with their own lawsuits, Miller said.

A hearing also was scheduled in a couple of weeks in federal court in Minnesota on the issue of whether lawsuits filed against the railroad in that state should be handled in state or federal court. Miller said Wednesday that the status of that hearing was not known, since there are still some outstanding cases. - Blake Nicholson, The Associated Press, Forbes

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GRAIN HOPPER CAR REPAIRS TO SAVE WILDLIFE

EDMONTON, AB -- CP Rail is promising to repair about 6,300 government-owned hopper cars that are blamed for leaking grain and hastening the deaths of grizzly bears and other wildlife in Banff National Park.

Piles of grain along the rail line through the park attract wildlife to the rail bed, where the animals are regularly struck by trains and killed, said the conservation group Defenders of Wildlife Canada.

Four grizzly bears have been struck and killed by CP Rail trains in Banff National Park since 2000, and none of the five yearling cubs orphaned survived, the group said in a prepared statement.

Photo here:

[media.canada.com]

Caption reads: A pair of grizzly bears on the railroad tracks in Banff National Park.

Significant amounts of spilled grain have been observed between the rails in the park over the past several years, the statement said. Grizzly bears, black bears, wolves, coyotes, elk and deer have been struck and killed.

This is a very important step in conserving grizzly bears and other wildlife in Banff National Park, said Jim Pissot, executive director of Defenders of Wildlife Canada, which applauded CP Rails decision. When animals are drawn to the tracks for a meal of grain, they are no match for a two-mile long train bearing down on them.

Repairs are scheduled over the next five years, according to a CP Railway spokesperson, with about 70 per cent of the defective gates slated for replacement within three years.

CP Rail and Transport Canada today announced a new operating agreement where the rail company will undertake an extensive hopper car inspection and refurbishment program to ensure a quality fleet. This will include the replacement of poor-performing discharge gates with technologically superior units as well as a general refurbishment program for the other gates on these cars, the company said in a prepared statement.

Canadian Pacific is pleased to have completed these extended negotiations with the federal government as it will ensure a secure hopper car supply for farmers and enhance operational fluidity, said CP Rail president Fred Green. This initiative will also strongly support our wildlife protection efforts by reducing grain and other wildlife attractants along our tracks.

The federal government purchased 13,000 hopper cars in the 1970s and 1980s to support the movement of western Canadian grain to export markets. - The Edmonton Journal

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MOVING NEW-TECH CORN BY RAIL BANNED

In a kind of industry piling on effect, more groups have come out with cautionary statements regarding Agrisure RW corn, the new-trait product being offered by Syngenta Seeds brands Garst, NK and Golden Harvest.

Earlier this week the railroad company BNSF announced that starting Tuesday it would not accept for transportation any carloads of corn or corn products containing the MIR 604 trait from Syngenta. In the BNSF announcement the company cautioned that anyone shipping such corn "shall be responsible for any damages to BNSF resulting from the shipment of the carload containing the product."

Two other rail lines instituted similar "until further notice" bans on the product including the DM&E and Canadian Pacific Railway.

Syngenta Seeds, which was caught off guard by the announcement issued this statement from Jack Bernens, who heads up marketing for Agrisure traits: " We believe that providing the U.S. corn grower a choice is very important. The corn grower deserves the opportunity to plant the very latest choices in technology to increase yields and meet the escalating demand for corn. Agrisure RW is one of those new choices, one of many new technology choices that will become available to farmers over the next few years. Not everyone in the industry shares our opinion, and we respect their right to take that position. However, it is unfortunate that decisions are being made that could further limit the growers ability to do the right thing by directing grain from Agrisure RW to significant domestic use locations, such as beef feedlots, large integrated dairy, pork and poultry production systems that are reliant on corn and corn products via rail transport." - Willie Vogt, CaliforniaFarmer.com

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TRANSIT NEWS

POWER SUBSTATION COMING FOR ST. CHARLES AVENUE STREETCAR LINE

NEW ORLEANS, LA -- The biggest holdup on the St. Charles Avenue streetcar line is actually above the tracks, in the lines that power the cars.

The New Orleans Regional Transit Authority said a power substation will be delivered in the next few days, which will allow streetcars to run all the way to Napoleon Avenue.

Crews, in the meantime, are working to remove debris from the tracks.

The route to Napoleon is expected to be running by the end of the summer. - WDSU-TV6, New Orleans, LA

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DENARGO MARKET TO BE REVITALIZED

DENVER, CO -- As plans take shape to redevelop 30 acres surrounding the historic Denargo Market, the Texas company working on the $1 billion project is lobbying for a transit stop at the site north of Coors Field.

Cypress Real Estate Advisors plans for up to 2,500 residential units and 200,000 square feet of retail space as demand for downtown housing marches north from the Central Platte Valley. If the stop is approved, the community could become one of the region's largest transit-oriented developments.

When the Denargo Market opened in 1939, it also was transit-oriented. It was built alongside Union Pacific Railroad tracks, with more than 300 stalls leased to area growers who sold their produce to grocers, wholesalers and peddlers.

In recent years, the dilapidated market has been leased to a variety of small businesses, including produce and food-service companies.

Within the next year, Cypress will have closed on all of the properties it needs to move forward with the development. Officials say they expect to break ground in the first quarter of 2008.

Plans to bring development to an area that recently has become home to practicing artists is sad news for Randy Brown and Sean Guerrero. Both live and work in the market.

"I'm looking at small towns next," said Brown, a painter and photographer who has moved four times as development pushed artists out of their spaces. "My community is here, and I'm really connected, but I want cheap space. It's difficult to find in Denver."
Guerrero, a sculptor, said he'll probably move by fall rather than wait for the development to force him out. He's considering buying a place on Flathead Lake in Montana.

"Everything is getting kind of tight in Denver," he said. "I pay $1,800 a month for this place."

The industrial River North neighborhood that surrounds Denargo Market has long been identified as a prime location for future urban-residential growth as part of the citywide planning process known as Blueprint Denver.

When the resulting River North Plan was completed in 2004, only 200 people lived in the area. By 2022, the area could house 5,000 people in as many as 900 single-family attached units and 675 multifamily units, according to market studies done for Blueprint Denver.

The Cypress project will be the second and largest residential project to date. The 241-unit Jefferson at CityGate was the first to open and is 94 percent leased.

In addition to the housing component, Cypress' plans call for up to 200,000 square feet of retail space that could include everything from coffee shops, bakeries and dry cleaners to a grocery store. It's also considering developing office space.

"We really like big, prolific projects where we can change the face of a transitioning area and create a really special project," Gates said.

Denver planning director Peter Park said the general development plan approved for the Cypress project fits in well with the city's vision for the surrounding area. For example, Denver has been looking at ways to connect the site with downtown via Wewatta Street.

"Having a good plan that has been discussed with property owners, developers and residents helps you broadcast what you want," Park said. "The River North plan does that."

Under the general development plan, three towers ranging from 180 feet to 220 feet tall will be permitted at the development. Other buildings would be 75 feet and lower as they get closer to the South Platte River.

The project also includes about four acres of open space throughout the site, with an emphasis on improving the South Platte riverfront.

"The relationship to the river is a critical aspect," said Steve Gordon, development program manager for the city and county of Denver.

The requested transit stop also is important enough that Cypress would assist with costs associated with providing the infrastructure for the stop, including the right of way.

"We are in active discussions with RTD (the Regional Transportation District) to get, at a bare minimum, a rubber-tired street-car-type stop similar to the 16th Street Mall," said Adam Gates, vice president of acquisitions for Cypress. "We would hope for something every five minutes that would have direct access to downtown."

The company would prefer to have a light-rail stop or even commuter rail over a street car. But the area is about halfway between Union Station and the planned station at 40th Street and 40th Avenue. Both stations are less than a mile from Denargo Market, which is bordered by rail.

The standard distance between stations is 2 miles, said Dave Shelley, RTD's project manager for the North Metro Corridor. "But if it makes sense to add a stop, we'll consider it. Potential ridership would be a big driver."

Shelley is working on the transit line's environmental-impact statement, which will determine whether the service will be provided by light rail or commuter rail, as well as its precise route.

Cypress has talked with property owners outside of the market area, Gates said, but has decided against buying more property.

"We've bitten off as much as we want to chew right now," he said. "We feel 30 acres is enough to change the landscape over there." - Margaret Jackson, The Denver Post

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OFFICIALS RALLY TO SUPPORT COMMUTER RAIL

FORT WORTH, TX -- Calling commuter rail "the future people mover of this community," Fort Worth Mayor Mike Moncrief joined several dozen other elected officials who rallied Wednesday in support of a sales tax increase of up to 1 cent for transit in North Texas.

A group of mayors from such cities as Burleson and North Richland Hills ceremoniously rode the Trinity Railway Express from Richland Hills to a Fort Worth station.

Two bills in the state Legislature would allow North Texas cities to ask voters' permission to raise sales taxes for commuter rail -- and area leaders are cautiously optimistic that one or the other version will pass.

"We believe regional rail is the answer to help people move in North Texas quickly, safely and economically," Moncrief told gatherers at the Intermodal Transportation Center. "We can't build roads -- be they freeways or tollways -- fast enough to meet the need."

Raising the cap?

The state cap on sales taxes is 8.25 percent, of which 6.25 percentage points goes to the state and the rest for local needs. The bills in question would allow up to another cent for metro areas to use on public transportation.

Senate Bill 257 will be heard by the Senate Finance Committee at 8:30 this morning.

House Bill 2084 was approved by a committee. The next step is a House floor debate.

Commuter rail plans

What kind of commuter rail system do area leaders have in mind? Imagine a service similar to the Trinity Railway Express, which runs between downtown Fort Worth and Dallas, going to all kinds of new places -- Hulen Mall to Denton, Carrollton to Arlington, Cleburne to Plano, etc.

Arlington Councilwoman Kathryn Wilemon, who rode the TRE on Wednesday, was impressed with the number of carpools delivering riders to the train stations. - Gordon Dickson, The Fort Worth Star-Telegram

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LIRR ATTEMPTS TO TURN DOWN THE SOUND

NEW YORK, NY -- Pull out the earplugs. The Long Island Rail Road is trying to make train horns a little less deafening.

Responding to complaints from Cedarhurst residents, the LIRR plans to test three new devices designed to reduce decibel levels on train horns.

The Federal Railroad Administration calls for sound levels between 96 and 110 decibels. The LIRR is now aiming to toot between 96 and 100.

The railroad's first attempt at sound reduction -- at a trial on March 8 in Cedarhurst -- met limited success. That test involved metal plates, or baffles, installed next to the horns to block the sound.

That experiment reduced the sound level by about 4 decibels to between 105 and 106 decibels, LIRR spokeswoman Susan McGowan said.

"We all agreed that we wanted to see something more," she said.

So the railroad's engineers went back to the drawing board and ordered prototypes of three devices to be tested on different trains:

A new horn with a narrower sound range than the one the LIRR now uses.

A pressure regulator to lower air pressure passing through the existing horn.

A choke mechanism to restrict air passing through the horn.

The LIRR has ordered four sets of each prototype and hopes to test them all in a one-day trial late this month or early June, McGowan said.

Eight LIRR trains still are equipped with the baffles tested in last month's experiment, she added.

Cedarhurst residents had complained that the piercing noise of train horns cuts through the village's densely packed apartment buildings and single-family homes. Some say they must sleep with earplugs. Others say they clap their hands over their ears every time a train passes.

Ninety-five decibels is about as loud as the rumbling and screeching on a subway platform; 100 decibels is as loud as a chain saw; and 110 decibels is as loud as a rock concert. - Jennifer Maloney, Newsday

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THE END