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Railroad Newsline for Saturday, May 26, 2007

Compiled by Larry W. Grant

In Memory of Rob Carlson, 1952 – 2006

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RAIL NEWS

OZARK VALLEY, KCS RAILROAD COMPANIES ANNOUNCE DEAL

MEXICO, MO -- Ozark Valley Railroad, Inc. announced Thursday it has reached agreement with Kansas City Southern Railway Company to convey 24.6 miles of track on two spur lines in Audrain and Callaway counties to Ozark Valley.

The deal sells 22 miles of the Fulton Branch between Mexico and Fulton to Ozark Valley. Included in the sale is 2.6 miles of the Arthur spur, a track segment servicing the CTS Cement Manufacturing Plant in Mexico.

CTS - a major manufacturer of cement and a leader in specialty cement technology -- purchased the former National Refractories plant in Mexico in March 2006. Currently, new silos are being installed which will be used to fill trucks with dry cement. The cement will be brought to the plant by rail.

Kansas City Southern Railway is also leasing three miles of the Fulton branch track in Mexico to Ozark Valley, and providing trackage rights over its main line between Mexico and the Arthur spur, thereby allowing Ozark Valley to service both lines.

Ozark Valley plans to begin serving customers along the leased portion of the Fulton branch by mid-June following regulatory approval. Service to the Arthur spur and remaining Fulton Branch will commence once track improvements have been completed. - The Mexico (MO) Ledger-News

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SALE OF RAIL SPUR VITAL FOR DEVELOPMENT EFFORTS, OFFICIALS SAY

Photo here:

[www.fultonsun.com]

Caption reads: The historic Auxvasse Creek bridge is one of the most scenic spots along the Fulton railroad branch, which runs south from Mexico into Fulton city limits. Ozark Valley Railroad has announced an agreement to purchase the line, in a move local officials say could be key to restoring regular rail service to the area. (Justin Kelley/Fulton Sun photo)

FULTON, MO -- Rail traffic may restart in Callaway County in as little as three months under an agreement announced Thursday by Ozark Valley Railroad, a Mexico, Missouri company that plans to purchase the Fulton Branch from Kansas City Southern Railway Co.

A company official said Ozark Valley may invest more than $350,000 to prepare the line for local freight traffic, pending the sale's approval by federal regulators.

Ozark Valley general manager Kurt Gaylor hopes the investment will encourage local businesses to once again consider rail as a viable alternative.

“We're hoping to build it and they will come,” Gaylor said.

Local officials hailed the move as crucial in ongoing efforts to lure industrial development to the area.

“There are so many economic development opportunities that would require rail service,” said Fulton Mayor Charlie Latham. “In the future, communities that have rail service will be at a huge advantage.”

Under terms of the sale, Ozark Valley takes ownership of 22 miles of track from Mexico city limits to the line's terminus near Fulton's Harbison-Walker refractory plant.

KCS will lease a three-mile stretch of the spur within Mexico to Ozark Valley in an effort to retain access to the city's industrial park, Gaylor said.

Ozark Valley also takes ownership of the Arthur Spur, a 2.6-mile line that runs north of Mexico to the former National Refractories and Minerals plant -- now home to CTS Cement Manufacturing Corp. The spur is being overhauled through a $1.98 million grant secured from the Federal Highway Administration.

On the Fulton Branch, Latham touted abundant rail-frontage space available within city limits. The line enters Fulton from the north, running parallel to Business 54 past William Woods University before turning west and crossing Westminster Avenue near West Ninth Street.

But to win over Callaway County businesses, the company may have to demonstrate the line's condition has improved from years past. A freight car derailed near Mertens Construction Co. south of Auxvasse in 2004, and traffic on the line has been virtually nil since then.

Fulton Area Development Corp. director Bruce Hackmann expects most companies to adopt a “wait-and-see” attitude.

“Until (the improvements) happen, I'm sure there's going to be some skepticism,” Hackmann said.

Still, with fuel prices on the rise, Gaylor said businesses like CTS and Harbison-Walker are exploring alternatives to truck transport.

“There's a lot of potential,” Gaylor said. “It's going to take some effort and TLC.”

Hackmann and former Mayor Robert Craghead long backed a sale of the Fulton Branch, based on their belief that KCS was lax in maintaining and promoting the line.

“There just wasn't a high commitment to building traffic,” Hackmann said. “This is something we really felt we had to do to preserve and grow this rail spur.”

Now, Hackmann expects that Ozark Valley's promotional efforts will keep Fulton in the picture for future projects.

For example, Hackmann said Fulton businessman Boyd Ware was drawn to the planned location of a new biodiesel plant off Westminster Avenue partly because of its proximity to the rail line.

“It gives us a willing partner in economic development,” Hackmann said.

Officials also hinted at the line's potential for passenger traffic -- particularly as part of an effort aimed at promoting tourism. However, they played coy about the possibility that such an arrangement might be in the works.

“Anytime you have rail, there's always the potential for tourism,” Latham said. “This is the first step.” - Mark Sommerhauser, The Fulton Sun

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RAILROAD DEAL SHELVED

FAIRBANKS, AK -- The Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly on Thursday shelved a proposed agreement between railroad and borough officials, a deal intended to further efforts to remove future train traffic from the city’s core.

The borough and Alaska Railroad Corp. have drafted a memorandum of understanding to “aggressively pursue funding for planning and design” for a plan to lay miles of new track between the city of Fairbanks and the Tanana River.

Following almost two hours of comments from the public Thursday, the assembly adjourned a special meeting without acting on a resolution accompanying the draft memo. The resolution would now need to be reintroduced to the public process to receive the assembly’s approval -- which Mayor Jim Whitaker said is needed to seal the deal.

The borough has yet to reschedule the next meeting on the proposed agreement, borough clerk Mona Drexler said.

The assembly has opposed a smaller reroute project planned by the railroad for Fort Wainwright Army post, and some elected officials have suggested it could undercut future support for a larger, southern reroute.

That larger project, cited in the memorandum, has been discussed for years, although the deal between the borough and railroad would shuffle its scope and schedule. The North Pole City Council passed a resolution supporting the agreement early this month.

The $40 million Fort Wainwright project is much younger, with the state-owned railroad corporation having obtained $15.5 million over the past two years. The project would eliminate a number of road-to-rail crossings on the post.

Most residents attending Thursday’s meeting criticized the railroad’s Fort Wainwright project.
Wallace Cox, a retired colonel and former commander at Fort Wainwright, noted the railroad’s proposed project -- which would be labeled “interim” under the agreement -- raised safety concerns by offering numerous access points to the post. A larger southern reroute, he said, would limit train access to one point.

“If I were still commander, the Alaska Railroad (Corp.) plan would not be acceptable to me,” Cox said.

Railroad officials attended Thursday’s meeting but had commented at a previous meeting and could not participate.

Don Lowell said the Alaska Legislature should increase its oversight of the state-owned railroad corporation, citing what he called poor planning and “arrogance” on the part of railroad officials.

Bob Thomas, a retired engineer formerly contracted by the railroad, suggested the larger southern reroute project could be built for far less than the railroad’s high-end estimate of $450 million.

But Clark Milne said he trusted borough officials had reviewed every option before agreeing to deal with the railroad.

“He’s trying to pick the best course of action to move forward,” Milne said of Whitaker’s proposed agreement with railroad president Pat Gamble. - Chris Eshleman, The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

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CUMBRES & TOLTEC BUILDING STEAM

CHAMA, NM -- The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad kicks off the 2007 season on Saturday, and officials say more steam locomotives will operate and more trips will be run this year.

The railroad, now owned by the states of Colorado and New Mexico, was once part of the Denver & Rio Grande Railway.

The narrow-gauge railroad, which celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2006, runs between Antonito, Colorado, and Chama, winding across the state lines 11 times during the 64-mile trip. The ride chugs up the 10,015-foot Cumbres Pass, over trestles and through tunnels along the 800-foot-deep Toltec Gorge.

Ticket prices begin at $62 for adults and $31 for children, and the price includes a hot lunch in the mining town of Osier, Colorado.

"For the first time in seven years, trains will be departing from both Antonito and Chama every day of the week," said general manager Tim Tennant. "This means that more people can experience the excitement of an old-fashioned steam train ride."

Four steam locomotives, built in the 1920s, are fully operational this year. Railroad officials also said a track improvement project begun last year has been completed.

Last year, the train carried nearly 40,000 passengers during its regular season from May to October.

The railroad plans a number of special rides this year, including nine Cinder Bear Express rides for families beginning June 21; the Osprey Express July 15, which coincides with the osprey festival in northern New Mexico; and Moonlight trains July 28 and Aug. 25.

It also will run Christmas trains Dec. 1 and Dec. 8. - The Associated Press, The Aspen (CO) Times

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GROUP PONDERS NEXT STEP

PIERRE, SD -- Local citizens discussed sending letters to a regional railroad and a federal agency during a meeting Thursday morning.

The Committee for a Safer Pierre talked about requesting a meeting with Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad's construction workers and asking the Federal Rail Administration to inspect local track. The committee had not decided on its next step at the end of the meeting.

"I think the Committee for a Safer Pierre now has a couple options. They can do either, they can do neither or frankly they can do both," said Marshall Damgaard from the Rochester Coalition in Rochester, Minnesota. "Frankly, if it was my decision I would go with both letters simultaneously."

Some members were weary of a meeting with DM&E.

"I think that we have seen that the culture of DM&E is borderline criminal in terms of integrity, and the culture runs up and down in terms of (DM&E CEO) Kevin Schieffer has got a bunch of lap dogs who work for him and they're just going to toe the company line," said Mike Pulaski, an opponent of the DM&E expansion.

Although many of those in attendance oppose the DM&E expansion project, Brenda Forman, with the South Dakota Association of Cooperatives/Ag Unity, was there and said she thought it would be good for the state's grain farmers.

Damgaard said opponents and proponents can both at least agree that they want safer railroad track, which is why he wants the group to ask the FRA to inspect the track.

"Now, once they inspect the track, if they find some deficiency, that leaves the door open for the project proponents to say 'well this is why we need the project,'" he said. "And the project opponents can say 'we've told you all along, this is why we don't need the project, because this is management and not track.' And everyone can go his own way after that."

DM&E was denied a $2.3 billion loan by the FRA, which would have partially funded its $6 billion planned expansion project. The FRA cited DM&E's poor credit as the reason for the denial, however Schieffer has said the company is seeking private funding for the project.

The expansion could result in new track and 34 trains eventually going through Pierre each day. - Crystal Lindell, The Pierre Capital Journal

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E&N RAIL LINE SPRAYING GARNERS FEW COMPLAINTS

Photo here:

[web.bcnewsgroup.com]

Caption reads: Ron Braun, Southern Railway of Vancouver Island track foreman demonstrates a truck-mounted sprayer put to work applying herbicide along the E&N rail line.

QUALICUM BEACH, BC -- Spraying for weed control along the E&N rail corridor was scheduled for completion on Wednesday and has already happened along tracks running through Oceanside. The controversial application of herbicide along the railway didn’t escape the notice of some News readers who called the paper with their concerns.

“They were spraying their way north through Qualicum Beach and Bowser when the wind was gusting at 25 to 30 knots,” said Bowser’s Steve Anderosov. “I found it interesting watching the news and hearing them saying what a careful job they’re doing and how considerate of the environment they’re being.”

Anderosov says he saw the applicator pass at the McColl Road crossing at about 4 p.m. on May 16.
“There was a pretty good wind all day. They were just going at ‘er.”

Warren Cook, recently recognized with an award for stream restoration on his land adjacent to Chef Creek, also called, wondering how spraying might impact some of that environmental work.

“I just re-forested in the last 10 years. Is that all going to be ruined?” said Cook who noted steam extraction -- touted as a possible alternative to herbicides but estimated to cost as much as $1.8 million -- is expensive but may be worth it.

“What’s it going to cost taxpayers if the streams are all poisoned?” he asked.

Representatives from the railway’s operator, Southern Rail Vancouver Island and owners of the rail corridor between Victoria and Courtenay, the non-profit stakeholder group Island Corridor Foundation, say the spray program was the most exhaustive vegetation management plan ever employed by a railroad.

An inventory was done along the line and global positioning technology used to pinpoint exactly where to apply herbicide, avoiding all watercourses, domestic wells and certified organic croplands. According to an integrated pest management plan, spraying would only be done in dry, calm weather, avoiding pesticide free zones that account for about 25 per cent of the line’s length. The application of commercial grade Round Up was necessary for safety reasons related to sight lines and to prevent slowing down rail traffic say officials.

President of SVI John van der Burch said he didn’t hear any opposition to the spray program while it was under way and added there is no more spraying planned for this year.

“I understand that in two to four weeks the weeds will turn brown [and die]” he said, noting there is still an effort to have steam extraction methods available for next year and that the ICF has contracted a plant ecologist to investigate its feasibility.

“It’s going to be very expensive,” said van der Burch. - Fred Davies, Parksville Qualicum News

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KCSR NAMED SHREVEPORT'S INDUSTRY OF THE YEAR

On May 24, the Greater Shreveport, Louisiana Chamber of Commerce presented Kansas City Southern Railway with the J. Pat Beaird Memorial Industry of the Year Award at the Top Businesses of the Year Luncheon at the Shreveport Convention Center. In addition, Shreveport Mayor Cedric B. Glover presented KCS with a proclamation naming May 24, 2007 as Kansas City Southern Day.

Each year, the Chamber honors an outstanding corporate entity through the award that pays tribute to the memory of J. Pat Beaird, whose lifetime of community service helped make Shreveport and the State of Louisiana a better place to live and work. He lived from 1911 to 1987 and was referred to by many in northwest Louisiana as a captain of industry.

On its web site, the Chamber explains that in the mid 1950's, during J. Pat Beaird's leadership as President of the Industrial Division of the Shreveport Chamber of Commerce, that KCSR's Deramus Yard was completed. Today, KCSR continues to expand.

According to a prepared statement, the Chamber says, "Like then, the economy today depends to a very considerable degree on the health of the transportation system. The Greater Shreveport Chamber of Commerce commends KCS for maintaining the spirit, vision, tenacity and ingenuity that characterized KCS' founder Arthur Stilwell, and for its success in linking the commercial and industrial centers of the U.S., Mexico and Canada."

KCSR vice president and chief mechanical officer John Foster received the award on behalf of the company and was joined by 15 other Shreveport employees at the luncheon. In his acceptance speech, Foster explained that KCSR continues to invest capital in and around Shreveport to ensure that as traffic volumes grow, the company is prepared to continue to safely and efficiently handle freight through the area. "KCS is proud to be a long-standing corporate citizen of Shreveport and northern Louisiana," said Foster. KCSR is considered a major employer in Shreveport with approximately 925 employees based there. - KCS News

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SHOENER ADDRESSES BUREAU OF EXPLOSIVES ON 100TH ANNIVERSARY

On May 22, KCS president and chief operating officer Art Shoener was the keynote speaker for the 20th annual Association of American Railroads (AAR)/Bureau of Explosives (BOE) Hazardous Materials Seminar, which was held in Kansas City, Missouri. Shoener addressed the history and purpose for the organization, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. He also addressed the key legislative issues facing the industry today. More than 600 professionals from the hazardous materials community, including 11 KCSR and KCSM employees, attended the seminar, which included 30 plus workshops and a vendor exhibition.

Shoener explained that as early as 1866, the safe transportation of explosives was regulated by Congress. Early efforts to reduce explosions were ineffective, due in part to the lack of coordination between individual railroads. In 1905, James McCrea, vice president of the Pennsylvania Railroad, proposed the development of industry regulations to reduce the likelihood of explosions and fires. While the American Railway Association, predecessor to the modern AAR, considered this proposal, a disastrous explosion occurred in Harrisburg, Pa., prompting the committee of rail industry personnel, civilian experts, and representatives of the Army and Navy Bureaus of Ordinance to step up their efforts to develop industry rules.

The proposed rules were adopted by the industry association and its members in 1905. In 1906, a constitution and by-laws for "The Bureau for the Safe Transportation of Explosives and Other Dangerous Articles" were developed and the BOE was officially established in 1907. In 1911, the industry regulations were adopted by the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC), which delegated the BOE with regulatory authority to assist the ICC in developing and enforcing the rules, which continued until the formation of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) in 1966.

The BOE was incorporated into the AAR when it was formed in 1934 and continued to provide essential safety services, working closely with the military during wartime. The rules continued to evolve at the federal level, and in 1980 the BOE's remaining delegated authorities were completely assumed by DOT. The BOE continues to work closely with government and industry on hazardous materials, tank car safety and emergency response.

There are over 350 member companies including railroads, shippers and tank car companies and other shipping container manufacturers and repair firms. The BOE provides emergency response, education and inspection services to its members. It also maintains a database of hazardous materials shipping descriptions and emergency response information used by all railroads to comply with federal and international regulations. - KCS News

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FREIGHTCAR AMERICA BUILDS NEW DESIGN BALLAST CARS FOR BNSF

FreightCar America, Inc. announced Friday that it has delivered 162 electrically operated all-steel ballast cars to BNSF Railway Company from its railcar production facility in Johnstown, PA. These are the first ballast cars BNSF has acquired in over 20 years. They have higher capacity at 110 tons and feature a new technology operating system for the discharge doors.

The cars are designed with a new electric, solar-powered activation system, whereby ballast can be dumped remotely by radio control. Their air-operated doors from W. H. Miner Enterprises function like traditional ballast cars, capable of distributing ballast either on the inside or outside of the rails. The electric operating system, provided by Georgetown Rail Equipment, is the first of its kind. BNSF will use the cars in track maintenance system-wide.

Ed Whalen, FreightCar America senior vice president, marketing and sales, said, “We have consistently been redeveloping workhorse railcars and this ballast car is the latest in the trend.”
FreightCar America, Inc. manufactures railroad freight cars, with particular expertise in coal-carrying railcars. In addition to coal cars, FreightCar America designs and builds steel hopper cars, flat cars, mill gondola cars, intermodal cars, coil steel cars and motor vehicle carriers. It is headquartered in Chicago, and has manufacturing facilities in Danville, IL, Roanoke, VA and Johnstown, PA. - BusinessWire.com

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RAIL SMALL THREAT TO SCHOOL

MANTECA, CA -- A draft report of a long-awaited railway study to look at the safety of French Camp Elementary School has parents relieved, but just how the findings will affect the future of the school remains unclear.

That's because the report, released and discussed at Tuesday's school board meeting, was not yet finished, and trustees of the Manteca Unified School District decided to hold off acting on the report's findings until the complete report was finished.

When board members asked for the study earlier this year, they said they would consider moving students to a different campus if nearby railroad tracks threatened student safety.

The draft report did say there was a chance -- albeit remote -- that hazardous materials being hauled as freight could pose a danger, and recommendations in the draft include measures the school district could follow to keep and expand French Camp Elementary where it remains.
The probability of a derailment affecting the school was about one every 26,000 years, according to the report, prepared for the school district by The Planning Center of Los Angeles. The report did not yet contain information on any high-pressure natural gas and hazardous-liquid pipelines that might run by the tracks.

Parents of French Camp students took the unfinished report as a good sign that safety worries would no longer stand in the way of making improvements to the campus. Rail safety became a concern when the district explored building a multipurpose room at the school in 2006.

"I think the safety of our children is no longer a concern," said Sondra Berchtold, president of the school's PTA. "It is time for improvements for our school."

State rules dictate that new schools can't be built within 1,500 feet of rail lines. French Camp Elementary has two rail lines within a 1,500-foot radius, and both are owned by Union Pacific, according to the study. Trains on both sides are allowed to haul hazardous materials, including petroleum and chemicals.

To the west, freight and passenger trains pass on tracks within 1,100 feet of the school property. The eastern tracks are closer, within about 50 feet. On a day in April, no trains hauling hazardous materials during school hours were seen on the closer tracks, but the Planning Center observed tankers being hauled on the more distant tracks.

The study recommends the school consider derailment in its evacuation plans, that students be educated on the dangers of trespassing on the tracks and that any new buildings constructed near the eastern track should be at least 150 from the nearest set of tracks.

The draft report's results are a relief, said Ray Sandoval, who was worried that his seventh-grade daughter would have had to spend her eighth-grade year on a different campus.

"It's a good step," he said. "We just need to have the board finalize it." - Zachary K. Johnson, The Stockton Record

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DAIRYLAND NUCLEAR WASTE READY TO RIDE RAILS TO SOUTH CAROLINA

Photo here:

[www.lacrossetribune.com]

Caption reads: The reactor vessel from the Dairyland Power plant in Genoa, WI sits inside a container and put on a rail car for shipment to South Carolina. (Dick Riniker photo/La Crosse Tribune)

GENOA, WI -- A train carrying low-level nuclear waste is preparing to leave the Dairyland Power Cooperative site in Genoa for a disposal facility in South Carolina.

Just don’t ask Dairyland Power officials when or by what route -- under federal law, they can’t say.

Dairyland is decommissioning the nuclear plant, which operated from 1969 to 1987. Nuclear fuel will be stored on site for now, while other parts of the facility will be moved or demolished.

The biggest part to be moved is the reactor pressure vessel, a large steel tank where nuclear rods boiled water to create steam for the 50-megawatt generator.

Crews removed the vessel from the reactor building this past week. Encased in cement and steel, it now weighs about 310 tons and has been placed on a special 20-axle rail car for shipment south from Genoa.

Anti-nuclear activists have been watching the work from a distance, and plan to follow the train whenever it leaves, letting people along the way know what’s rolling through their towns.

Genoa plant manager Roger Christians said Dairyland is waiting for the railroad to come and get the car. “It could happen anytime, from today on,” Christians said Friday.

Christians said the vessel qualifies as low-level nuclear waste because it emits less than “200 millirem on contact. And ours is about a fourth of that, so it’s much less than is required.”

According to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the average human annually is exposed to 300 millirems of naturally occurring background radiation at sea level.

“Our point in drawing attention to it is it’s a very expensive thing,” said John LaForge, co-director of Nukewatch. “It’s a real good example of how expensive nuclear power really is when you add in what the industry calls externalities.”

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has estimated the cost of decommissioning the Dairyland plant at $79.5 million.

When the plant is gone and the fuel stored in dry casks, Dairyland’s cost will be “a fraction” of what the cooperative now spends for security and maintenance at the plant, Christians said.

LaForge said activists believe the train will go from Genoa to Dubuque, Iowa, and then to Chicago before heading for Barnwell, SC Dairyland officials said in 2005 it would go to the Quad Cities and then to Barnwell. - Reid Magney, The La Crosse Tribune

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TRANSIT NEWS

LA TRANSIT AGENCY REACHES DEAL ON FARE HIKE

LOS ANGELES, CA -- The board of the county's transit agency approved a compromise deal Thursday that will raise bus and rail fares over the next few years.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority had sought a substantial increase to mitigate a projected 10-year, $1.8 billion dollar budget deficit.

"We have a great system. We just can't pay for it," said MTA chief executive Roger Snoble. "In the final analysis, the choice comes to raising fares or decreasing service."

That plan was met with opposition from the community and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who also sits on the transit board. About 375 people spoke during a 6-1/2 public hearing, many saying the proposed MTA hike would disproportionately affect low-income minorities.

The mayor offered his own plan that called for a 5 percent increase during each of the next five years.

"Rome wasn't built in a day, and this deficit wasn't created overnight," Villaraigosa said at a news conference. "It's wrong to balance the MTA budget on the backs of seniors, the disabled, students and low-income families."

The MTA proposal would have raised the cash fare for both rail and bus to $2 per ride from $1.25. A compromise was reached that will instead raise fares to $1.50 in July 2009 and $1.80 in July 2011.

A special 25-cent off-peak fare will also be established for the disabled and those 65 and older.

"We were able to reach a compromise, a significant compromise," said Supervisor Gloria Molina, who chairs the MTA board. "It does include a fare increase, but it's a much more gradual one than the one that was proposed." - The Associated Press, The Sacramento Bee

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TRANSIT PLAN: CAR STILL KING

SALT LAKE CITY, UT -- Doctors, parents, transit advocates and environmentalists on Thursday protested the approval of a long-range transportation plan for the Wasatch Front, arguing it was too heavily weighted in favor of road-building over mass transit and would make the region's air quality worse.

After about an hour of the testimony from critics of the plan, the Wasatch Front Regional Council, as expected, unanimously endorsed a transportation blueprint covering the next 23 years that includes the eight-lane Mountain View Corridor along 5800 West in Salt Lake County.

Representatives of Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment, Utah Moms for Clean Air, Utahns for Better Transportation, Friends of Great Salt Lake and the Sierra Club said approving the plan without a transit option to accompany Mountain View likely would threaten the health of regional residents, particularly children.

Bouncing her baby, Cherise Udell, founder of Utah Moms for Clean Air, told the regional planning panel that their vision looked like a blueprint for Los Angeles sprawl and pollution.

"I keep thinking America doesn't need another Los Angeles," she said.

The council is made up of elected officials from Salt Lake and Davis counties. The council updates its long-range transportation plan every four years -- in this case the 2030 Long-Range Transportation Plan -- to map out future road and transit projects and determine when they might be funded and built. Federal law requires that air quality is a key component of any calculations.

Brian Moench, whose physicians' advocacy group is concerned about pollution spikes in northern Utah, told the regional council during its hearing Thursday that the 2030 plan not only failed to adequately address the medical problems caused by bad air, "it virtually guarantees to exacerbate them."

Air quality in Salt Lake County, Provo and Logan routinely ranks as the worst in the nation, Moench said, adding "there is no safe level of air pollution."

Moench also criticized the plan's air quality calculations for not taking into account new coal-fired power plants planned near the Nevada state line upwind of Salt Lake County nor the expansion plans of Wasatch Front oil refineries. Nor, he said, was there any mention in the plan of the fact that air pollution concentrates near its source, putting people who live near freeways at greater risk for health problems.

Thanks to voters who approved extra sales taxes for transit, northern Utah now is building more light- and heavy-rail projects than anywhere in the nation except Denver. But regional council staffer Kip Billings presented findings showing mass transit would do little to curtail nitrous oxides, the main components of particulate pollution during winter inversions and ozone pollution in summer.

At the same time, Billings pointed out that new federal laws guaranteed pollution levels would drop. In particular, he said, regulations on diesel fuel that just went into effect would bring significant pollution decreases as newer trucks rotate into use.

Big-rig truck traffic accounts for 6 percent of all vehicles on the road but 40 percent of all nitrous oxide pollution. Billings estimated that because of the new diesel rule, nitrous oxides would decline 58 percent by 2015.

Billings also said that as more highways are built in Utah, congestion relief will mean fewer idling cars spewing emissions. He added that his calculations included extra miles people would drive if highways and arterials were less congested.

In the past, the Utah Department of Transportation has estimated vehicle miles traveled would grow double to triple the rate that population expands. But regional council executive director Chuck Chappell said that estimate is no longer valid. Rather, he said, the 2030 plan assumed vehicle miles traveled would increase 52 percent when the population grows by 42 percent.

After the vote, Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon noted the plan is always a work in progress, updated every four years. "This isn't a 23-year plan, it's a four-year plan," he said. "This council is moving in the right direction."

Marc Heileson, a Sierra Club spokesman, however, said transportation planning mathematical formulas severely underestimate actual transit ridership. Ridership projections for the FrontRunner commuter rail system that will start up next year show just 5,900 people will board the trains daily, compared to nearly 10 times that number of passengers already on TRAX trains daily.

Using a formula that so underestimates transit ridership hurts the 2030 plan's credibility and guarantees Mountain View will create a monster on the valley's west side, Heileson said.

"The fastest-growing area of the county, an eight-lane freeway and no transit -- what do you think is going to happen?" he asked after the meeting.

Heileson also charged that building Mountain View Corridor within the health danger zone of 500 meters from Hunter High and Whittier and Hillside elementary schools meant students there may never develop healthy lung capacity.

"Every student at those schools will be eight times more likely to have leukemia," he said, citing medical studies that Moench and others have used to make their case. "We're basically building a cancer corridor, not the Mountain View Corridor." - Patty Henetz, The Salt Lake Tribune

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eBART PLANS ARE BACK ON TRACK

ANTIOCH, CA -- The bad news that negotiations broke down to use existing railroad tracks for eBART may actually be good news for those who want classic BART extended further into East County. By placing eBART in the median of Highway 4, eBART will literally be paving the way for BART trains to travel that corridor -- someday.

At an estimated cost of $1.3 billion, it’s too expensive to bring classic BART to Hillcrest Avenue in the near future. But the $481 million for eBART to get there, possibly in 2014, looks like it will be available, according to BART officials.

So East County motorists, who are currently stuck in the bumper-to-bumper grind of “rush hour” traffic, at least have something to look forward to. If they can hold out until 2013, it should be smooth sailing on Highway 4 all the way to Hillcrest. And a year later, hundreds if not thousands of motorists may forsake the highway altogether and instead take eBART to the Bay Point BART station.

East County leaders are justifiably concerned about the possible negative impact to the Highway 4 widening of the eBART project. The highway widening must remain the top priority, as it will have the most beneficial impact for most East County motorists. But BART officials believe both projects can proceed simultaneously without impinging on one another.

The big downside to the latest eBART news is that it will take longer than originally planned to get eBART trains to Oakley, Brentwood and Byron. Originally scheduled to be completed in 2010, it now looks like we may be a decade or more away from that prospect.

But, with traffic becoming more and more congested each month, it’s encouraging that it looks like eBART, which has been saddled with delays and cost overruns, is back on track. And with the completion of the northern segment of the Highway 4 Bypass later this year, the traffic situation will slowly be getting better for East County’s weary motorists. - The Antioch Press

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LAGNIAPPE (Something extra, not always railroad related, for Saturdays only)

FROM BOY'S DREAM TO RAILROAD REALITY

SARTELL, MN -- Shawn Klimpel of Sartell has spent his whole life living along the Empire Builder railroad line.

"At 6, the bug hit. I just fell in love. Amtrak was my first love," he said.

Klimpel grew up in Rugby, North Dakota, known as the geographic center of North America. The train ran right through the center of town, near the grocery store where his father worked.

"I'd watch the silver train carrying all these fascinating people on it, going to places I never went," Klimpel said.

Today Klimpel lives his dream. As a conductor on the Empire Builder, he is the "boss of the train," responsible for the safe movement of the train and all its passengers.

A dream is born

The career started decades ago with a dream sparked by visits to his grandmother in Williston, three hours away. With a gas crisis raising prices, "my family would take the train on Saturday morning to go see Grandma. I was 6 and spent the trip visiting with the conductors," he said.

From that moment on, he was hooked. On summer days, he started hanging out at the Rugby depot.
He talked with station agent Clint Nelson, who became a "surrogate father for the summer," Klimpel said.

"I'd be there when the first train came through at 07:00 and stay until 14:00," Klimpel said. "Clint taught me how to sell tickets and let me help out around the station."

"Some kids played baseball in the sandlots all summer. Shawn watched trains at the depot," said his wife, Chris Klimpel.

"I have a lot of respect for Shawn identifying his dream and making it happen," she said. "It's not the norm to have that specific and lofty a goal and make it happen."

Achieving his dream has not been easy. He remembers a high school career day when he was 16.

"We were told we could explore any career we wanted to, and I wanted to go to the train station.
But the guidance counselor wouldn't allow me to do it. He said the railroads were dying."

The encounter only strengthened his resolve.

Starting at 18, Klimpel sent Amtrak his resume.

Every month.

For three years.

"I'd hear the same thing each time: 'Thanks, but no thanks,' " he said. "I figured they would either call me to tell me to quit bugging them or offer me a job."

Meanwhile, he went to college for graphic arts.

Finally, at 21, his persistence paid off. Amtrak offered him a summer job as a cook on the train. "When I went in to talk to the human resources person, he knew all about me," Klimpel said. "He must have had 36 of my resumes by then."

The summer job as cook soon became a full-time position. "It was the tiniest space you could cook in," he said.

Three years later, he was offered the position of conductor on the Empire Builder route that runs from Chicago to Portland and Seattle by way of St. Cloud. It also passes his parents' home in Minot.

Living the dream

Today, the railroad industry, despite his counselor's dire predictions, is thriving. Klimpel will mark 13 years as a conductor June 5.

"The freight trains are having a horrible time keeping up with demand," he said. "And the Empire Builder is the busiest long-distance line in the country."

With gas prices rising again and long waits at airports, Klimpel anticipates it will be an "incredibly busy summer." Once again families and travelers will take advantage of the trains just as his family did in his childhood.

The job has some challenges: "When I'm gone, it's not like my day ends at 5 p.m." He works 23 to 39 hours at a time, and he always works nights. "It's a normal life … if you're a vampire. Even when I'm home, I have to sleep during the day."

"He's just one of those people, like doctors or nurses, who make the world operate 24/7," Chris Klimpel said. "But it's the best job in the world for show-and-tell for our kids."

The worst part of his job is dealing with grade crossing accidents. He's witnessed five during his career. And as conductor, he is the first one off the train to search for survivors.

Several area cities have explored creating quiet zones that would prohibit train whistles.

"My biggest fear is they will stop us from blowing the whistles," Shawn Klimpel said. "It's the one thing we can do to protect people, and they want to take it away."

Captured in paint

The Klimpels have carried Shawn's passion for trains into their home and life. Their oldest daughter, Casey, was named for railroad legend Casey Jones.

Their living room walls are covered with limited-edition prints of trains and depots. Each print depicts a different train, and each is significant to Klimpel.

One print shows the Minneapolis Depot; another, the St. Paul Depot. Others depict locations and locomotives in North Dakota.

"My goal was to collect a print a year," Klimpel said. In 2006, he realized another dream when the family commissioned a painting by Larry Fisher of the Rugby, ND, depot that Klimpel grew up near.

The painting, displayed in a place of honor above their fireplace, shows the Rugby depot in exquisite detail.

Fisher, a nationally respected painter of railroad scenes, is known for using a tiny brush and a magnifying glass as he paints.

The artist even captured the Klimpel family in the painting. Chris Klimpel and daughters, Casey and Sarah, stand beside the tracks watching the train.

Klimpel is there in his blue conductor uniform. Even his old mentor, station agent Clint Nelson, makes an appearance.

"The train looks just like the Empire Builder does today," Klimpel said. "See that yellow line on the side of the track? I painted it when I was 13.

And the locomotive numbers are real train numbers -- but they're also significant to me."

Family support

Chris Klimpel offers a railroad wife's point of view: "A lot of people wouldn't choose locomotives for their main living area. But this is something that is important to our family, and I like it."

It looks like the next generation of Klimpels will be railroad fans, too.

Daughters Casey and Sarah are following in their father's footsteps.

Ages 8 and 4, they already are avid train travelers, riding the rails a half a dozen times a year on the Empire Builder line. - Jane Laskey, The St. Cloud Times

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MAULING VICTIM HAS FACED BEARS BEFORE; INJURED MAN WAS ALSO ATTACKED IN '93

Photo here:

[www.billingsgazette.net]

Map here:

[www.billingsgazette.net]

A wildlife author and photographer from Bozeman was identified Thursday as the man who was mauled by a grizzly bear in Yellowstone National Park on Wednesday.

Jim Cole, 57, sustained serious injuries to his face in the attack near Trout Creek in Hayden Valley.

Cole was in fair condition at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls, Idaho, hospital officials said.

Cole told rangers he was attacked by a female grizzly with her cub while taking photos. He walked two to three miles to the Grand Loop Road, where he was found by visitors around 13:00 hours on Wednesday.

He was taken by ambulance to West Yellowstone and then was flown by helicopter to the hospital in Idaho Falls.

Park officials said Cole was hiking alone, off-trail in a backcountry area that is considered prime grizzly habitat. He was carrying pepper spray, but it's unclear if it was used during the incident.

Rangers are still gathering information.

"Any incident like this requires a pretty thorough investigation," Al Nash, a Yellowstone spokesman, said Thursday.

Female bears, especially those with cubs, tend to strike with their claws, and it appeared that Cole was clawed more than once, doing "significant damage" to his face, Nash said.

Nash said there were no plans to take action against the grizzly.

Cole was injured in a bear attack once before, the Park Service said. In September 1993, he walked out of the backcountry in Glacier National Park after being hurt by a grizzly there.

In 2005, he was charged and later acquitted on a misdemeanor charge in Yellowstone for approaching within 100 yards of three bears, according to court records.

Cole is the author of "Lives of Grizzlies, Montana and Wyoming," and "Lives of Grizzlies, Alaska."

Bear attacks in Yellowstone are rare. There were 32 between 1980 and 2002, according to park officials, making the chances of being hurt by a bear in Yellowstone around 1 in 1.9 million.

There were no bear-caused injuries to people in Yellowstone last year. Eight people have been hurt by bears in Yellowstone since 2000; five people have been killed dating to 1916.

The last bear-caused fatality in the park was in 1986, when a photographer was attacked after following a female grizzly too closely in Hayden Valley, according to park records.

Hayden Valley and the area around Trout Creek are busy areas for grizzlies. Six sightings were reported in the area in the first two weeks of May, the latest recording period that's available.

Black bears and grizzly bears, including some with cubs, are active in the spring.

Visitors are encouraged to hike in groups, make noise and carry pepper spray. - Mike Stark, The Billings Gazette

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