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Railroad Newsline for Thursday, January 04, 2007

Compiled by Larry W. Grant

In Memory of Rob Carlson, 1952 – 2006

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RAIL NEWS

LOCOMOTIVE ENTHUSIASTS GO LOCO FOR TRANSFER OF VINTAGE 50'S TRAINS

The Niles Canyon Railway tries to keep quiet about these things ahead of time, for fear that everyone and his uncle, his brother and his dog will show up.

Nonetheless, more than a few train enthusiasts were out Sunday morning in hopes of catching a glimpse or some photos of the rescue train that brought the remainder of the Golden Gate Rail Museum's vintage locomotives and cars from San Francisco to Brightside yard in Niles Canyon.

Photos at the following links, all by Don Buchholz of The Daily Review:

[extras.mnginteractive.com]

Caption reads: The 2472, shown here crossing Pleasanton-Sunol Road, was restored by the Golden Gate group and will call Niles Canyon its new home.

[extras.mnginteractive.com]

Caption reads: Crossing Niles Canyon Road eastbound at Sunol, the train also included former East Pleasanton rock train regular diesel 4450 and steam engine 2472.

[extras.mnginteractive.com]

Caption reads: A train heading up Niles Canyon on Sunday (below) included former Southern Pacific coaches that served in Peninsula commuter service.

[extras.mnginteractive.com]

Caption reads: Former Western Pacific diesel road switcher 713 shuttles an installment of the special train that brought the last of the Golden Gate Rail Museum s vintage cars and engines from Hunters Point in San Francisco to Union Pacific s Hearst siding on New Year s Eve.

With the Navy quitting Hunters Point, the museum had to leave too. A special train in February 2006 brought the first installment of rolling stock to Union Pacific's Hearst siding between Sunol and Pleasanton, where it was switched out from the former Western Pacific line to the former Southern Pacific line that the Niles Canyon operating museum uses now.

The second section of the train required fans and participants to do some bundling up against the cold on New Year's Eve, but the operation was a piece of cake compared to the previous run, in which the train arrived five hours later than this time, the rain was heavy, and darkness soon prevailed.

Rail fans Steve Clearwater of Livermore and Wayne Monger of Suisun City were waiting Sunday morning along Niles Canyon Road between the two railroad tunnels when the eastbound extra, behind Union Pacific locomotives, clattered by.

Ex-Southern Pacific yard switcher 1423 and Western Pacific road switcher 713 then shuffled out former Southern Pacific 4-6-2 Pacific-type steam locomotive 2472, rebuilt by Golden Gate, along with ex-Southern Pacific road switcher 3194, seven passenger cars and one freight car to the Niles Canyon Railway track.

Portola Rail Museum equipment remained at Hearst overnight, along with ex-Southern Pacific road switcher 4450, for a trip to Feather River Canyon.

The 4450, one of only two vintage '50s SD-9 diesels on the Southern Pacific equipped with steam generators for commuter service on the Peninsula, and a regular on the old East Pleasanton "rock train" along with sister engine 4451, reportedly will be gutted out for parts at Portola, then cosmetically restored for static display at Colfax. The two sisters were known affectionately as "Huff and Puff."

Dexter Day, Niles Canyon Railway general manager, was out at Brightside on New Year's Day, trying to figure out where everything was going to go.

"I wish we had another 40 acres," he said.

Henry Luna, one of the four founding members of the Pacific Locomotive Association, which operates the railway, said he was happy to see all the equipment coming in.

"It's part of our master plan to accommodate Golden Gate since its lease was terminated. It's not easy to find space for all of these trains," he said.

The overall goal is to combine Golden Gate and Niles Canyon with a San Jose group, which also has to move, Luna said.

"The equipment from the three groups complements each other - it would be one of the best collections in the U.S.," he said. "And Niles Canyon is one of the most historically correct places to do this."

Part of the plan involves moving the former Southern Pacific Lenzen Street roundhouse in San Jose to the south end of Niles, between the Oakland and San Jose legs of the old Southern Pacific wye, to showcase some of the collection.

"Things are getting better and better," Luna said. "Everything happens with patience." - Don Buchholz, The Daily Review, InsideBayArea.com

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BNSF ISSUES WINTER WEATHER DELAY UPDATE FOR NEBRASKA

This is an update to the BNSF Railway Company's winter weather Service Advisory issued Sunday December 31, 2006, regarding the delay of traffic moving throughout the state of Nebraska.

Although the winter weather conditions have improved, the snow, ice and high winds have caused signal system outages between McCook, Nebraska and Lincoln, NE. A major portion of this outage is estimated to be restored to service at 18:00 CT, Wednesday, January 3, 2007. The balance of the signal system is estimated to be restored to service at 18:00 CT, Thursday, January 4, 2007.

Customers may experience additional delays between 24 and 48 hours on traffic moving through this corridor. - BNSF Service Advisory

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TEXAS STATE RAILROAD OFFERS OPPORTUNITY TO EXPERIENCE HISTORY

Photo here:

[www.jaspernewsboy.com]

Caption reads: TSRR 300 takes a spin on the "armstrong" turntable at Maydelle, Texas.

JASPER, TX -- Jasper, Texas came late to the table where railroads were concerned, finally receiving its first train in 1901.

Many towns in East Texas already had rail lines, and the business community in Jasper was desperate enough to start their own, The Jasper Southern, before finally making connections with an established line, according to Nida Marshall in her book The Jasper Journal.

Railroads could make or break a town. Tiny Huntington should have been the big city in East Texas, but when the sheriff arrested a rowdy construction crew, the boss re-routed the line through Lufkin, making it the hub of East Texas commerce.

Marshall quoted The Jasper News-Boy's Aug. 7, 1901 report of the first train:

"Jasper will do an immense business this fall. Our merchants are wide awake hustlers and have always done a good business in spite of our lack of transportation. This fall the road will not run past us."

Tex Ritter popularized the call of porters boarding passengers from Houston to Shreveport. They sang out, "All aboard for Tenaha, Timpson, Bobo and Blair."

Ritter's lyrics say, "Old East Texas sure looks fine, drop me off just anywhere near Tenaha, Timpson, Bobo and Blair."

There's only one way to see what those passengers saw-ride the steam train run by the Texas State Railroad in Rusk.

Rusk Depot photo here:

[www.jaspernewsboy.com]

Caption reads: Winter hours are Saturdays only until March.Turn-of-the-century depots in both Rusk and Palestine offer shopping and dining.

Vintage locomotives run Saturdays from Rusk to Palestine. In March the schedule expands to include Saturdays and Sundays with departures from either Rusk or Palestine. Special runs are set for school field trips.

Photo here:

[www.jaspernewsboy.com]

Caption reads: Kirbyville Brownie Troop 2086 took a ride on the steam train to Rusk last summer.

The 50-mile round trip train ride takes four hours, which allows time for shopping or dining in turn-of-the century train stations. Eilenberger's Bakery caters the food in the Palestine station, with beautiful grounds for a picnic lunch.

For make reservations, call 800 442-8951. For more information, visit http//:www.texasstaterailroad.com . - The Jasper Newsboy

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EVERETT COUNCIL HONORS EMPLOYEE AND BNSF

Last week the Everett, Washington, Council of the Navy League of the United States held its annual meeting in honor of those who show "dedication and service to the Navy League."

This year’s honoree was the BNSF Railway Company’s own Michael Hart, claim representative, and his wife, Jessica. BNSF was also acknowledged as a company for its support of the Navy League by local employees’ efforts, volunteer work and the BNSF Foundation’s recent contribution, which assisted in feeding more than 150 military personnel and gifts for 211 children of sailors.

The Everett Council works to educate and motivate others to support maritime capabilities, services and personnel. - BNSF Today

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REV. JESSE JACKSON SEEKS ANSWERS ON RAIL WORK FIRINGS, SECURITY CHECKS

CHICAGO, IL -- The Rev. Jesse Jackson hopes to get some answers Wednesday from one of the nation's largest railroads and a subcontractor about background security checks and employment practices.

WBBM's Bob Roberts reports Rev. Jackson led a protest outside of the CSX Intermodal facility, at 2101 W. 59th St., and met for more than an hour with railroad officials.

At issue are the layoffs of 70 workers who were employed by H&M International Transportation. H&M subcontracts not just with CSX, but also with the Union Pacific Railroad at another facility on Chicago's West Side.

Those who were fired worked at the time for H&M at Union Pacific. CSX began subcontracting with H&M at the South Side facility on Tuesday.

"You were fired unjustifiably," Rev. Jackson told them. "There's no case that you've not done your work. They've fired you under the terrorist (U.S. Patriot) Act. You're not terrorists. You're citizens."

The workers have asked how they suddenly became security risks. They said they never hid their non-violent felony convictions, and say H&M and the railroads had hired them, some for as long as 11 years. Nonetheless, they said, they were told they were considered too risky to retain, following new, more extensive background checks required by the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security guidelines.

Other workers said they were promised work by H&M at the South Side CSX facility when it took over operations at the facility Tuesday, but ultimately were not hired.

Reverend Jackson said H&M's interpretation of the law is at best faulty, and said he sees some racial undertones.

In the closed-door meeting with Rev. Jackson was an attorney, Tamara Holder, representatives of CSX Intermodal and representatives of International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 705.

Rev. Jackson said the CSX representatives appeared unclear on whether the company hires ex-convicts, and whether the same standards apply to security and trucking personnel.The company is promising Rev. Jackson clarifications within 24 hours, but Rev. Jackson said he is already recommending to the workers that they file suit against H&M, and said he wants Congressional hearings to clarify what the U.S. Patriot Act and other laws say about the ability to hire the workers.

"This appears to be a rather widespread pattern across the country that's taken place and we're not going to rest until the matter is resolved and we get hearings, and Congress makes clear the Act itself," Rev. Jackson said.

Security at intermodal transfer facilities, such as the CSX facility on the South Side, is a hot topic in the transportation industry. Much of the focus has been on U.S. entry ports, but officials have said that security at such transfer facilities, where containers are transferred between trucks and railroads, railroads and ships, or ships and trucks, is one of the weakest links in the nation's war on terrorism.

Congress has been under pressure from voters to improve security on many fronts in the face of terrorism threats, but Rev. Jackson said H&M is, at best, misinterpreting Homeland Security standards and the law.

"They're using these schemes to take people's jobs and (are) misusing the law," he said.
Rev.Jackson hoped to meet in closed-door session with the fired workers Wednesday morning at Rainbow/PUSH headquarters, 930 E. 50th St. - WBBM-780, Chicago, IL

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UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD TO REMOVE 23 TREES

GROVER BEACH, CA -- Derailment hazards will soon be eliminated for Union Pacific Railroad passengers, personnel and the public who travel through Grover Beach along South Fourth Street.

In response to trees that fell in its right of way during last winter's storms, Union Pacific Railroad Co. is moving forward with plans to remove 23 blue-gum eucalyptus trees in its right of way in Grover Beach.

A 2006 storm caused numerous large trees to fall in city and county right of way along South Fourth, closing railroad tracks for a day and a half, according to city officials.

"Within the last year, the railroad has had numerous large branches fall onto the tracks and/or passing trains from the identified trees and seeks to minimize potential hazards by removing large trees that are close to the tracks," states a report commissioned by the railroad.

The report goes on to say, "In the past, Union Pacific Railroad has contracted tree-trimming experts to remove dangerous or over-hanging branches; however, the threat of an entire tree falling onto the tracks during a storm is deemed great enough to warrant removal of some trees."

The project is being undertaken in coordination with the city of Grover Beach and Public Works Superintendent Mike Ford in response to the trees "considered a potential derailment hazard," Ford said in a memo to City Manager Bob Perrault.

Union Pacific hired the company Althouse and Meade Inc. to perform the survey that identified the eucalyptus trees as a derailment hazard, along with a finding that no roosting endangered birds are present in the trees, nor are the trees part of the Pismo Beach Monarch Butterfly Preserve.

No specific date has been set for removal of the trees, according to Ford. - Josh Petray, The Santa Maria Times

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STANTON OFFICIALS SEEKING APPROVAL FOR FIFTH RAILROAD CROSSING ARM

STANTON, TX -- Stanton, Texas city officials indicated their city is high on the list of locales seeking funding for a railroad crossing arm for the fifth, and only remaining, crossing that lacks a safety device.

In a little more than a year the city has experienced four fatalities resulting from train and vehicle collisions, the most recent of which occurred on New Year's Eve.

Stanton Police Chief Michael Adams told the Reporter-Telegram that around 17:00, Dec. 31, 2006 an eastbound Union Pacific train struck 76-year-old Pedro Avalos' truck as he was trying to drive through the St. Peter Street railroad crossing. A woman was killed after a train collision on Christmas Eve in 2005 at the St. Boniface railroad crossing and since then three other fatalities have occurred, including Avalos, but before that Adams said he could not remember any fatalities as a result of trains colliding with vehicles.

"I can only remember one other vehicle and train accident in 21 years, until Christmas Eve, and that one didn't result in serious injury," he said.

Adams said a crossing arm was installed at the St. Boniface Street crossing two to three months ago, and the St. Peter Street crossing is now the only one of five railroad crossings in the city that does not have a protective barrier.

City Manager Danny Fryar said the Texas Department of Transportation has a priority list to determine where funds for the installation of crossing arms are allocated and Stanton is now high on the list due to the spate of train collisions over the past year. He said the city has qualified for the roughly $65,000 to $75,000 needed for a new crossing arm, but TxDOT officials will have to approve the funding in May. After that, he said, it will take about 16 months for the crossing arms to be installed. Fryer said beyond appealing to TxDOT for assistance there is nothing more the city is authorized to do to protect motorists, and noted even with the crossing arms in place the possibility of further fatalities will remain.

"The thing is we have people go through the crossing gates, the gates don't stop people from going across," he said. "There's only about 13 seconds from when the gate drops down, you don't have much time to get out of the way."

Adams said he is not entirely certain what is behind the sharp increase in train collisions over the past year. He said there has been an increase in the amount of freight passing through town, but that has been true for the past three years. However, he noted that the speed limit for trains was recently raised from around 55 to 75 mph, but added that railroad officials have stated the higher speeds contribute toward safety by allowing trains to pass through populated areas more quickly, reducing the number of opportunities available for a collision to occur. Officials from Union Pacific could not be reached by the Reporter-Telegram.

"They may be right, but the only thing that sticks in our minds is we didn't have this string of events until the speed limit changed," he said. "It leaves no room for error." - Colin Guy, The Midland Reporter-Telegram

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ETHANOL TIMELINE UNFOLDING; PENDING DNR APPROVAL, CONSTRUCTION SET TO BEGIN IN MARCH

REEDSBURG, WI -- Had he known an ethanol plant could be constructed across the street, Dennis Laukant says he would have never built his home on Reedsburg, Wisconsin's south side four years ago.

"You could throw a softball and hit where they're going to put it," said Laukant, who lives on Frog Road, adjacent to the proposed 35-acre ethanol plant site.

"It's about as adjacent as you could get."

He and his father, Richard "Dick" Laukant, realize that the value of their property could be negatively impacted if the plant is built. Dick Laukant owns 250 acres next to the site. He said the land has been in his family since 1945. The Laukants, both life-long residents of Reedsburg, said they are concerned not just about the factory's impact on their and their neighbors' property, but also for the rest of Reedsburg.
Reedsburg Biofuels, Inc.

In late summer, Reedsburg Industrial Development Commission (RIDC) Chair Don Lichte was contacted by the Wisconsin Department of Commerce informing him that a company was interested in constructing an ethanol plant in the industrial park. The matter soon made the Common Council's agenda, and the city voted to enter into a one-year option to sell 35 acres to Reedsburg Biofuels, Inc., a subsidiary of NexGen Biofuels, Inc., which is a multi-national corporation based in New York.

The plant's proposal is currently being reviewed by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, and if the plant is approved, construction may begin as early as March or April 2007.

Transportation

The new plant will bring more trucks on the streets of Reedsburg, which create their own pollution, and increased railroad traffic. The primary reason for this is because ethanol is too corrosive to be transported via pipeline.

"I think the taxpayers of Reedsburg should be informed," Dick Laukant said. "They're going to be footing the bill."

Ryan Schulta, the senior air quality engineer for Pinnacle Engineering, the firm that drafted Reedsburg Biofuel's air pollution control construction permit application to the DNR, estimates that 80 to 100 semis and gasoline trucks will enter and exit the factory every day. That total will be lower if the plant utilizes the adjacent rail lines, as expected.

City officials are convinced that Reedsburg's streets will be able to handle the heavier load.

"This may be a challenge or two, but this challenge will be an opportunity," Mayor John Deitrich said. "We're looking forward to this challenge."

Lichte said Wisconsin & Southern Railroad officials are comfortable that they can handle more cars. He says city streets need work, though.

"We will have to do some improvements of the streets," Lichte said. "South Dewey will have to be upgraded."

More pollution

The Laukants want to see more debate among residents about whether the proposed plant's economic benefits outweigh the pollution it will create. They feel the RIDC has not been sufficiently forthcoming about the plant's impact.

Dick Laukant said he visited the same ethanol plant in Friesland that members of the RIDC visited, but he left with a much different impression of the odor given off by the plant.

"It's a sour smell - I wouldn't call it a bakery," he said, contrasting his sense of smell with Lichte's opinion of the factory's aroma.

The Laukants expressed concern about the proximity of the factory to the city, and especially to My Place Children and Family Center, a daycare facility less than half a mile from the proposed site. They point to the air and water pollution the plant will cause, as well as the noise it will generate.

Pollution specifics

The DNR defines Reedsburg Biofuels as a synthetic minor pollution source, putting in the same category as Cellox, Reedsburg Hardwoods and Foremost Farms. A synthetic minor pollution source emits no more than 100 tons per year of each category of pollutants. Grede Foundry is labeled a major pollution source by the DNR.

"Grede has two to three times more emissions than the new (ethanol) plant will have," said Mike Sloat, DNR air program compliance engineer and Reedsburg alderman.

Schulta said the annual emissions of the Reedsburg plant are estimated to be 94 tons of particulate matter (commonly called dust), 67 tons of sulfur dioxide, 84 tons of nitrogen oxide, nitrogen dioxide and nitrogen trioxide, 94 tons of volatile organic compounds, 94 tons of carbon monoxide, and trace amounts of 45 different hazardous air pollutants, including benzene and formaldehyde.

Schulta said those estimates are probably slightly high, though, since the calculations are based on the plant running 24 hours a day for every day of the year and on only trucks transporting the factory's products.

"They (ethanol plants) typically run only 355-360 days a year," Schulta said. The railroad probably will be used as well, since its proximity was one of the reasons the company chose Reedsburg.

Schulta, who has written 26 air pollution control applications across the country and previously worked for the DNR reviewing such applications, said that 18 different pieces of pollution-controlling equipment will be installed in the factory.

Schulta said he expects the DNR to issue a final permit for construction of the plant by March 2007. That will be preceded by a 30-day period for public comment on a draft of the permit. Once that draft permit is issued, however, the DNR can revoke it only if information in the application is found to be false, Schulta said.
Municipal reaction

City officials said they are not worried that the emissions will pose a major problem to Reedsburg residents.

"We're assuming that no, it won't be a problem," said Lichte, citing DNR regulations that are in effect. "We have to rely on the experts on that."

The mayor said the ethanol plant "will pale in comparison in terms of smell and pollution" caused by Grede Foundry and nearby pig farms.

"Reedsburg isn't a city that sells its soul to get an industry to town," he said.
Economic boost

The plant is designed to produce 100 million gallons of ethanol annually. This will generate a yearly gross income of more than $85 million for the local economy, according to the company. In addition to ethanol, the plant will also produce 360,000 tons of dried distiller grain annually. The byproduct is used for cattle feed and has more protein than regular corn and is more easily digested by cows, Schulta said.

Reedsburg Biofuels is a subsidiary of NexGen Biofuels, Inc., a multi-national corporation based in New York.

NexGen is building four other similarly sized ethanol plants - in Council Bluffs and Red Oak, Iowa, Port Clinton, Ohio and Morristown, Indiana. NexGen recently was acquired by Healthcare Technologies, Ltd, a medical-equipment manufacturer and biotechnology developer based in Ashdod, Israel with extensive operations in Europe.

NexGen President Aruna Raj said the Reedsburg plant will employ 40 to 50 workers. He said the wages will range from $12 to $20 an hour, with additional benefits offered.

Raj also said that local construction companies will be used "to the extent possible" to build the facility, which supports the RIDC's claim that for every job at the plant, more than four other jobs will be created.

Fate of nearby residents

Despite their proximity to the site, the Laukants are not totally against the plant's construction. They acknowledge the economic benefits it could bring but feel that more public awareness would be good for the city.

"I don't care if it's built, but I want the people of Reedsburg to know what they're getting," Dick Laukant said. "We'd like to have more discussion and an open forum."

But city officials insist the plant will have no significant negative effect on Reedsburg.

"I don't see any substantial impact to the community as a whole," Mayor Deitrich said.

Both he and Lichte emphasize that the city has offered buy-out options for property owners adjacent to the site.

"If they want to move on, and see this as an opportunity to move on, then so be it," Deitrich said. - Nathan Greenhalgh, The Reedsburg Times Press

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HISTORIC CABOOSE ON WAY AS STANDISH GETS ALL ON BOARD FOR DEPOT

STANDISH, MI - It won't be the last caboose to stop at the old Standish, Michigan depot, but it's likely the only one planning to stay.

This month, a retired Detroit & Mackinac Railway caboose - the last of three historic cars - rolls into Standish for good. The threesome will find a crane waiting to hoist their metal girths onto the depot's original iron tracks.

The rail car museum-to-be is among the latest plans gathering steam at the 118-year-old Standish depot.
Inside the fieldstone train station, contractors have been busy stripping and re-staining original wood trim and flooring, and patching, plastering and repainting walls.

It's all part of a million dollar-plus job that will transform the depot and property - by summer's end - into a state travel and service center. Not bad, planners say, for what was a town eyesore until recently.

''We're looking at doing our grand opening at the next Depot Days,'' Oct. 6-7, said Curt Hillman, depot authority president. ''We're working on getting Gov. Jennifer Granholm (to attend). We think it's a grand enough thing ...''

It's grand for Standish and surrounding Arenac County. The 33-member Arenac Heritage Route Authority owns and will run the new travel center. The partnership is a first for Michigan's Department of Transportation, which traditionally owns and operates its expressway-side travel centers, Hillman said.

The Department of Transportation is spending some $780,000 on the depot renovation, to include refurbishing the train station, landscaping and building restrooms and a parking lot.

Adding rail museum components, however, is being covered by private money. The three historic cars, for example, are a donation from the Lake State Railway, which bought the Detroit & Mackinac Railway in the early 1990s. The twin cars already trucked to the depot are 1950s-era English passenger trains, made by British Railways, Hillman said.

The cars eventually hauled passengers in northern Michigan for the Boyne City Railroad, until the late 1970s. That's when the Detroit Mackinac's parent company, Straits Corp. of Monitor Township, bought the cars.

In October, the old cars and caboose will make a good backdrop for the Polar Express, planners say. The latter is an antique steam engine scheduled to roar into Standish to give color tours during Depot Days.

For now, the authority's immediate concern is raising $70,000 to build a bandstand. The depot originally featured a bandstand for community events. Planners say they'll use old photographs to reflect the original bandstand's architecture.

To raise money, authority members are selling engraved, $100 bricks. Donors can have their bricks engraved with their family, business or civic group name, said Brenda Matt, an authority member. The bricks will create a walkway from the depot to the proposed bandstand.

''Kids say the old train interiors are straight out of a Harry Potter novel,'' Matt said. ''The wood and upholstery is in remarkably good shape. With a little soap and water they'll make the depot property that much more attractive, that much more historically valuable.'' - Helen Lounsbury, The Bay City Times

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EIGHTH CIRCUIT COURT FINDS IN FAVPR OF DM&E RAILROAD PLANS FOR EXPANSION

PITTSBURGH, PA -- Pittsburgh-based L.B. Foster Company announced Wednesday that the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has upheld the Surface Transportation Board's grant of final approval, subject to certain environmental mitigation conditions, for the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad's ("DM&E") rail expansion project.

Surface Transportation Board Chairman Charles D. Nottingham previously stated, "We are pleased with the court's ruling, which is a significant step in allowing this important project to go forward. DM&E now has the opportunity to introduce additional competition and capacity into the Powder River Basin and to rehabilitate its existing line to help meet our nation's growing freight rail needs."

The project involves the construction of approximately 280 miles of new rail line to reach the coal mines of Wyoming's Powder River Basin and the upgrade of nearly 600 miles of existing track in Minnesota and South Dakota.

The court rejected challenges made by several outside parties concerning the STB's environmental review. A complete text of the Eighth Circuit Court's decision can be accessed at [www.ca8.uscourts.gov] and searching under One Stop Search for Case Number 06-2031.

L.B. Foster owns approximately 13.4% of the DM&E's diluted common shares.

L.B. Foster is a leading manufacturer, fabricator and distributor of products for rail, construction, utility and energy markets. - PRNewswire, Source: L.B. Foster Company

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NEED A JOB? HEAD STRAIGHT TO WYOMING

GREEN RIVER, WY -- During high school, Danny Wilson spent a lot of time with his head under the hood of his pickup truck, tinkering with the engine. Anything mechanical could hold his interest for hours.

After graduation in 2003, Wilson went to technical school to learn automotive and diesel technologies and then bided his time for a few years in a couple of just-above-minimum-wage jobs.

So it was to his great delight when his love of engines recently landed the 22-year-old a job he'd always coveted: working on the huge diesel engines in Union Pacific Railroad yard in Green River.

He was helped by a booming economy that has brought a lot of job openings to this small blue-collar city in southwest Wyoming and resulted in a labor shortage across the state.

"This is what I was shooting for, a job like this where I could live in Green River and do what I love ... It's so awesome," he said.

Like many others, Wilson took advantage of the state's work force shortage in 2006 to land a high-paying, full-benefit job he might not have gotten so easily a decade ago.

Across the occupational spectrum, Wyoming employers had a tough time attracting workers in 2006, according to state and local officials. A strong Wyoming economy combined with a shortage of skilled workers resulted in work force shortages in many industries, particularly the energy industry, food service, transportation and the support and administrative industries.

In other words, Wyoming companies needed a lot of gas workers, waitresses, cooks, secretaries and drivers last year. Job growth outstripped labor supply in most occupations in 2006, according to state data. In November, Wyoming created new jobs at the fastest pace in the nation.

Don't expect things to change much in 2007, said Shelli Stewart of the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services.

With literally thousands of unfilled jobs in the state, Wyoming is going to need lots of new workers the coming year - and the affordable housing to put them in.

"This year was an important one in Wyoming in the sense that our work force shortages have really come to light ... and we've made some great efforts in trying to recruit workers to our state," Stewart said in an interview last week. "A lot of people are talking about our work force shortage, which is what we need to happen."

Hot spots

The signs of Wyoming's work force woes were easy to find in 2006.

For example, in Lander, Riverton and Thermopolis this summer, a contingent of foreign students worked at several McDonald's restaurants to help ease a critical shortage of workers.

Earlier this year in Gillette, a Quiznos sandwich shop was frequently closed for lunch, and sometimes all day, because of a labor shortage.

This month, Wyoming Department of Transportation officials said they wouldn't be able to maintain previous levels of snow removal on some highways this winter because nearly half of the agency's permanent driver positions are unfilled.

Stewart said many businesses have lost workers to Wyoming's booming natural gas fields in southwest Wyoming and coalbed methane fields in northeast Wyoming, where wages are higher.

For example, thousands of workers will be needed in the Pinedale Anticline, Jonah and Wamsutter fields in Sublette and Sweetwater counties over the next decade to develop 20,000 or more natural gas wells planned for the region.

Statewide, most of the 12,800 jobs added in the past year have been in minerals and construction. Those areas added 3,700 and 3,100 jobs, respectively.

The construction and extraction industry is expected to generate the most new jobs in Wyoming by 2012. State growth projections estimate 38,000 more workers will be needed in Wyoming by that time, with about 6,200 of those jobs in the construction and extraction industries.

Which means the mom-and-pop grocery stores, the small food franchises, the hotels and other businesses in the region must boost wages and do other things to fill those lower-paying jobs.

"Southwest and northeast Wyoming are our hot spots right now and in most need of workers," Stewart said. "Anybody calling our agency who says they want to come work in Wyoming, those are the two work force centers that we're sending them to."

But local officials say bringing new workers to the area has been difficult because of an extremely tight housing market, with high prices and little available for renters or buyers.

"We're still lacking in employees in nearly every sector ... and our biggest problem has been getting folks here," said Janet Hartford, director of the Green River Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Southwest Wyoming Economic Development Agency board.

"The inquiries for relocation packets from people seeking information about moving here to work has tripled in the past three years," she said. "It boils down to folks being able to find a place to live and something that's affordable for them."

Hartford said bigger corporations including Wal-Mart and Halliburton in Rock Springs alone are seeking hundreds of employees.

"Between those and the service industry and getting doctors and nurses and so on ... there's easily 1,500 jobs that need to be filled here right now," she said. "Everybody is complaining about finding people to work for them, and it's just not entry-level jobs, either."

State programs

Stewart said Workforce Services recently launched several efforts to lure workers to Wyoming.

A consultant is working to determine to the best places outside Wyoming to recruit "and to identify those targets a little bit more," she said. The department also introduced a Wyoming at Work program on the agency's Web site recently to match employers with prospective employees.

"We're literally in the infancy stage with that, trying to fill out the system," she said. "We're trying to get businesses to use the system and workers to register and help find those workers that those businesses so desperately need."

Stewart said the department also maintains a work force development training fund that provides businesses with funding to train their employees. All Workforce Services programs can be accessed at the department's Web site, [www.wlra.org]. - Jeff Gearino, The Casper Star-Tribune, The Billings Gazette

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TRANSIT NEWS

CALTRAIN GEARS UP RAIL SAFETY CAMPAIGN

SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- Last year, fatalities on San Mateo County train tracks climbed to 17, tying an 11-year high. Four teenagers died on the tracks. As local officials grappled for solutions and families grieved, Caltrain came under mounting pressure to increase safety.

As a result, in recent months the commuter train agency responded with unprecedented resources to avoid a permanent, public black eye. Staff underwent additional training, new safety personnel were hired, a rail education campaign was launched and millions of dollars were set aside for fencing and rail-crossing upgrades.

Nancy Emro, a volunteer with the nonprofit Operation Lifesaver, an international railroad safety group, has worked with Caltrain to educate area schoolchildren for years. She took up the cause after her 17-year-old son, Sean, was hit and killed in 2000 on the tracks as he walked home from school in Sunnyvale.

"I think it has taken some of these [2006] tragedies to bring it to more prominence," Emro said.
Since launching its public safety awareness campaign, "Don't Shortcut Life," in May 2006, Caltrain has trained more rail safety personnel and hired a full-time safety outreach coordinator, Emro said.

In addition, Caltrain has expanded outreach to schools near the tracks, instituted a "zero tolerance" trespassing policy and earmarked more than $6 million for fencing and other safety features for the next three years, Caltrain spokesman Jonah Weinberg said.

All of these measures are part of Caltrain's new approach to track deaths, whether they be accidents or suicides. The agency now deals with the deaths more frankly, said Jerry Hill, president of the Board of Supervisors and a Caltrain board member.

"Caltrain recognizes that we're part of the problem and have to be part of the solution," Hill said.

Of the 17 people who died on Caltrain tracks in 2006, seven have officially been ruled suicides. Two other deaths, Weinberg said, may also be ruled suicides. The number of deaths tied 2000 figures, according to Caltrain.

While acknowledging the toll deaths take on families and riders, Caltrain officials were quick to point out that the jump in the number of deaths follows a substantial increase in the number of trains on the Peninsula.

Since 2002, Caltrain has added 20 trains for a total of 96, to accommodate Baby Bullet services, while preventing even higher numbers of deaths, such as the 20 that occurred in 1995, Hill said. - Edward Carpenter, The San Francisco Examiner

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COUNTY WANTS METRO SALES TAX TO HELP OUT LIGHT RAIL

MINNEAPOLIS, MN -- Facing rising costs to operate the region's first light-rail line, Hennepin County wants a new half-cent metro-wide sales tax to help pay for the Hiawatha line and future transit projects.

The popularity of the Hiawatha line has translated into $1.3 million in extra revenue from fares last year, but that can't make up for a $10 million federal grant that ended last year.

Hennepin County, which uses a special property tax to pay for half the cost of running the line linking Minneapolis and Bloomington, thinks the entire metro region should help pay for it. The six other metro counties agree.

The plan has the support of a key Minneapolis DFL legislator.

"The Hiawatha line and any subsequent transit corridors ... all of these things are regional assets and should be funded regionally with the assistance of the state," said Rep. Frank Hornstein, chairman of the House transportation and transit policy subcommittee.

But the idea has already run into opposition from Gov. Tim Pawlenty.

The Republican governor "continues to believe that local units of government should share in the cost of these very expensive transit projects," said Brian McClung, his spokesman. "This shared model ensures that projects have strong local support," he said, adding that Pawlenty would oppose a shift to a sales tax.

Over its first three years of service, Hennepin and Metro Transit split rail operating costs, with the help of the federal grant. Hennepin County's share of the Hiawatha subsidy went from $3.4 million last year to a projected $6.2 million this year.

If the Hiawatha model is followed, Hennepin, along with Anoka and Sherburne counties, will be expected to pay half of the operating costs of the Northstar commuter rail line, which will link Minneapolis and Big Lake starting in 2009.

And Hennepin and Ramsey counties are expected to pay half of the operating costs of the proposed Central Corridor light-rail line, which would run between Minneapolis and St. Paul.

"It's not a trivial amount of money," and the benefits of rail lines extend beyond county lines, so costs should be paid on a regional basis, said Hennepin County Commissioner Peter McLaughlin.

Dakota County residents regularly use the Hiawatha line's park and ride lots at Fort Snelling and in Bloomington, McLaughlin said.

"There is no rational basis why the property taxpayers in Hennepin County ought to be paying for Dakota County people to use the LRT line," he said.

According to McLaughlin, anti-light-rail legislators set up the rail funding scheme to discourage more light-rail lines. "It was designed to be a poison pill ... to try to dissuade others from pursuing LRT."We are hoping for a more positive hearing over at the Legislature this year," McLaughlin said, referring to the DFL majority in the House and Senate.

But Rep. Mary Liz Holberg, R-Lakeville, a central figure in transportation policy discussions, said the current funding arrangement is justified because rail lines spark development that increases a county's tax base.

"They are going to see increased property tax valuation and revenues as a result of the state investment. For them to participate in the operating cost is not out of line," Holberg said.

If the counties do not help pay for operating costs, transit development will be slower because there is only so much state money to go around, she said. - Laurie Blake, The Minneapolis Star-Tribune

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DING, DING, DING WENT THE TROLLEY

Photo here: [www.arktimes.com]

LITTLE ROCK, AR -- Perhaps you noticed a cartoon today in the Democrat-Gazette. It poked a little fun at the low ridership of the River Rail streetcar.

Keith Jones, executive director of Central Arkansas Transit, certainly noticed. He sent a letter around to various folks noting the relatively high ridership of the trolley compared with bus routes and noting that the Democrat-Gazette puts newspaper boxes at several stops, which must mean something, right?

His letter is on the jump.

Readers' thoughts?

UPDATE: The Argenta News blog notes that it has been bulldogging this issue for a good while, most recently yesterday, and calling for months for a monthly pass for trolley users. The Argenta blogger believes the streetcar is more tourist attraction than transit. And another reader wonders about the lack of marketing, pointing to Portland as a city that promotes its rail transit, sells advertising and otherwise seems to be making it work.

MEMO FROM KEITH JONES

The 2006 ridership for River Rail Streetcar has just been tabulated at 121,500. Considering the low ridership during the extremely hot August, and the slowdown in summer tourism due to the high gas prices, I am very pleased with the ridership. The two streetcars (we only put the third car out on peak Saturdays and for other special events) would be in the top tier of our highest ridership bus routes. That is why T. Boone Pickens, who made and makes millions by filling up our cars with gasoline, in his talk to the Little Rock Regional Chamber last month, said "you ought to be building more rail".

Since the streetcar opened in November 2004, more than $260 million in private and public projects have been started within two blocks of the line. Most of these developments will open for business in 2007, generating even higher ridership. The opening of the extension to the Clinton Library and Heifer International will add at least 2,000 riders per month. We recently learned that from National Archives officials that River Rail will be the first light rail line of any type to serve a presidential library.

As more and more attractions come on line, and as more people move to the two downtowns, ridership trends will continue upward. Many conventions coming here 2007 are buying "convention passes" and promoting the streetcar to their groups as a way to get around the two downtowns. We are working on some options for the Board to consider for multiple-ride or monthly passes for local users, as we are getting more and more requests for that. Two weeks ago, even though we operated a free bus shuttle that carried thousands to the recent sellout of the Tran Siberian Orchestra concert at Alltel Arena, more than 300 riders paid the streetcar fare to ride it to the event.

The River Rail line continues to get great publicity around the nation. It is featured in the new book "Street Smart", was mentioned in a Washington Post article last week concerning the efforts of that city to build a similar line, and is scheduled to be in, of all things, Southern Living magazine, in a few months! The yellow and red cars have become an icon, and are used in countless print and electronic ads promoting businesses and events in the two downtowns.

Delegations from Lancaster PA and St. Charles, MO are the most recent visitors here on "study missions" to learn how we got the streetcar line built.

When the County, Little Rock, and North Little Rock asked CATA to build a streetcar line back in 1996, the Board and staff had plenty of questions, conducted studies with lots of public participation and input, and came up with a very successful project. It was built at one of the lowest cost-per-mile figures of any light rail project in the past 20 years.

By the way, without commenting on any editorial opinion you may have noticed today, a statewide daily newspaper places its vending boxes on several of the River Rail platforms. Their circulation department must know something. - Max Brantley, The Arkansas Times

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THE END