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Railroad Newsline for Saturday, January 06, 2006 (Happy Second Birthday Ethan David Grant!)

Compiled by Larry W. Grant

In Memory of Rob Carlson, 1952 – 2006

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RAIL NEWS

PARENTS TRAVEL FREE WITH PROSPECTIVE COLLEGE STUDENTS ON AMTRAK

WASHINGTON, DC -- Prospective students checking out colleges and universities may take a parent along for free on Amtrak with a new buy-one-get-one-free program announced today. Students traveling on this fare must have a valid student ID in order to qualify for this special offer.

The Campus Visit discount program enables high school juniors and seniors to purchase a ticket on Amtrak at the best available fare and bring a parent or guardian along to campus visits for free. Younger siblings, ages 2-15, can travel for half price using Amtrak's everyday children's discount.

To take advantage of the Campus Visit discount, students simply log on to [www.campusvisit.com], complete the form and receive the discount code to be used when making travel reservations online at amtrak.com or by calling 1-800-USA-RAIL.

Reservations are required at least seven days prior to travel, and the student and parent or guardian must travel on the same itinerary. Tickets may be upgraded to business class or sleeping accommodations for an additional charge. These special fares are not available on Acela Express, Auto Train or the Canadian portion of joint Amtrak/VIA rail trains. Routes and offers subject to change without notice. Other restrictions may apply. Seats are limited and subject to availability. - Amtrak News Release

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CARLOADINGS, INTERMODAL LOADINGS WERE UP IN 2006

For full-year 2006, U.S. carloadings were up 1.2 percent over 2005 and U.S. intermodal loadings were up 5 percent over 2005, which had been the previous highest annual total ever, according to the Association of American Railroads (AAR). Also setting a record in 2006 was total freight volume, estimated at 1.74 trillion ton-miles, up 2.5 percent from the previous record set in 2005. December 2006 carloads were up 2.4 percent over December 2005, while intermodal loadings were up 1.8 percent for the month.

Carloads of coal rose 6.8 percent in December 2006 compared with the previous year, and rose 4.7 percent for the year as a whole. Grain carloads rose 10.5 percent in December and 4.3 percent for all of 2006 compared with 2005's. Of the 19 major commodity categories tracked by the AAR, eight saw U.S. carload gains in December and nine saw gains over 2005 for the full year. - BNSF Today

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RAILROAD EXECUTIVE ROSE THROUGH RANKS

In a 40-year career with Union Pacific Railroad, Walter Patrick "Pat" Barrett rose through the ranks to become executive vice president.

In 1983, he was named to one of the top five posts overseeing the combined Union Pacific and Missouri Pacific Railroads. He retired as executive vice president of marketing and sales in 1987.

Barrett died last month of natural causes at his home in Houston, Texas. He was 80. His family plans a private memorial service for him in Omaha on Saturday.

Barrett, a native of the Bronx, NY, took a secretarial position at U.P.'s New York City offices in 1947. He transferred to Omaha in 1951 to work as secretary to the vice president of transportation. In 1971, he was promoted to vice president of traffic.

He was president of the National Freight Transportation Association in 1982 and received an honorary degree from the Harvard University advanced management program. After his retirement, he moved to Chicago and later to Houston.

His daughter Vanessa Barrett of Omaha remembers that her father always seemed to be working when she was a child, but he managed to take his family on memorable train trips.

"Music was his great love: all kinds of music, popular music and opera," Barrett said. Survivors also include his wife Simone Faure Barrett of Houston; daughter Geraldine Barrett of Albuquerque, NM; son, Corey Barrett of Mancos, CO; four grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. - Jane Palmer, The Omaha World-Herald

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UNION PACIFIC DELIVERS SALT TO AID COLORADO SNOWSTORM RECOVERY

OMAHA, NE -- For most people, salt is primarily thought of as a seasoning used in meal preparation. However, in Colorado, salt is a key ingredient in helping the state recover from two major snow storms that dumped two to four feet of snow within a week.

This wintry one-two punch greatly diminished Colorado's salt stockpile used to melt ice and maintain roads. Today, Union Pacific is delivering a set of 50 salt-filled rail cars for unloading outside of Denver.

"Because of the severity of these storms, the stockpiles of salt in Colorado were pretty much depleted," said Randy Blackburn, regional vice president - Northern region. "Union Pacific employees performed yeomen efforts to quickly move empty rail cars to Utah for loading and a return trip to Colorado. Our employees were also instrumental in quickly re-opening rail lines and working to resume normal operations despite back-to-back winter storms."

Union Pacific expects to run three or four additional trains to help Colorado replenish its salt stockpiles over the next several weeks. - James Barnes, UP News Release

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SMALL RAILROADS SEE BIG ETHANOL FUTURE

Photo here:

[images.publicradio.org]

Caption reads: The Heartland Corn Products plant in Winthrop sends ethanol by rail to customers across the country. (MPR Photo/Mark Steil)

GLENCOE, MN -- The Twin Cities and Western Railroad runs from the metro area across southern Minnesota to the eastern fringe of South Dakota. It's small: roughly 200 miles of track. It's tiny compared to the thousands of miles of lines operated by the big railroad companies.

Chief operating officer Mark Wegner says his trains carry mainly corn and soybeans. But ethanol is gaining importance.

"It has gotten everybody's attention and it is seen as a huge opportunity," says Wegner.

Besides the Twin Cities and Western, Wegner also helps manages a second company, the 94 mile long Minnesota Prairie Line. He says ethanol accounts for almost a quarter of the business on the two railroads. An ethanol plant in Granite Falls is one customer.

"Granite Falls, which opened in December of 2005, we do a good program of bringing corn into it as well as bringing ethanol and DDG's out," says Wegner.

DDG stands for distillers dried grain, an ethanol by-product used for livestock feed.

Wegner says the company had a bumpy entry into the ethanol business.

Initially ethanol hurt more than it helped. It cost the railroad corn shipments. Farmers began trucking grain to local ethanol plants instead of sending it hundreds or even thousands of miles by rail to ocean ports.

And too often when the ethanol plant did call the railroad, there were problems. Wegner remembers the headaches one shipment of distillers dried grain caused when it reached its final destination.

"They couldn't get the product out of the car, it had set up like concrete," says Wegner. "And when we got the cars back they looked like they were in a hailstorm due to the sledgehammers applied to the cars to get the product out."

Another time a carload caught fire, spontaneously combusting like green hay in a barn loft.

Despite the early problems Wegner persisted. He saw the ethanol industry and shortline railroads as natural partners. The shortlines handle the small town business too tiny to interest the big cross country carriers.

Some of the small towns have ethanol plants. One example is the community of Winthrop. Wegner sends trains on the Minnesota Prairie Line to the Heartland Corn Products plant in Winthrop.

Heartland CEO Ben Brown says it's a historic moment. He says trains have helped the country's midsection change a century old energy equation.

"The midwest typically has been a consumer and user of fuel, we are now becoming an exporter of fuel," says Brown.

Brown says the ethanol exported from Minnesota goes mainly to the east or west coasts.

Heartland's production travels first from Winthrop to the Twin Cities. Brown says there it's transferred to a trans-continental carrier for final delivery.

"We have no pipelines that go there, from the midwest to the coast," says Brown. "So what the industry is looking at is rail and I think in the future we'll look more at water. But in the short-term rail is probably the quickest fix to get there."

Brown says the rail link was an important factor in a recent decision by Heartland officials to more than double ethanol production. He says the expanded production means the plant will have enough ethanol to fill what are known as unit trains. These trains can be up to one hundred cars long. A train that long can transport about three million gallons of ethanol, roughly two weeks production.

"What we surmised was that in order to move our product to market efficiently we needed to be able to do that with unit trains in the foreseeable future," says Brown. "And if you don't have a large enough plant to load unit trains you're not going to get unit trains."

And those unit trains will start their journey from Winthrop on a shortline railroad. Twin Cities and Western manager Mark Wegner says employees nicknamed that section of rails the Phoenix line, after the mythical bird. Given up for dead, ethanol has resurrected the tracks. - Mark Steil, Minnesota Public Radio

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TRAIN DERAILS IN TOWN OF WAUKESHA, WISCONSIN

Photo here:

[www.themilwaukeechannel.com]

TOWN OF WAUKESHA, WI -- A train derailed in the town of Waukesha Friday morning, spilling corn from several of its cars.

The train went off the tracks at about 05:30, near Highway TT and Sunset.

A representative for Wisconsin and Southern Railroad said they have not pinpointed an exact cause, but believe it was either mechanical or a problem with the tracks.

No one was hurt.

It could take a few days to clean up the corn. - WISN-TV12, Milwaukee, WI

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ALLARD BILL WOULD BLOCK ARMY LAND GRAB

PUEBLO, CO -- Republicans lost their majority in the U.S. Senate, but Sen. Wayne Allard lost no time in introducing a list of legislation Thursday, including a bill to prevent the Army from condemning land in order to expand the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site.

Allard, R-Colo., reintroduced a list of bills that he had been working on last year, but the Pinon Canyon measure is dramatically stronger because it would prevent the Pentagon from expanding the 230,000-acre PCMS through condemnation.

"Fort Carson officials have repeatedly reassured us they believe they can accomplish the expansion through willing sellers," Allard said Thursday. "This legislation takes them at their word and would prevent them from using eminent domain to adversely take private property."

Allard's bill also would require the Army to do a study of the economic impact on local communities if PCMS is expanded and how any economic loss could be mitigated.

Army officials have said they want to increase the size of the training area by 418,000 acres - a decision that has been strongly opposed by many ranch families around the training area, which is located southwest of La Junta along the Purgatoire River.

Last year, Allard attached an amendment to the Pentagon's 2007 budget requiring the Army to give a lengthy report on which alternatives it has considered to expanding PCMS and the impacts that might occur. That report, released in December, left most of those questions unanswered. Army officials said any answers would be hypothetical until Defense Secretary Robert Gates approves an expansion plan.

Other legislation that Allard introduced Thursday would include the Transportation Technology Center near Pueblo in the federal anti-terror training program known as the National Domestic Preparedness Consortium. The training center is the only railroad test center in the nation where explosives and hazardous materials can be used in staging accidents and mock terrorist attacks. Allard's legislation, which was also sponsored by Rep. John Salazar, D-Colo., last year, would include the test center in the network of universities and centers where federal training is provided for law enforcement and other "first responders."

Allard also introduced legislation, along with Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., to establish a national cemetery in the Pikes Peak region for veterans. Currently, the Veterans Administration does not allow a national cemetery within 75 miles of an existing national cemetery, such as at Fort Logan in Denver. The legislation introduced Thursday calls on the VA to establish a cemetery in Fremont, Pueblo, El Paso or Teller counties, which would be outside the 75-mile limit.

Allard also re-introduced legislation to establish the former Camp Amache internment site near Granada as a National Historic Site. Camp Amache was one of the camps where Japanese Americans were interred during World War II. - Peter Roper, The Pueblo Chieftain

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CREW ILLUSTRATES IMPORTANCE OF CHECKING TRAIN IN A CURVE

On the morning of January 2, Kansas City Southern Railway engineer H.L. Darden and conductor R.L. Moore of the LAR305 were traveling south from Corinth, Mississippi to Artesia, Mississippi.

In the curve at Egypt, Mississippi, Moore noticed sparks and immediately told Darden to stop the train. The fifteenth car had derailed.

Thanks to the crew's quick response, no track damage occurred and mechanical damage was minor. This incident illustrates why it is so important for crews to check their train in a curve. - KCS News

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BENEFIT EVENT FOR RAILTOWN'S SIERRA NO. 3

SONORA, CA -- Plans are coming together for a benefit concert for Sierra No. 3, the "Movie Star Train" which is housed at Railtown 1897.

The train is currently dismantled, in preparation for a comprehensive restoration. The train has been featured in numerous television shows and films. Actors who have appeared with Sierra No. 3 include Clint Eastwood, Michael J. Fox, Paul Newman, Ronald Reagan and others.

Total restoration is estimated to cost over $600,000 and supporters have been actively raising funding.

Kathy Daigle with the California State Railroad Museum Foundation says, “We're in the last stretch of this fund-raising drive so every dollar is important.”

The Sonora Area Foundation and the Irving J. Symons Foundation recently announced they are challenging the community to raise $50,000 by January 27th, which they would then match.

The benefit event is scheduled for Saturday, January 13th, at the Sonora Opera Hall. Doors will open at 18:30. The night will also feature a silent auction that will showcase the works of artist Patrick Michael Karnahan.

Tickets are $15 in advance and can be purchased by calling the Sonora Area Chamber of Commerce at 209-559-4999. - B. J. Hansen, MyMotherLode.com

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WALTON TUNNEL UNCOVERED DURING WORK

WALTON, NY -- Construction begins this month on a flood-mitigation project that reroutes Kerr's Creek and uncovered a long-forgotten tunnel of laid-up stone that was once "a magnificent structure," a county engineer said.

Photo here:

[www.thedailystar.com]

Caption reads: Walton Town Supervisor John Meredith looks over the entrance to an Ontario and Western Railroad tunnel over Kerr's Creek off of county Route 23 in Walton on Thursday. (Star photo by Julie Lewis)

A keystone dates the underground conduit from 1889. According to Walton Supervisor John Meredith, it once directed Kerr's Creek under the Ontario and Western Railroad line. The old O&W hasn't run for nearly a century, and the tunnel -- covered by its embankment and a thick overgrowth of evergreen -- was "just forgotten," Meredith said. "Very few people knew it was even there."

In its obscure location, it was almost by accident that county Department of Public Works employees inspected it in September as they surveyed flood damage in Walton and made other repairs.

Deputy Commissioner of Public Works Phil Pierce, a bridge engineer by training, said he visited the site several years ago while developing a countywide inventory of similar structures.

"It was in much worse condition that I had previously seen," Pierce said, and the danger, if not repaired, could be catastrophic.

In a worst-case scenario, the tunnel would collapse entirely during a major flood event, he said. An estimated 150 million gallons of water would collect behind the embankment; then, if the water broke through, a wall of water about 50 feet high would devastate all of Walton.
"That's why repairs are under way," Pierce said.

FEMA is picking up the $311,000 tab, Meredith said.

Town officials awarded the bid to RMS Construction of Dryden. The company will move about 50,000 yards of material off the top of the stone culvert and reroute the creek around it.

When construction is complete, the long-hidden tunnel should be visible from Route 23, Pierce said.

Meredith said the culvert will be sealed at both ends with rebar fencing to prevent any curiosity-seekers from entering it. However, officials are considering the site for trails or picnic areas, he said.

"It was a magnificent structure," Pierce said.

At 154 feet long, about 20 feet high from the streambed to the interior ceiling and about 12 feet wide, the culvert of handcut stone is the second-largest in the county.

Only the Merrickville Tunnel in the town of Franklin is larger, according to Pierce. - Dana Cudmore, The Oneonta (NY) Daily Star

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TANK CAR CARRYING METHANOL BURNS AT CSX RAIL YARD

BETHLEHEM, NY -- A train tanker car holding 22,000 gallons of highly explosive methanol caught fire at the CSX rail yard in Selkirk Thursday night, prompting an evacuation of about 50 homes.

The tanker car had been near about 25 others containing methanol -- and some cars also contained the flammable ethanol -- but the flames did not spread, police said.

The blaze started shortly after 19:00 and was under control by 22:00, police said.

Homes within a half-mile radius were evacuated as a precaution, said Lt. Tom Heffernan of the Bethlehem Police Department.

"If that (car) exploded it could cause the others to," he said, noting it was concerns of vapors, not fire, that convinced authorities to evacuate homes.

"If it's inhaled, it's a toxic fume," he said.

The Bethlehem Town Hall was opened to residents displaced by the fire but only one person took advantage of the offer, according to police.

South Albany Road in Selkirk was closed to traffic as firefighters worked, as were several other smaller roads.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

The blaze was the second serious incident at the rail yard in the past month. On Dec. 18 a train struck and killed mechanic John A. Williams. His death was ruled accidental.

The rail yards are owned by CSX, which acquired the property in 1999 as part of its acquisition, with Norfolk Southern Railway, of Conrail. The railroad runs through Bethlehem's industrial center, surrounded by factories owned by GE Plastics, Owens Corning and others.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, methanol is also known as wood alcohol and can be used as fuel for cars or as an additive to gasoline. It is easily converted to hydrogen. While highly flammable, it is considered less so than gasoline. - Anne Miller, The Albany Times Union

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TRANSIT NEWS

DART CONSIDERS FARE INCREASES

DALLAS, TX -- The cost to ride DART could be headed higher.

The Dallas Area Rapid Transit board on Tuesday will consider raising all fares for bus and rail service.

Single-trip fares would rise a quarter, day passes would go up 50 cents, and monthly passes would cost $10 more.

The sharpest increases would affect seniors, children and people with disabilities as the cost of a monthly reduced-fare pass rises from $15 to $25, a 67 percent increase.

"We're sensitive to the fact that this is real money coming out of people's pockets," said Gary Thomas, DART president and chief executive officer. "But we want to ensure we provide the best service that we can."

The increases could take effect Oct. 1. If approved, the fare increases would be the first since March 2003 and only the second since 1995. The higher fares would bring in an additional $7.6 million to $8.1 million per year, DART estimates.

The transit agency looks at raising fares about every five years to keep up with its costs, board chairman Mark Enoch said. Fuel, energy and steel price surges, as well as the need for additional funds for more rail construction, prompted this proposed increase.

"We don't have enough money in the next 23 years to do what we would like to do," said Mr. Enoch, who pointed out that the DART board recently determined it could not afford to put an LBJ Freeway rail line in its long-range plans. "I'm not shy about increasing the revenue to DART and doing what we need to do as a transit agency."

The agency will have a public hearing on the fare increases Tuesday at its headquarters at 1401 Pacific Ave. downtown. The discussion should begin shortly after the 18:30 meeting start time. A final decision on the increases could occur in February or March.

Opinion was mixed among a handful of rail passengers surveyed this week.

"My company pays for my pass," said Sachse resident Paul Wilmarth, who took a job in downtown Dallas in part because he could take trains from the Bush Turnpike station. "I wouldn't mind the increase if it pays to expand the system."

But 50 cents makes a difference to others. The current $2.50 charge for a day pass is enough for Cedar Hill resident Yvette Howie, who was waiting for her ride at the Westmoreland station.

"If you take that cost out of a $8- or $9-an-hour pay schedule, that's starting to be a pretty nice chunk," she said.

Higher gasoline prices make the additional cost worth it, said Dallas resident Larry Bolden, who rides to his job in Richardson.

"Even if it increases more than that, I'll still ride it," he said.

As part of the fare increases, DART would for the first time offer a weekly pass for $15 for local service and $25 for premium service. That would give riders another way to fit their commute costs into their budget, Mr. Thomas said. Social service agencies also provide transit passes to people with demonstrated needs.

The last time DART raised fares, it expected a 5 percent drop in riders, but only saw a 2 percent drop. The agency expects to see a similar 2 percent drop in passengers because of the proposed higher fares.

Currently, DART fares pay for about 12 percent of the transit agency's operations costs. That share is one of the lowest in the nation. The fare increase would boost that figure to 14 percent, still one of the lowest nationally.

In San Diego and Portland, Ore., comparable transit agencies with large light-rail systems charge higher fares than in Dallas. DART historically has kept fares lower because it also levies a 1 percent sales tax in its 13 member cities.

"People here decided to tax themselves for the service, so we felt we ought to keep fares low relative to other agencies," Mr. Enoch said. "Those transit agencies took money from other government sources."

The fare increases coincide with the beginning stages of an expansion plan that will essentially double the size of DART's light-rail network by 2013. As costs increase and more rail lines are built, the question arises whether to charge fares based on a more extensive zone system.

Mr. Enoch said he would like to consider a zone fare system, under which passengers who ride longer distances pay more. The current fare system has only two rail zones, with only rail passengers in Tarrant County paying higher fares to ride the Trinity Railway Express commuter train.

A zone system probably won't come any time soon because DART stations do not have gates or other ways to aid fare enforcement, Mr. Thomas said.

"Right now, in our system, it would be awfully tough to enforce," he said.

DART'S PROPOSED FARES - AND HOW THEY COMPARE

The current fares and proposed increases:

Single rides
Local (one rail zone): $1.25 to $1.50
Premium (two rail zones): $2.25 to $2.50
Reduced (seniors and elementary- to junior-high-aged children): 50 cents to 75 cents
Paratransit van or sedan service: $2.50 to $3

Passes
Annual: $400 to $500 local; $700 to $800 premium
Monthly: $40 to $50 local; $70 to $80 premium; $15 to $25 reduced
Weekly: $12 to $15 local; $20 to $25 premium
Day: $2.50 to $3 local; $4.50 to $5 premium; $1 to $1.50 reduced

A comparison of DART's proposed fares with comparable light-rail systems and the New York subway system:

Single ride
Dallas: $1.50 (local); $2.50 (premium or two-zone commuter rail service)
Portland, Ore.: $1.70 (1-2 zones); $2 (all zones)
San Diego: $1.50 to $3
New York: $2

Day pass
Dallas: $3 (local); $5 (premium)
Portland, Ore.: $4.25
San Diego: $5
New York: $7

Monthly pass
Dallas: $50 (local); $80 (premium)
Portland, Ore.: $63 (1-2 zones); $74 (all zones)
San Diego: $60 to $84
New York: $76

- Tony Hartzel, The Dallas Morning News

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DRAPER PETITION SEEKS REFERENDUM ON TRAX EXTENSION IN THE CITY

DRAPER, UT -- Draper, Utah residents have submitted a petition seeking a voter referendum on a proposed TRAX extension that would run through their city.

The Salt Lake County Clerk's Office received the documents late last month. It is expected to take 30 days to count and validate signatures. The residents would need more than about 1,200 valid signatures of registered voters to get the referendum, which would oppose the proposed extension route, on the ballot.

Leaders with Citizens for Responsible Transportation (CRT) - an organization seeking an alternative route to keep TRAX light-rail trains out of residential areas - said they got 1,754 signatures in a 45-day period, mainly through door-to-door efforts.

"We support it [TRAX] coming in to Draper, but it would be more logical and cost-effective to continue the linear line along the State Street corridor instead of looping to the east bench and down around to the Point of the Mountain," said Summer Pugh, a CRT leader. "It just makes more sense to go down State."

Pugh said safety, noise, traffic, cost-effectiveness and other logistical issues drove the move. The City Council late last year voted unanimously to support the Utah Transit Authority's choice of that route.

Rozan Mitchell, Salt Lake County's assistant elections manager, is prepared for unique issues with the Draper referendum. She said because the city straddles Salt Lake and Utah county lines, petition names may have to be passed off for verification to Utah County. - Steve Gehrke, The Salt Lake Tribune

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CALTRAIN PLANNING FOR RAIL REVOLUTION

Caltrain officials are poised to take the lead on a plan they believe could revolutionize the 150-year-old rail system in the United States.

The transit agency Thursday revealed a long-term vision in which it would replace its aging fleet of diesel locomotives with modern, lightweight electric rail cars. But to realize that goal, Caltrain will have to work with state and federal authorities to change long-standing regulations that prohibit the lightweight cars from operating at the same time as heavier locomotives.

If its efforts are successful, Caltrain will open the door for other agencies around the country to modernize their rail services with cheaper, more efficient rail vehicles like those used in Europe and other parts of the world.

"This is the time and this is the place to change an industry," said Bob Doty, manager of rail operations for Caltrain. "Once we pass this opportunity up, we won't get it again."

The vision was laid out in a Caltrain staff report, codenamed Project 2025, that was presented to the Caltrain joint powers board at its meeting Thursday. The report comes as the agency faces the looming challenges of sustaining or improving its train performance as ridership increases over the next few decades due to growing numbers of workers and residents.

The agency would like to use Electric Multiple Unit (or EMU) trains, so named because each car unit generates its own propulsion. The benefits of the more modern train are numerous and include less wear and tear on the tracks, cheaper maintenance, lower fuel costs and increased speed; on a 15-stop stretch, they would be about 10 minutes faster than Caltrain's current trains, Doty said. Plus, their ability to use longer cars would increase Caltrain's capacity dramatically during peak hours, from about 5,400 seats now to more than 17,000.

But such trains have not been designated as "compliant" with federal regulations because of their lighter weight. The government requires that compliant locomotives like the ones currently used by Caltrain be encased in tons of steel so they will withstand the impact of a crash.

"We are a third-world country when it comes to public transportation," said Arturo Lloyd, a member of the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board.

A third alternative is electric locomotives, which are compliant with government rules and would provide some benefits over diesel locomotives but are still heavy and slower than the EMUs.

Doty and other Caltrain authorities hope to persuade regulators that lightweight EMU trains and standard locomotives could use the same tracks safely with the help of an automated system that would stop trains automatically if they get too close to each other. Currently, Caltrain engineers rely on signals and their judgment to know when a locomotive is too close to the train ahead.

Among the battery of regulatory agencies with which Caltrain will need to negotiate are the Federal Railroad Administration, the National Transportation Safety Board, the Federal Transit Administration and the California Public Utilities Commission. "It's not a slam dunk by any stretch of the imagination," said Mike Scanlon, Caltrain's executive director. The discussions will start immediately, since the board is looking to make a decision by the end of 2008.

The agency would also have to determine how to fund the new equipment. Rough cost estimates put capital expenditures for the new electric systems at around $3 billion each.

Still, board members were optimistic about giving it a shot. The Project 2025 report says the changes to regulations are "a solution 'looking for a champion,' having been recognized within the industry as a progressive action long past due."

"We really don't have a choice," said Forrest Williams, a recent appointee to the board. "We can't sit on our laurels and just say, 'Let the trains run.' " - Shaun Bishop, The Palo Alto Daily News

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

TIME STANDS STILL IN CHUGWATER: OK, NOT REALLY, BUT TOWN'S OLD-TIME SODA FOUNTAIN MAINTAINS THAT ILLUSION

Photo here:

[www.billingsgazette.net]

Caption reads: Associated Press Photo. Lisa Bebo scoops up ice cream while preparing to make a malted shake at the Chugwater Soda Fountain Nov. 28 in downtown Chugwater, Wyoming. The building that today houses the Chugwater Soda Fountain was built in 1914, then was partly burned and rebuilt in 1916.

CHUGWATER, WY -- By design, it's a living time capsule, as well as a home in perpetuity for Wendell the Elk.

Eighty years ago, people socialized at soda fountains during an era of Prohibition, enjoying milkshakes and carbonated refreshments in lieu of the harder stuff.

At the Chugwater Soda Fountain, they still do.

At first, the building that now houses the Chugwater Soda Fountain contained a doctor's office and pharmacy. Later, a pharmacy and soda fountain shared the space. Vestiges of the medical past are still evident in an old box of "Willard's Tablets" and an antique Alka Seltzer dispenser high on a shelf.

While you can't buy "Dr. Pierce's Golden Medical Discovery" any longer to cure what ails you, you can still get an old-fashioned strawberry malt - or chocolate or vanilla or banana or praline, English toffee or Irish cream. There are two dozen flavors in all.

"If our malts and shakes don't hit the spot, then there's something seriously wrong with your spot," Lisa Bebo said from behind a bar where no alcohol is served.

The milkshakes are mixed using retro-style machines. As the older devices have outlived their usefulness, and couldn't be repaired for a lack of parts, they have been retired to a place of prominence above the bar.

Visitors also can order floats and sundaes, cones and banana splits, and hamburgers cooked on an outdoor grill.

"If it's really, really cold, like last winter, we quit serving," Bebo said about requests for hamburgers and cheeseburgers.

The availability of other items - sandwiches, homemade pies and soups, and Chugwater chili, of course - is less weather-dependent.

An indoor nook sells package liquor, and the former living quarters at the rear of the shop await fuller use.

The building that today houses the Chugwater Soda Fountain was built in 1914, then was partly burned and rebuilt in 1916.

The ornate oak bar and accompanying mirror once graced an establishment in Rock River, before they were hauled across the mountains to their present location in 1927. What once was a marble bar top has been replaced with stone and resin.

Carol Ash, who owns the place, says she wants to keep the soda fountain true to its historic roots: "There needs to be something in our lives that reminds us of our past."

As it always has, the soda fountain provides an opportunity for people to gather and discuss whatever topics are of current interest, but its appeal extends beyond the town.

Ash said the Chugwater Soda Fountain sees its share of European travelers, who are intrigued by the town's name. Chugwater Chili, which sells award-winning seasonings and is located right down the road, also contributes to the walk-in traffic. "Chugwater Chili has really made us an international scene," Ash says.

Chugwater also has been mentioned in a Disney children's movie, and Paul Harvey has talked about the town's renowned chili on his radio program.

For Ash, a child's first soda fountain experience, and the fond memories her efforts arouse among elderly guests, are sources of considerable satisfaction: "That makes it all worth it to me."

Some interest has been expressed in making the Chugwater Soda Fountain a stop for tour buses.

"It's not large enough for people to really stop and eat there," Ash says. "What they've suggested is that I do box lunches."

After stopping by the soda fountain, travelers could take their meals with them on visits to other regional points of interest like the Oregon Trail Ruts State Historic Site near Guernsey.

Whatever direction the soda fountain might take, it will happen under the fixed gaze of Wendell the Elk. That much is assured.

The stately mirror behind the bar is flanked by two stuffed critters - a no-name jackalope and Wendell the Elk.

A magnificent bull of his species, Wendell was named for Wendell Carlson, who shot the beast in 1947. Wendell's mounted head has been hanging on the wall since shortly thereafter. He has a rough spot on the jaw and the integrity of his hair is not altogether certain.

"I'm afraid if I vacuumed him, he might be bald when I get done," Bebo says.

Even so, Wendell is beloved. A former owner of the soda fountain wanted to dispose of Wendell, but the local folks petitioned in protest.

For her part, Ash has no desire to disturb Wendell. Besides, it probably isn't practical.

"It would be difficult to do that now," she says. "At one point when Wendell came in, the front door was a double door, and then they made it a single door, so getting Wendell out would not be as easy as getting Wendell in." - The Associated Press, The Billings Gazette

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URBAN TURKEYS STILL HANG AROUND BILLINGS STREET

Photo here:

[www.billingsgazette.net]

Caption reads: Photo by Larry Mayer/Billings Gazette Staff. Turkeys roost on a fence near the intersection of Ryniker Drive and Rimrock Road.

And here:

[www.billingsgazette.net]

Caption reads: Photo by Larry Mayer/Billings Gazette Staff. A wild turkey and her 12 poults feed in Tom and Amy Osborne's yard in Billings. The poults have grown into adult birds and still live a few blocks from where they were born.

BILLINGS, MT -- A dozen wild turkeys that hatched in Helen Carlson's flower garden in August 2005 left the Highland Park Drive neighborhood, but they didn't go far.

At least nine of the turkeys moved to Ryniker Drive, a quiet dead-end street off Rimrock Road a few block north of Carlson's home. There the birds mosey up and down the street, pecking at lawns for corn and peanuts, investigating SUV grilles and roosting in trees at night.

The turkeys also cause some mischief.

"I love them except for the destruction they do. They rip apart plants," said Rene Lee-Brown, who lives at 2912 Ryniker Drive. "They're getting so massive. They're very heavy."

The turkeys broke her swing set when they flew onto the canvas canopy. They ripped up a wooden lawn decoration, ate flowers she had planted in pots in a bed next to her house and flattened some shrubs. The turkeys bent down an iron hanger next to her deck to get to the seed in a bird feeder. And they have scratched at least four rings in her lawn where they take dirt baths.

"The males are here all the time," Lee-Brown said, keeping an eye on six turkeys that were milling around. "They have no fear. They're beautiful."

In addition to their thick bodies and big, brown tail feathers, the males all sported beards hanging from their breasts. Three females also like to hang out behind Lee-Brown's house.

"I have a grandbaby who loves to watch," Lee-Brown said. She does, too, to a point.

Lee-Brown talked to a state Fish, Wildlife and Parks employee to see whether there was a natural way to keep the turkeys from her yard. Other than creating things that would be a nuisance to the game bird, the answer was no, she said.

The turkeys like Ryniker Drive.

"They're being fed up and down the street," Lee-Brown said. "This is all they know. They come up to you if they think you have food."

Feeding the turkeys, she said, does them a disservice. Whether the feeding is illegal depends on how the law is interpreted, although in general, feeding wildlife is discouraged, said Jay Watson, FWP's wildlife research specialist.

Watson has talked to a number of the Ryniker Drive residents to try to get those who like the turkeys to work with those who don't. He thinks the efforts have been successful.

"I haven't heard anything back this year," he said.

Watson doesn't know what lies ahead for the turkeys or whether their numbers will multiply.

"We really haven't had urban turkeys before," he said. "We don't know what to expect." - Clair Johnson, The Billings Gazette

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MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF TAHOE

Myth (mith) n. a traditional story serving to explain some phenomenon, custom, etc.

Legend (lej’end) n. a story or body of stories handed down for generations and popularly believed to have a historical basis

TRUCKEE, CA -- Stories abound of Tahoe Tessie sightings, but other myths exist in Tahoe other than this mystical water monster. From the region’s historical hotels to great mansions, enough legends exist to inspire locals’ and tourists’ curiosity of the lake’s past.

“It’s because it has such a long, rich history,” Tahoe historian David Antonucci said of why so many Tahoe myths exist. “Legends were created as a form of entertainment. There was a lot of lore created.”

Many of the first Tahoe myths were created by the Washoe tribe, according to Antonucci. Those stories include a singing fish in Meeks Bay and a bird that lived at the bottom of the lake who snatched up tribal members.

“It was taboo for them to go out on the lake,” Antonucci said. “I think they may have created the story to keep people from drowning.”

Up until the early 20th century, locals believed you couldn’t float in Lake Tahoe, Antonucci said.

“They believed that because of the high altitude, the water was less dense,” Antonucci said. “They believed it was impossible for a human to float in the lake, so no one ever swam in the lake.”

Crazy legends

Sometimes, true stories sound so crazy that they become legends, or not enough information exists so locals try to fill in the blanks. Take George Whittell, the reclusive millionaire who had Thunderbird Lodge built on the East Shore. His adventures are firmly cemented in Tahoe’s history, yet many of them are tall tales.

“A lot happened here significantly in it’s own right,” said Bill Watson, manager and curator of the Thunderbird Lodge. “It’s amazing what the locals have come up with.

Because he was so private, they had to make it up. There are enough fascinating chapters to this story that we don’t have to make up untruths.”

One “untruth,” according to Watson, is that Whittell lost the land that is now Kings Beach to Joe King in a poker game. That is not possible because Whittell never owned that land, according to Watson. However, Whittell did lose enough money to King that the amount could have aided King in buying the land, Watson noted.

Whittell’s tales are just one of a number of myths that lurk within the Lake Tahoe Basin.

At the Tahoe Biltmore, legend has it that a show girl committed suicide there and her ghost still haunts the casino.

Across the street at Cal Neva, Marilyn Monroe is said to taunt visitors by turning a hall light on and off.

And over at the Ehrman Mansion at Sugar Pine State Park, park rangers believe they have come in contact with a ghostly visitor.

Heidi Doyle, a State of California park ranger, said she and other rangers held a “stakeout” one night after someone found an indentation in a bed that was in a bedroom once occupied by Sydney Ehrman.

“This happened for several nights in a row,” Doyle said of the indentation. “Thinking that it was a homeless person, rangers did several all night stakeouts, only to come up empty handed. The indents stopped appearing and have not re-occurred since.”

Then there is the legend of Captain Dick Barter, the hermit who lived in Emerald Bay. He lived on Fannett Island in Emerald Bay and would take his boat to the nearest bar, according to park ranger Doyle.

“He was drinking one night and he sank during a storm,” Doyle said. “There is a rumor that on cold, foggy nights you can hear Captain Dick Barter’s spirit.”

No matter why or when Tahoe myths and legends were created, historian Antonucci says they add to the area’s personality.

“A lot of people that lived here were characters. They were rugged and creative,” Antonucci said. “They made these up to make Tahoe a more desirable place.”

Cal Neva ghosts

Carl Buehler approaches the ceiling light at the end of the hallway with caution.

Although the Cal Neva employee has given this underground tunnel tour hundreds of times, he never knows what will happen under that light any given night.

“The light is the only light in our casino out of hundreds of lights that goes on and off by itself,” Buehler says. “There are no switches to this light. It is a 24 hour light.

Engineers have checked this light — there is nothing wrong with this light. The bulbs have been changed. The electric is fine with it, there is nothing wrong. I tell people this and they say, well you have a switch to this. Well, I don’t have a switch.”

Buehler then explains that this is Marilyn Monroe’s light. She is the one that controls when the light goes on and off, he says.

“There is no explanation for this light, except that for whenever she wants to, she’ll just turn it on or off,” Buehler says as he approaches the outed light. “On the last tour I had as we were walking out, Marilyn turned the light off. It’s crazy. I’ve never seen nuthin’ like it.”

As Buehler points to the stairs at the end of the hallway just to the right of the light, he notes that the steps lead to nowhere and that they are blocked off. He says that a psychic who visited the casino said “there was a lot of spiritual energy through here” and saw Marilyn sitting on the second step crying.

“The psychic said Marilyn was crying because she doesn’t like the way Americans portray her,” Buehler says. “We took pictures right where she was supposed to be and sure enough, there was a big ball of light right where she was supposed to be.
It was a spiritual orb. You never know what you are going to get.”

And almost on cue, the light goes off. Marilyn has struck.

“If anybody asks me if this place is haunted I say ‘Hell yes,’” Buehler says. “It’s the craziest light I’ve seen. It’s bizarre.”

Cal Neva employees like to exchange ghost stories. In addition to the underground tunnels that Frank Sinatra built and the ghosts that haunt the stage, another part of the casino gives employees chills.

There are people who are afraid to go on the first floor. Someone was killed in room 101.

“The first floor down below is always cold,” said Frank Encinas, a Cal Neva security guard. “Even in July it is cold. Someone committed suicide down there. It gives you the creeps.”

Security guard Davis Dunihue said it is the last room rented in the entire hotel.

San Jose resident Lisa Eichler, who stayed at the Cal Neva one recent weekend with her boyfriend, claims she has psychic abilities and that she has felt ghosts elsewhere, but feels no such energy on the first floor of the Cal Neva.

“I don’t know. Just because there was a suicide doesn’t mean there are ghosts. People who kill themselves want to leave and why would they stay,” Eichler says. “If I get scared, you should be scared. But I ain’t scared.”

Fact or fiction? The Legend of George Whittell

Of all the legends of Tahoe, millionaire George Whittell has produced the most myths. An intensely private man, Whittell helped design and build Thunderbird Lodge on the East Shore, which he occupied as a second home in 1937. Locals tell stories of wild parties with showgirls and rowdy poker games, but many of those stories are untrue, according to Thunderbird Lodge Manager and Curator Bill Watson.

In the spirit of truth telling, we uncover the fact and fiction of George Whittell with information from Watson:

FACT: George Whittell had a mistress.

Whittell was married to Frenchwoman Eliya Pasqual, but his true love and daily companion was Mae Mollhagan, his secretary and head of the household. When she died after running her car off the road near the mansion, Whittell was devastated. He went into mourning, playing funeral music on loud speakers facing the lake. He had her car moved to the head of the driveway on the side of the car and would talk to her spirit. The car sat there until 1999, when the U.S. Forest Service bought the land. Mae’s ghost is said to live in the mansion.

FICTION: Whittell would signal Cal Neva showgirls with a flicking red light.

Although he did have red and green lights installed, it is very unlikely he used them to signal showgirls from across the lake, according to Watson. He would have showgirls over to make Mae jealous when they were fighting, but Whittell never had actual wild parties.

FACT: Whittell owned a lion.

It is well-known that Whittell loved animals. He even joined the circus and married a circus performer early in his life. He owned an elephant and his wife owned cheetahs and leopards, but his best friend was Bill the Lion, who would sleep in Whittell’s room. “He couldn’t tolerate anyone who couldn’t hold their liquor,” Watson said. “He would have them taken to the lion’s den and Bill would lick the faces of drunk guests.”

FICTION: Mingo the elephant is at the bottom of Lake Tahoe.

Whittell had a large garage built to hold Mingo, but the elephant did not like the elevation and hated to be away from his zebra companion that lived at Whittell’s main home in Woodside, California. He hired a seaplane to carry Mingo over Lake Tahoe, but it crashed on two test flights, so Whittell never used the plane.

FACT: A journalist was locked in the dungeon.

Whittell disapproved of a statement about himself that a San Francisco Chronicle columnist wrote in the newspaper, so he invited her to his home under the guise of a party. He locked her in the lion’s den until she agreed she would retract the statement. She agreed to retract the statement, but only to be let free. The Chronicle sued Whittell.

FICTION: Whittell lost Kings Beach in a poker game to Joe King.

“That has been disproven,” Watson said. “Whittell never owned Kings Beach to lose it. It is said he lost enough to Joe King for King to build Kings Beach.” However, Whittell did sell the land to a developer that is now Incline Village.

Thunderbird Lodge Tours

Public tours closed in the winter, but private tours and events held at request.
Tours will begin again in June. To make reservations call the Incline Village/ Crystal Bay Visitor’s Center at 1-800-GO-TAHOE. Ticket prices are $27.50 per adult and $15 for children under 12 and include the shuttle ride and tour of the historic site. Children under 6 are not permitted.

Ehrman Mansion

The mansion is open for daily tours in the summer. For more information, call 525-7982.

The Truckee Hotel

In the lobby of the hotel sits the infamous mirror. To see it for yourself, visit the hotel at 10007 Bridge Street in downtown Truckee. - Kara Fox, The Truckee Sierra Sun

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THE END