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Railroad Newsline for Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Compiled by Larry W. Grant

In Memory of Rob Carlson, 1952 – 2006

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RAIL NEWS

RAILWAY CONSIDERS COAL-TO-LIQUIDS IDEA

BILLINGS, MT -- The head of BNSF Railway Co. has sent an engineering team to Montana to analyze a possible coal-to-liquids project to supply diesel to fuel-thirsty locomotives, Gov. Brian Schweitzer said Monday in Billings.

Matthew K. Rose, chairman, chief executive and president of BNSF, has expressed interest in producing diesel fuel with the coal-to-liquids process, which has been championed by Schweitzer.

During a Gazette editorial board meeting Monday, the governor said that in July 2005, he met with five BNSF executives who tried to convince him that Montana farmers were getting fair shipping prices for their grain. He said he refuted their points about fair prices and the two sides agreed to disagree.

Then Schweitzer said he told the executives that they were overlooking their company's biggest economic challenge.

"The most important thing is, you don't know the price of your diesel 40 years from now," Schweitzer said. "They just looked at me. They were still mad with me about freight rates and cleaning up Livingston."

BNSF has been charged with cleaning up an estimated 1 million gallons of diesel fuel the company and its corporate forerunners dumped and spilled in Livingston during decades of railroad operations.

Schweitzer said he told BNSF it should build a coal-to-liquids plant in Montana to produce diesel fuel, especially because the railroad cannot hedge its costs that far into the future.

Then last summer, Schweitzer said Rose telephoned him to say, "Brian, I just wanted to let you know we were paying attention. The more we looked at it, the more we liked it."

The governor said he laid out all the state's potential sites with lignite or coal deposits from Otter Creek to Roundup to Nelson Creek in Eastern Montana.

"The best location for you is Nelson Creek," Schweitzer said he told Rose. "Oswego can take 60 (rail) cars and it's halfway between Minneapolis to Seattle."

Montana's Chief Business Officer Evan Barrett said part of developing coal-to-liquids in Montana is finding customers for the fuel. Union Pacific and BNSF are two of the country's largest consumers of diesel, with BNSF's 6,300 locomotives burning 1.4 billion gallons in 2005.

Nelson Creek lies west of Circle in McCone County. The BNSF Oswego site lies west of Wolf Point and about 30 miles north of Nelson Creek. Barrett said that is within easy reach of a pipeline.

"I'm aware of at least two additional sites where they've had discussions about locating in Montana," Barrett said.

BNSF spokesman Pat Hiatte said the railroad remains interested in at least a study.

"We are still studying the economic and technical feasibility of the technology," he said. "Montana locations, along with other locations, are being considered."

In a September press release, BNSF said it was working with independent energy developer Tenaska Inc. of Omaha, Neb., on a joint study to evaluate multiple locations for a commercial-scale coal-to-liquids plant. The plant would use the Fischer-Tropsch technology to produce the diesel fuel.

This process was developed in the 1920s in Germany to make diesel fuel from coal and helped power the Nazi war efforts. The process also is used in South Africa.

Schweitzer said BNSF officials told him they were considering Alliance in western Nebraska and Guernsey, Wyo., northeast of Wheatland. However, the governor said he was told later that those two sites are no longer on the list.

"So, I feel pretty good about our chances," Schweitzer said.

Montana has 120 billion recoverable tons of coal, the biggest reserves in the United States.

Chuck Kerr, a former Billings resident who now is president of Great Northern Properties in Houston, said he hadn't heard of BNSF's potential interest in the Nelson Creek site.

His company is developing the Nelson Creek reserves to power a more traditional coal-fired electrical plant, he said, but the times are changing.

"We're on a completely different economic and environmental arena than we were two or three years ago," Kerr said. "I think we would be remiss in not looking at other opportunities."

In the 1990s, vast mineral rights owned by Burlington Resources were sold. Great Northern Properties bought the coal and other mineral rights, including at Nelson Creek.

Burlington Resources, which was purchased last year by ConocoPhillips, owns the oil and gas and coalbed methane mineral rights around Nelson Creek. - Jan Falstad, The Billings Gazette

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BNSF GETS OK TO USE SYSTEM; TECHNOLOGY DESIGNED TO REDUCE ACCIDENTS COULD MEAN JOB CUTS

Photo here:

[www.dallasnews.com]

Caption reads: BNSF Railway Company engineers are training on the Electronic Train Management System, which is designed to reduce accidents. 2006 File Photo by The Dallas Morning News

FORT WORTH, TX -- Federal regulators say the BNSF Railway Company can implement new technology that promises to reduce freight train accidents but could also lead to conductors' jobs being eliminated.

The Fort Worth-based railroad is the first to get approval from the Federal Railroad Administration to use the Electronic Train Management System.

"It really puts a halt to derailments" caused by human errors, said Rick Lederer, BNSF's assistant vice president of network control systems.

The technology, which was developed by Wabtec Corp., uses on-board computers, global positioning satellite receivers, dispatchers and track switch detectors to monitor track conditions and keep a train from exceeding its authorized speed.

It can stop a train if an engineer fails to respond to warnings, preventing collisions.

Federal safety regulators are eager for railroads to adopt such technologies. But unions have expressed concerns that the systems could be used to help railroads reduce the size of their train crews from two people to one.

The Federal Railroad Administration supports the technology but hasn't taken a position on one-person crews, said spokesman Warren Flatau.

"We have no intention of permitting one-man crews at this juncture," he said.

Using one-person crews could save railroads more than a billion dollars a year in labor and other costs. The issue had been a major obstacle in current labor contract talks, until the railroads dropped the subject.

Frank Wilner, a spokesman for the United Transportation Union, which represents 40,000 conductors, said federal approval of the technology won't make it easier for companies to reduce the size of train crews.

The union's contract doesn't allow for crews smaller than two people.

BNSF plans to deploy the Electronic Train Management System on 35 stretches of track in 17 states, including Texas.

It's been testing the system in Illinois since October 2004 and will launch another test on a 300-mile rail line from Fort Worth to Arkansas City, Kansas, in the second quarter.

After the second test, the railroad will submit a request to safety regulators to roll out the system across two-thirds of its network, Mr. Lederer said.

Implementing the system will be expensive, he said. The railroad doesn't have an estimate of the total cost. - Katherine Yung, The Dallas Morning News

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KRATZMEYER ROAD RAILROAD ARMS TO BE READY IN MARCH

BAKERSFIELD, CA -- Crossing arms for the deadly Kratzmeyer Road railroad crossing should be installed and ready to roll by the end of March.

That's according to Brad Welte, BNSF Railway Company's superintendent of operations, during a conference call with state Sen. Dean Florez Monday morning.

Since 2005, two people have died after their vehicles were hit by trains at that location. A November accident claimed the life of Rafael Carrillo, 41, of Bakersfield. Mary Young Williams, 79, of Buttonwillow died in February 2005 after her car was struck on the tracks.

Her grandson, Buttonwillow farmer Mike Young, said he wishes the government had done something about the tracks three years ago.

But he was happy to hear of the progress.

"If they can expedite it that quickly, at least it will bring some finality to it," he added.
Florez arranged the call with the railway, Kern County Roads Department, California Public Utilities Commission, Caltrans and others.

He said he wants weekly calls with the project's major players to make sure it's moving forward.
Construction is set to start mid-February, Welte said.

The county will widen the road and install a concrete median in the center of Kratzmeyer Road, a move that should discourage drivers from navigating around the crossing arms, said Mark Evans, engineering manager for the roads department.

Rudy Salas, Florez's district director, said everybody came to the table to settle the plans. Florez's office made calls to the agencies to try to cut through red tape, he said.

In an e-mail, Florez said, "I'm committed to improving the safety of Kratzmeyer Road to the bitter end. And if it means personally keeping in check all parties involved, then so be it."
"It's what the public expects and it's what they should get from their government -- no excuses, but answers," he added.

Salas said such grave accidents motivate officials to move quickly. He noted safety concerns for Frontier High School students who will be driving in the area.

Representatives from the California Public Utilities Commission, which approves projects involving railroad crossing arms, said they're done with their side of business, while Caltrans just needs to finish paperwork.

It wasn't so smooth in mid-December, when the agencies were still going back and forth over the plans.

It was reported last month the crossing arms would be ready by August. That timeline would have placed the finish date two years after the commission first approved the project.

Commission representatives had said they had been waiting for the county to submit design plans for road improvements near the crossing.

Those road plans came about six months after they were originally expected.

The commission signed off on the plans in December after the county made corrections to them, Salas said.

Kratzmeyer Road Timeline:

Feb. 17, 2005: Buttonwillow resident Mary Young Williams, 79, dies at the Kratzmeyer Road railroad crossing when an Amtrak train hits her car after it becomes stuck on the tracks as she crosses.

Feb. 23, 2005: State Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, announces the formation of a commission on local railroad safety.

Jan. 5, 2006: A big rig is clipped by an Amtrak train as truck driver Brent Tso, 23, of Bakersfield attempts a sharp turn onto Santa Fe Way. Tso receives minor injuries.

August 2006: Florez reports the state's Department of Transportation approved BNSF Railway's plans for the Kratzmeyer upgrade.

Nov. 29, 2006: Rafael Carrillo, 41, of Bakersfield dies instantly when an Amtrak train strikes the car he's driving across the tracks. Carrillo failed to yield to the train, officials say.

Nov. 30, 2006: Florez holds a news conference at the crossing of Kratzmeyer Road, Rudd Avenue and the Santa Fe Railroad tracks to announce he would propose a bill requiring arms at all California railroad crossings.

December 2006: Crossing arms are slated to be installed by August. The California Public Utilities Commission said it had been waiting for the county to submit design plans for road improvements near the crossing. The commission signs the plans after the county makes corrections.

Jan. 8, 2007: Officials with the Kern County Roads Department, BNSF Railway, California Public Utilities Commission and Caltrans say the crossing arms will be up by the end of March.

- Shellie Branco, The Bakersfield Californian

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THOSE AUBURN FLAMES

AUBURN, WA -- At times it may look like the BNSF Railway Company's yard in Auburn, near the 2900 block of A Street Southeast, is on fire. But it's a planned and controlled blaze.

BNSF is removing residue from four damaged railroad tank cars that were involved in a derailment a few months ago in Colorado.

The "flaring" process, which the railroad says meets all national and local codes, is likely to produce flames visible to the surrounding area.

The work, which started early Monday, is scheduled to continue through Thursday. - The Seattle Times

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EX-SOUTHERN PACIFIC ENGINEER STILL DREAMS OF THE RAILS

TEHACHAPI, CA -- He is an old fashioned kind of train man. Louis Ursua seems to know every inch of rail line between Bakersfield to Barstow.

Ursua said, "To this day I dream about it," as evidenced by the mural he had commissioned on his fence adjacent to his driveway, depicting the Southern Pacific # 9801, and commemorating the last run Ursua made.

He ran the rails between 1978 and 2000 and before that he worked at Monolith running the train that carried rock from the quarry to the plant below. That was before the conveyor system was installed.

He can talk for hours on the technical aspects of engineering. When he bleeds, it's Southern Pacific red.

"There's a lot of things you have to know," said Ursua.

He pulled out an engineers's manual that was four inches thick and Ursua said he knew it cover to cover.

He began in 1978 as a brakeman and a switchman. He said at that time he had to take a second job to make ends meet but was told by a veteran to make it his [Ursua] goal to be an engineer.

From 1978 to 1982 he did what was called "sharpshooting," taking any work he could get at the railroad.

Ursua said it was a management person, Dan Burke who kept him on the railroad path.

"Louie, I know you're getting discouraged but stay with the railroad, it will be worth it," Ursua remembered the words of encouragement from Burke. Ursua took the advice.

He described railroad life as "a different world," recalling his early years when he used to encounter hobos in the Colton yard. He said the economy was depressed at that time so there were a lot of illegal riders, but Ursua showed compassion giving them sandwiches or any food he could share.

When Ursua began his railroad career, there were four occupants in the engine. An engineer, who Ursua said was completely responsible for getting from point A to point B; a conductor, in charge of all the necessary paperwork and balancing the load; a brakeman and a fireman, who acted as an assistant engineer.

Ursua became a conductor in 1980 and then became a fireman in 1984, when he first got a taste running the train from the engineers that saw his passion and trusted him with the reigns once in a while.

Then in 1986, he finally had the chance to fulfill his dream of becoming an engineer. That opportunity came with risks as well.

He spent six weeks in engineer's school studying and practicing in a simulator.

"You had to make it or you were out in the streets," he said. Ursua passed.

He said, "I learned a lot from the old heads," the veteran engineers who educated him beyond studying books and taking tests. Over the years, Ursua passed on that information to many railroad workers himself.

When he began there were still cabooses and "highballs" who road in them giving the engineer information from the rear of the train.

Now the caboose is gone replaced by a helper unit, the engines that are located at the back end of the train. Ursua said there used to be a spotter at the end of the train that would keep the engineer apprized of the conditions at the rear. Now he said a remote device is utilized.

Without the helper Ursua said it used to take six to 12 hours to go from Bakersfield to Tehachapi depending on the load and the tonnage.

"We used to pull a lot of tonnage," he said, "4,000 to 15,000 tons," he said. "This mountain is different, it's a 2.3 percent grade," he said.

Ursua said although the Tehachapi Loop might be one of the wonders of the railroad world, he said it was not an easy feat to traverse.

"You got to know what you're doing or it will get away from you," as an "old head," once told him, "You control the train, don't let the train control you."

Ursua's career was cut short in 2000 when he suffered a back injury, but a gleam in his eye exists when he thinks about going back, doing whatever job he can, just to be near the trains again. - Matthew Chew, The Tehachapi News

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EDUCATION, TRANSPORTATION, WATER GET GOVERNOR'S FOCUS

PHOENIX, AZ -- Gov. Janet Napolitano pledged more funding for roads, schools and health care today as she set a course to ready Arizona for the changing global economy and the demands of rapid growth.

She laid out that course through her State of the State address, her fifth since taking office in 2003 and the first of her second and final term. The address came as the 48th Legislature convened for regular session at the Capitol.

"Face it: Arizona is going to continue to grow," she told lawmakers and others who gathered for the roughly 25-minute address. "The question is how we grow so that we Arizonans have a high quality of life."

Napolitano, a Democrat, took an aggressive tact, signing a handful of executive orders before the afternoon speech. Among them, she sought to free up immediate state funding for water projects by allowing longer, 30-year state bonding, required that all construction projects on state land reduce their discharge of dust and ozone-causing pollution and expanded the scope of the Growth Cabinet she created last year.

She immediately gave that cabinet a significant hammer: Communities that don't participate in its smart-growth process won't be eligible for certain state funding, including $400 million that Napolitano hopes to make available for transportation.

Education will continue to be a priority for Napolitano in her second term. She called for schools to toughen their curriculum to make way for the future, high-skill economy. She asked that high schools require four years of math and three of science, and that the minimum dropout age be raised to 18 from 16.

And Napolitano called for the state to build on teacher pay raises that were approved last year. Under her plan, the statewide minimum salary for a starting teacher would be $33,000. Existing teachers would receive pay bumps, especially those in areas such as math, science and special education. "Those incentives should attract teachers who are sharp in the areas we expect them to teach," Napolitano said. "And to keep sharp teachers . . . we need to reward them for their performance, mentor them and provide continuing teacher education statewide."

The education revamp goes hand-in-hand with her hope to prepare Arizona for the 21st century economy. Innovation is the watchword.

She called for modernization of the state Department of Commerce and restoration of the state's innovation investment fund. And Napolitano said Arizona will place new emphasis on luring international firms. "Here's what I have to say to the world: 'it's time to wake up to an Arizona that's leading the nation in innovation,'" she said. "We're going to take it on the road, and to the air, to bring business and foreign investment home. Call it in-sourcing."

Gov. Janet Napolitano's Executive Orders - January 8, 2007

[www.governor.state.az.us]
Governor Details Plan for Arizona's Future, Orders Action

Expanding Arizona's Transportation Options

Background

· Arizona Is the Fastest Growing State in The Nation

· To sustain Arizona's growth and prepare for its future, new transportation strategies must be explored and developed radidly

Impact of Executive Order

· Directs the Arizona Department of Transportation to provide, within 90 days, a detailed list of options for mass transit, commuter rail and/or light rail, preliminary cost estimates/financing options, and strategies for private sector collaboration.

- Matthew Benson, The Arizona Republic, courtesy Marc Pearsall

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QUIET ZONE PLANS STALL, BNSF, MCDOT MUST HAMMER OUT ISSUES

PHOENIX, AZ -- Plans to implement a railroad quiet zone along Grand Avenue have stalled on the tracks.

Representatives from the BNSF Railway Company recently notified the Maricopa County Department of Transportation of various concerns regarding implementation of the quiet zone on Meeker and R.H. Johnson boulevards adjacent to Grand Avenue.

“BNSF has exercised their option for an additional design, review and comment period prior to issuing required permits to work in the railroad right of way and construct quiet zone improvements,” said MCDOT spokeswoman Roberta Crowe. “MCDOT is in contact with BNSF and the Federal Railroad Administration to get a speedy resolution and put the project back on track as quickly as possible.”

According to BNSF Public Projects Manager Megan McIntyre, there are a few issues to “fine tune” before the permits will be issued.

“After all the meetings we had with the county, the state and other officials, the plan the county submitted was not exactly what the diagnostic team proposed,” Ms. McIntyre said. “There are some problems with curb height, for example. It really just needs some fine tuning — I don’t see this creating a major delay. The ball is in the county’s court now.”

The disagreement is the latest snag in residents’ quest to see the quiet zone implemented near their homes.

In 2005, federal railroad officials adopted a regulation allowing the establishment of railroad quiet zones. If a railroad crossing meets certain safety criteria, it can be requested trains cease engaging their whistles when approaching the crossing.

Last year, a petition circulated Sun City West and Sun City Grand requesting that both the R.H. Johnson and Meeker crossings along Grand Avenue be considered for “whistle exclusion.” The petition was signed by approximately 2,000 people — 1,300 signatures were from Surprise residents.

MCDOT officials then approved creation of the quiet zone requiring engineers to cease blowing their train horns when crossing R.H. Johnson and Meeker boulevards.

Before the quiet zone became reality, however, $20,000 was raised from the community to add fencing and signage that would complete the project.

“This is a quality of life improvement, not a public safety improvement,” Ms. Crowe explained. “According to MCDOT draft policy, we can spend funds conducting the investigation and the feasibility study — but by law, it prohibits us from using money to implement the quiet zone — that is up to the community.”

Once the project gathered steam, the money was raised quickly and residents began anticipating a quiet night’s sleep.

By law, under normal circumstances, engineers must sound their horn five times in a series of long and short blasts when approaching a railroad crossing, MCDOT officials said. But under quiet zone rules, trains will only engage whistles in an emergency situation such as seeing something on or near the tracks.

Many residents believe train engineers are abusing the privilege when they approach railroad crossings.

Bud Merkel, a member of PORA’s Quiet Zone Committee, told Surprise City Council last October many residents are being affected.

“In the middle of the night, certain trains are coming through and there is abuse with the whistles,” Mr. Merkel explained. “It’s affecting many people. This quiet zone is a way to enhance quality of life for those who live closer to the railroad tracks.”

MCDOT Signal System Analyst Steve Blair, overseeing the quiet zone project, said the railroad officials surprised MCDOT officials “at the last minute.”

“We thought our plans with this were sound,” he explained. “But on the last day of the 60-day review period, BNSF sent us a letter indicating this was not the plan the railroad people agreed to.

“Unfortunately, the person who wrote the letter was not even in attendance at the diagnostic meetings,” Mr. Blair added. “Basically, the railroad is demanding more sophisticated plans before they will issue the permit to work in the right-of-way.”

Mr. Blair questioned BNSF’s request considering he views the quiet zone as a simple project.
“The new signs are going to be placed on existing signposts,” he said. “There is some fencing to be installed. We’re not talking about moving the tracks here — we’re talking about bureaucracy within BNSF. To me, it’s all pretty simple — but to get the permit and move forward with the quiet zone, we’ve got to have more complex plans drawn up.”

The signal system analyst said the new plans should be sent to BNSF officials this week.

“Hopefully within two weeks, we’ll have their approval,” Mr. Blair added. “It will take MCDOT less than two weeks to complete everything we need to do.

“Right now, I’d say the whole thing could come online within two months.”

MCDOT will eventually send BNSF a letter of implementation. The quiet zone goes into effect 21 days after the letter is sent.

Mike Hirschbein, a Surprise resident a member of PORA’s Quiet Zone Committee, was disappointed upon hearing about the delay.

“It seems silly what the railroad did. I think BNSF is delaying this just for the sake of delaying it,” he said. “They were at those meetings — I don’t understand why now they have a problem with MCDOT’s plans.”

He said he will remain patient.

“Train noise doesn’t affect me as much as some other people,” Mr. Hirschbein said. “But residents need to remember that the quiet zone will be a reality — now it’s just a matter of when.” - Matt Loeschman, Independent Newspapers, newszap.com

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THE ROCKY MOUNTAINEER: ONE OF THE MOST SPECTACULAR TRAIN RIDES IN THE WORLD

Is this any way to run a railroad? You bet your life it is. Based in Canada, the Rocky Mountaineer offers one of the world's leading travel experiences by train. Their premium GoldLeaf Service has been voted tops in a recent poll of 200,000 travel professionals.

It has a magnificent staff, one of whom is gesturing dramatically at a huge black or brown bear resting in the clearing just below the double-decker Vista dome car's panoramic windows.

The Rocky Mountaineer travels at Kodak speed, allowing passengers to take their pictures at leisure. This is just one of many reasons for the immense appeal of this privately owned luxury train, which has two classes, GoldLeaf Service and RedLeaf Service, the equivalent of coach class.

In the GoldLeaf Service, breakfast and lunch are served on the lower level, and the cuisine is reminiscent of food served on crack trains of yore, such as the 20th Century Limited. It is impeccable and served with panache by a trained crew who take their responsibilities seriously.
Tables are covered with white linen, and the cuisine is excellent all the way. A la carte breakfast is made to order with regional specialties in the GoldLeaf cars. Lunch is an elaborate three- and four-course bonanza with award-winning British Columbian wines flowing throughout the service.

Passengers in the RedLeaf cars are served in their seats by a rolling cart.

From the Rocky Mountaineer, you watch the Canadian wilds go by, complete with mountain goats and big horn sheep and bald eagles. Among the sights, there are large, sharp peaks looming high above and jagged pyramids too steep to hold snow, their bases wrapped in white blankets of glaciers. It is a feast for the eyes and soul.

The Rocky Mountaineer has unsurpassed views of the Canadian Rockies. It takes you places automobiles can't -- it is a train traveler's kingdom, and those traveling aboard the train are Kings. On a recent journey, the train carried three engines forward, given the weather and the steep upward climbs. The train's descent is in a semi circle entering spiral tunnels so that the passenger can see the tail end of the Rocky Mountaineer as the G.M. engines pull away on a totally different level. It is a triumph of railroad engineering as the engines climb through so many extraordinary spirals and tunnels that they resemble model engines under the Christmas tree, racing through complicated loops, bridges, cloverleafs and dramatic overpasses that only an ingenious toy shop display can conjure.

The ride is picturesque beyond words. There are precipitous drop-offs near the narrow shoulders of mountains as the train crosses high above rivers and treetops, riding the summit of an unseen viaduct without guardrails at a very cautious speed.

The Rocky Mountaineer only travels during daylight hours. It promises that guests will not miss any of the scenery. In the two-day voyage between Banff Springs and Vancouver, passengers are tucked away at a hotel in Kamloops at the end of the first day with a promise that all of their luggage will be in their hotel rooms by the time they arrive in town. How's that again? Not only does this train offer a safe and luxurious way to reach some places most people would normally not visit, but they make rash promises about luggage arriving at the hotel on time, before the passengers do. Indeed, suitcases and bags are in the rooms long before the passengers arrive.

On a journey on the Rocky Mountaineer during Christmas week, the train slows to a stop in rough mountain terrain to pick up a colorful Santa Claus stranded in the snow next to the tracks. Radar had picked up his flight from the North Pole, and he boards the train complete with a large bag of gifts for children and adults. Santa strolls through the cars, cordially shaking passengers' hands and passing out lively red scarves with the railroad's logo as well as stuffed animal toys while a combo in the club car plays lively Christmas music.

On still another run, The Frazer Discovery Route, the Rocky Mountaineer climbs almost 3,000 feet in half an hour -- by far the longest, highest railroad climb in North America today. One
passenger, freshly arrived from the United States, sighs and notes, "We're in the most remote places now, and that is the charm of this railroad journey -- it is a once-in-a-lifetime experience."

In a time when railroad travel can indeed be a trial, Rocky Mountaineer's hallmark remains unchanged. Its purpose in providing top-notch service - some veteran passengers compare
the experience to being on a cruise ship - is to keep
discriminating passengers coming back

in an age of frequently declining transportation standards. These are, in all respects, among the most spectacular train trips in the world. Even for a veteran traveler, it is the experience of a
lifetime.

For additional information or to book a Rocky Mountaineer vacation, please call 1-800-665-7245 or visit [www.rockymountaineer.com]. - Ralph Collier, Main Line Times

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TRAIN ACCIDENT LEADS TO FROZEN TURKEY SPILL

SAN ANTONIO, TX -- A slew of frozen turkeys were spilled over a South Side road this morning after a Union Pacific train hit a truck carrying the frozen food.

The accident happened around 09:30 at Center and Southton roads.

A fire chief says a driver for Varsacold did not yield for the oncoming train and wasn't able to get his truck across the railroad tracks.

No one was injured in the accident. - KENS-TV5, San Antonio, TX

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SCHUMER CITES CSX FIRE AS JUSTIFICATION FOR PROPOSED SAFETY LEGISLATION

A chemical fire at the CSX terminal facility in Selkirk on Jan. 4 is another reason Congress should approve his Rail Crossing and Hazardous Materials Transport Act legislation, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-New York, said.

Schumer said he will reintroduce the legislation in the new Congress.

"The federal government is quite literally asleep at the switch when it comes to protecting our communities from deadly train derailments," Schumer said. "This incident reminds us that there are thousands of gallons of extremely dangerous chemicals rumbling through Capital Region communities. What we need is a real plan to protect our communities -- and tougher penalties for railroad companies who disregard our safety."

On Jan. 4, a CSX car carrying 28,000 gallons of methanol caught fire in the rail yard in Selkirk. The tanker car was being held adjacent to more than two dozen other cars carrying the dangerous and highly flammable chemical, but thankfully the fire did not spread. More than 50 Town of Bethlehem homes within a half-mile radius of the accident were evacuated.

The Selkirk Yard is CSX Corp.'s largest switching facility.

The bill sets age restrictions for cars carrying hazardous materials. Each car must be inspected and upgraded every fifteen years. The legislation would require all rail cars fifteen years or older to be inspected and brought up to federal code within one year. The bill would also create a new infrastructure grant program that would authorize $50 million in federal funding to complete vital infrastructure improvements.

CSX spokesman Robert Sullivan declined to comment on the specifics of Schumer's legislation.

The Selkirk incident was handled smoothly and in a text book manner by both the railroad and local emergency responders, Sullivan said. CSX has offered to cover the out-of-pocket expenses of homeowners who were forced to evacuate.

Rail accidents are declining and it is the safest way to move potentially hazardous cargos, Sullivan said.

CSX is investing about $1.4 billion annually in infrastructure upgrades that improve safety, he said. - The Albany Business Review

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TRANSIT NEWS

TWO PEOPLE DEAD AFTER COMMUTER TRAIN HITS TRACK CREW

WOBURN, MA -- An inbound commuter rail train crashed into a track maintenance crew Tuesday, killing two workers and seriously injuring two others, transportation officials said. Two other workers and about 10 passengers were treated for minor injuries.

One of the workers killed was identified as Christopher Macaulay, 30 of Brentwood, NH, according to the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Co., where the workers were employed. The company identified John Hickey, 50 and Edwin Olson, 55, both of Lowell, as the two more seriously injured workers.

The company has withheld the name of the other worker killed, and the two workers with minor injuries, pending notification of their families.

The afternoon train was headed from Lowell to Boston with 43 passengers about 14:00 when it struck a piece of track repair equipment head on near the Anderson station in Woburn.

One worker was on the equipment and five others were nearby, said Joe Pesaturo, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.

The MBCR is a transportation consortium hired by the MBTA in 2003 to manage and operate the commuter rail system.

Hickey was taken by medical helicopter to Boston Medical Center. Olson was taken by ambulance to Lahey Clinic in Burlington. Two other workers who received minor injuries were taken to Winchester Hospital, said Scott Farmelant, a spokesman for MBCR.

"MBCR is stunned and deeply saddened by today's horrific tragedy. Our hearts go out to the family and loved ones of these workers," MBCR General Counsel Richard A. Davey Jr. said.

About 10 passengers were taken to area hospitals with minor injuries and because they were "shaken up," Pesaturo said.

Farmelant said the workers were using a piece of equipment called a "speed swing," which uses a hook to lift heavy rail ties. He said the crew had been replacing ties since about 09:45 as part of scheduled maintenance work.

Farmelant said other trains had passed through the area earlier in the day, but had been switched to other parallel tracks. For unknown reasons, the train that struck the equipment and crew was on the inbound track, where the crew was working, Farmelant said. - WHDH-TV7, Boston, MA

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THE BOTTOM LINE: DART PROPOSAL UNDULY INCREASES REDUCED FARES

(Read additional details on proposed fares here:

[www.dart.org] )

The Dallas Area Rapid Transit board is taking the wraps off proposed new fares that appear to be a fair deal for riders - almost.

Considering DART's rising expenses and need to maintain long-term budgetary plans, it's time for users to shoulder part of that higher cost of doing business.

But it doesn't make sense to impose the same increase on all classes of riders - not when seniors, many of whom are on fixed incomes, would end up paying proportionately more.

For example, the basic one-trip adult fare would go up a quarter, from $1.25 to $1.50 - a 20 percent increase. The fare for seniors also would go up 25 cents, from 50 cents to 75 cents - a far steeper 50 percent increase.

The same problem exists throughout the proposed fare structure. The price of a monthly pass would go up $10 across the board, regardless of category. For a basic adult pass, the cost would rise 25 percent, from the current $40 to a proposed $50. For a senior pass, the cost would rise 67 percent a month, from $15 to $25.

Talk about a shock to the system for pensioners and those who live on Social Security.

What's more, children and high school students pay the same reduced fares as seniors. That means sharply higher costs for parents whose youngsters use DART to get to school.

Starting with a hearing this evening, DART officials will gather feedback from the public on its proposed new fares. We hope residents can help transit officials come up with some creative solutions and help soften the blow for riders who can least afford higher fares.

One strategy may be to step up efforts to bring in revenue - and new riders - through sales of monthly or annual passes that businesses buy for employees.

That could help DART adhere to its fiscal plan and also ease the pressure on riders who benefit from reduced fares.

All in all, traveling aboard DART trains or buses is a bargain for most riders. It needs to remain an option - and not a luxury - for those who count their pennies to make it through the month. - Editorial Opinion, The Dallas Morning News

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ORANGE COUNTY TRANSIT AUTHORITY NEW CHAIRWOMAN WANTS GREATER SCRUTINY OF RAIL PROJECTS

ORANGE COUNTY, CA -- For the last year, Orange County transportation leaders have recited the same mantra: Increase rail service. But with a new chairwoman elected Monday to head the county's largest transportation agency, that may change.

Orange Mayor Carolyn V. Cavecche, the new Orange County Transportation Authority chairwoman, said she would like to see the agency address the "negative impacts" of adding rail projects.

She also said the county ought to have a larger voice on the levels of international trade coming through the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles that is carried on local rails and freeways.

"We're expanding Metrolink, and that's going to be the backbone for mass transit in the county," Cavecche said.

"But when you increase rail service, you're going to cause impacts, some of them negative, to surrounding communities."

Cavecche, who has been on the OCTA board of directors for two years, succeeds Buena Park Mayor Art Brown, who served as chairman of the authority and of the Southern California Regional Rail Authority, or Metrolink. Brown's tenure as Metrolink chairman ends this month.

Cavecche will oversee a transitional year for the agency, as it completes transportation projects funded under the old Measure M sales tax approved in 1990.

In November, voters re-approved Measure M, which is a half-cent-on-the-dollar tax expected to raise nearly $12 billion during the next 30 years.

Under Brown's tenure, OCTA approved a major expansion of Metrolink service and construction of Metrolink stations in Buena Park and Placentia.

Cavecche voted for the expansion but said transportation planners should mitigate the effects by helping cities deal with noise and inconvenience.

Orange, she said, has 16 railroad crossings and is tied with Anaheim for the most in the county.

Horn blasts from trains at night have jarred homeowners awake in Orange, Placentia, Irvine and other cities, she said.

"Horns blowing at 10 or 11 in the morning are not a problem," Cavecche said.

"But now, when you're blowing those horns at 2 or 3 in the morning, you've got a problem."

Train horns can legally reach 110 decibels, roughly equivalent to standing next to a chain saw. Train engineers are required to sound their horns - one short blast followed by a long one - 1,000 feet before reaching a pedestrian or vehicle crossing.

Cities can earn quiet-zone status for train crossings by installing improvements such as enhanced flashing signals, gates that can't be driven around, and overpasses or underpasses.

But such steps cost about $1 million and up.

With port traffic expanding and truck traffic increasing, Cavecche noted that Orange County is a pass-through county for freight and passenger trains. By 2009, Metrolink trains will be running every 30 minutes from 5 a.m. until midnight in the county.

"Is there enough capacity on our rail lines?" she said.

"I understand the positive impacts to business and the community, but we need to know some answers, and the people who move the trains have to mitigate these issues."

Other goals include relieving congestion on the Riverside Freeway; seeking more federal transportation funds; and creating a relationship with transportation counterparts at the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

"We don't have the type of close relationship with board members in Los Angeles as we do with Riverside, so when things come up like the freight corridor issue, we can approach it together," Cavecche said. - David Reyes, The Los Angeles Times

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COOL 2 KNOW: ART HUNEKE

Photo here:

[www.newsday.com]

Caption reads: Art Huneke visits LIRR's past on his Web site. (Photo by Genevieve Benjamin)

MELVILLE, LONG ISLAND, NY -- After a 900-ton train gains speed, it's tough to stop that momentum. The same can be said for 185-pound Art Huneke. Ask him even one question about his lifelong passion for railways, and you're propelled onto a nonstop express that visits the rich, entertaining, sometimes troubled history of his former employer, the Long Island Rail Road.

Photo here:

[www.newsday.com]

Caption reads: Long Island Rail Road historian Art Huneke documents the history of the rail road. This photo is of the Greenpoint freight crossing Marie Street in Hicksville in 1954. (Photo by Art Huneke)

Huneke, 70, shares his fascination with the LIRR - the world's busiest commuter rail - at [www.aRRts-aRRchives.com]. His site features hundreds of his photos (available for sale), archival documents from the 1800s and a plethora of head-turning anecdotes. Founded in 2001, it's dedicated to the late Bob Emery, who worked for the LIRR during the steam era, and to fellow train buff Bill Slade.

"Both were obsessed with preserving the history of the Long Island Rail Road," says Huneke, who lives in East Islip with his wife, Doreen. "Bill's big accomplishment was [creating] 40 albums of photos of the LIRR from 1925 when it was at its peak. He was also fascinated with the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company." The albums are available at Stony Brook University's library.

Behold some history nuggets at [www.aRRts-aRRchives.com]: Did you know that the LIRR did not have a fare increase from 1918 to 1947? Or that the LIRR is America's oldest railroad operating under its original name and charter?

Ironically, it was aviation history that helped introduce Huneke to Slade and Emery in 1954. Following Charles Lindbergh's 1927 trans-Atlantic flight, a speedy locomotive gained fame among rail buffs for transporting film footage of the pilot's arrival in Washington, D.C. Since the reels were developed in a darkroom behind Engine 460, the movies were immediately shown in theaters upon delivery to Manhattan. A plane that also was carrying the footage finished a distant second. "So the locomotive became famous," Huneke says. "After that, it ran on Long Island a lot."

When Huneke got the chance to ride Engine 460, the men became acquainted. Their common ground? Photography. "I was shooting slides of the last of the steamers when I saw two men with cameras," he recalls. "One of them was Slade."

The shutterbug trio often encountered resistance. "The railroad police had a reputation for hassling people taking pictures," says Huneke, who took his first shots in 1950 with a box camera. "Many people said I was crazy: 'Why would you take a picture of a train?'"

Huneke is indeed crazy for trains. So what's his loco motive? "Even as a kid, I seemed to have an innate feeling for trains," says Huneke, who earned $1.55 an hour as a trackman, then worked as a signalman, a lineman and in the tower department during his 33-year LIRR career. "I can remember being 10 and riding trolley cars to Norton's Point in Brooklyn."

Sadly, he claims one entity is not sentimental about the LIRR's roots: the Long Island Rail Road itself.

"They have absolutely no interest in their history and heritage," Huneke says. "The [Metropolitan] Transportation Authority has a museum in Brooklyn, but the LIRR does nothing to preserve its heritage. On my birthday in 2004, they destroyed East Williston's station. It had been neglected so bad, it almost collapsed on its own when they wrecked it."

Such indifference isn't new, Huneke says. "In 1939, they tore up the tracks to Wading River and Sag Harbor. There's been a history of the railroad growing smaller and smaller. They can't provide the service the Island deserves."

The LIRR very much appreciates its heritage, says a spokeswoman. "The LIRR is proud of its history," says Susan McGowan. "We were chartered in 1834, so were were instrumental in the development of many of Long Island's communities."

Huneke also rails against the Public Service Commission, which he calls "an oxymoron." The commission, he says, stood idle while the MTA abolished stations such as Center Moriches and Southampton College in 1998: "It would have cost a small amount of money to upgrade the platforms. Ron Ziel told me that to justify closing the college station, the MTA did the study during winter break, when they knew students weren't there."

"The MTA doesn't care about the people who live here," Huneke adds. "In the city, you can close a line and people will walk to the next stop. You can't do that on Long Island."

All aboard these other sites

Art Huneke's fondness for railways isn't uncommon. Several other unofficial sites chronicle LIRR history, including:

[www.lirrhistory.com]

[www.dunton.org]

htto://www.trainsarefun.com

There's also the terrific [www.rmli.org], operated by the Railroad Museum of Long Island.

Oddly, the LIRR's official site offers no nostalgic photos. Nor does it plan to, it says.

"We were owned by the Pennsylvania Railroad from around 1900 to the 1950s," says spokeswoman Susan McGowan. "After that, they took all their archives, so we don't have an awful lot of historical photos here." - Joseph Dionisio, Newsday

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