(The following story by Anthony A. Mestas appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain website on November 13, 2009.)
ORDWAY — A stretch between Ordway and Sugar City in Crowley County has become a parking lot for several hundred idled railroad cars.
Some are blighted with graffiti; others are broken down and rusted. Locals call the wall of railcars the “Iron Curtain.”
County officials say the deserted railcars are becoming an eyesore and they want them removed.
U.S. Rep. Betsy Markey, D-Fort Collins, this week sent a letter to Union Pacific railroad, which operates the railroad through Crowley County, urging the company to remove railcars being stored between Ordway and Sugar City. Markey had been asked by officials in Crowley County to help resolve the situation.
“Having hundreds of cars so close to community neighborhoods has negatively impacted the quality of life in this area. In an area of economic depression, the railroad cars make it difficult to attract new business and hurt recreational activities,” Markey said in a press release.
Crowley County Commissioner Matt Heimerich said Thursday that the railcars have become a major problem for the county.
“Our concerns are not only visual in that these are the least attractive of the railroad company’s railcars, but also public health and safety as well,” Heimerich said.
Heimerich said that there are about 25 railroad crossings between the west and east end of the county.
“We also are concerned about vehicular traffic and fire danger,” Heimerich said.
“If we had another wildland fire like we had last year, we would be concerned about the ability of firefighters to get around the trains. The other problem is that the cars may become home to vermin and rats and that would not be too healthy.”
County Commissioner Tobe Allumbaugh said that from east to west there are about 1,087 railcars spread across the county.
“Recently, Union Pacific located cars directly across from the private prison near Olney Springs,” Allumbaugh said. “Don’t you think this might create a safety issue?” Allumbaugh said he also is concerned because the long line of cars prevents wildlife from crossing between sources of food and access to water.
In a letter to Union Pacific Chief Executive James R. Young, Markey wrote that the enormity of hundreds of cars so close to community neighborhoods has hurt the quality of life in the area.
“These communities are still mourning the loss of two firefighters who were killed when a wooden bridge collapsed underneath the truck as they drove to a fire. Fighting prairie fires is difficult, but when there are physical obstacles, it can have devastating effects,” Markey wrote.
“There is great fear that the Union Pacific cars, even with access to crossings and the road along the tracks, will hinder the ability to fight fires and result in more deaths.”
Heimerich said that the county commissioners have reached out to Union Pacific as well, but the only concession they have received from the company is to move all railcars out of all of the town limits.
“This has been going on for several months and people are complaining about it. Our fear is that these cars are not going to be moved any time soon,” Heimerich said.
Mark Davis, a media representative from Union Pacific, blamed the downturn in the national economy for the storing of railcars.
Davis said he is unaware of a plan for the railcars in Crowley County.
“I know that the company usually looks to see if there is somewhere else they (railcars) can be moved. Unfortunately, it’s sort of the same situation over most of our systems,” Davis said.
Davis said that he will contact company representatives in Denver to see where they stand on the issue.
Heimerich said that the railcars had been used to transfer new automobiles from the East Coast to the center of the country.
“You have to ask yourself, with the way the economy is and the shape that Detroit is in and the recession, it doesn’t really bode well for these things to be moved in the near future,” Heimerich said.
Allumbaugh and Heimerich said they appreciate Markey’s interest in the railcar problem.
“Congresswoman Markey has been very helpful in our attempt to rid the county of these unsightly railroad cars,” Allumbaugh said.