(The Toledo Blade posted the following article by David Patch on its website on May 12.)
TOLEDO, Ohio — CSX Transportation Corp. plans to spend about $9 million during the next two years to revamp a major junction in Walbridge, which it says will reduce delays at railroad crossings in the area.
By replacing switches and reconfiguring tracks in the junction just north of Union Street and west of Railroad Park, CSX expects to reduce maintenance costs and allow trains to roll through the area at somewhat higher speeds than they do now.
That means they ll need less time to cross Union and nearby crossings at East Broadway in Lake Township and Wales Road in Northwood. Train congestion should be reduced, too, because trains approaching Walbridge won t have to wait as long for other trains to get out of their way.
“We expect to see fewer blocked grade crossings, which should improve vehicular movement in the area,” said David Hall, a CSX spokesman. “So this project is good news for CSX and good news for the community.”
Once Walbridge Junction is rebuilt, CSX plans to turn its sights to Stanley Junction, a mile west of Walbridge, for a similar reconstruction.
Still up in the air, however, is CSX s proposal for a two-mile connecting track linking an outlet line to the south end of Stanley Yard, also in Lake Township, with a nearby CSX main line. Such a move stirred considerable local protest when it surfaced in late 2000.
Neighbors and township officials worried that adding another track to the local network would box in part of the township and increase the chance of delay to police, fire, or medical crews responding to emergency calls.
Residents also complained that beyond its direct impact on five properties that the track would cross, the project would diminish the quality of life – and property values – throughout the nearby area.
Since a second round of letters went out to landowners in late 2001 seeking to buy right of way, CSX has taken few public steps with the project, a township official said.
“We ve heard nothing, not one word. It s been almost eerily silent,” said Melanie Bowen Horton, chairman of the Lake Township trustees. “From all indications I ve seen, it s gonna happen. And there s nothing we can do about it, unfortunately.”
Like all railroads, CSX has power of eminent domain to condemn land if it is unable to acquire it by negotiation.
Lou Snyder, who would lose three of the 28 acres he farms on the west side of Luckey Road near Libbey Road, said a railroad appraiser asked for access to the five properties recently. Mr. Snyder said he and two other landholders denied the request; two allowed it.
“We are still fighting it,” he said.
CSX originally proposed to build the $1.5 million track in early 2001, but then postponed it, citing financial and public relations grounds. Mr. Hall said the connection is still on CSX s drawing board.
“The connection track remains a high priority for CSX,” Mr. Hall said. “But we are not yet ready to move forward with it, and it s difficult to say when we ll be at that point.”
The Walbridge Junction reconstruction is expected to begin this year with replacement of a bridge over Dry Creek, just north of the junction. Track realignment associated with that work will improve train speeds through the area, Mr. Hall said.
Engineering for the rest of the project also is to be completed this year. Four of six “diamond” track intersections are to be eliminated, tight-radius track switches are to be replaced with more gently curving models, and old signals will be replaced with new. Several track switches whose positions now must be changed by hand will become power-operated, so trains no longer will have to stop for crewmen to step down and change them.
Dennis Boos, Lake Township fire chief, said the junction project is a mixed blessing.
“Anytime they can make the trains continuously move, and move safely, that s good news for us. That s a good thing,” Chief Boos said.
But he is less enthusiastic about CSX s plans to have the rebuilt junction controlled from a dispatching center in Jacksonville, Fla., eliminating local control towers.
Tower operators have been very cooperative about holding trains clear of the street crossings during emergencies, Chief Boos said. Getting that sort of consideration from a dispatcher 1,000 miles away may not be so easy, he said.
Mr. Hall said shifting control to Jacksonville will improve coordination of train movements throughout the area. The dispatchers now direct traffic elsewhere, he said; once they control Walbridge Junction, they can hold trains at other locations if they expect delays at the junction.