(The following article by Tom Hrach was published in the Marietta Times on May 28.)
MARIETTA, Ohio — The area’s district superintendent for CSX Transportation is denying citizen reports that coal cars are being overloaded and causing safety concerns for residents of Marietta’s Harmar neighborhood.
The truth is that each car is loaded to a total weight of 286,000 pounds, which has not changed in two years, said Steve Santer of CSX. What has changed is the density of the coal, which means the cars appear more full but do not exceed the weight limit.
“If those cars were overloaded, we would be alerted by our system,” Santer said.
“An overloaded car is a safety concern for the residents, but it would be for our operators, too.”
Concerns about the weight of the cars come a year after railroad officials and Harmar citizens met for the first time in years to discuss issues concerning the railroad. The railroad tracks traverse the heart of the Harmar neighborhood, coming within several feet of many homes and running right through the middle of Harmar Street.
The tracks were mostly abandoned until about a decade ago when CSX Transportation reactivated the line to take coal from Ohio River barges up to American Electric Power’s Muskingum River plant. That touched off many concerns about safety and noise of trains going through Marietta.
At the public meeting conducted in April 2002, railroad officials promised to address many of the concerns and continue a dialogue with the neighbors.
However, some citizens are not convinced the railroad is taking action to ensure safety of citizens and to prevent damage to homes from vibration.
“Just this morning when the car went through, it was heaped higher than I had ever seen it before,” said Betty Sue Vadakin of 407 Harmar St., Marietta, Thursday.
“And those cars are not in good condition. The wheels are dented, and that’s what’s causing so much bad vibration.”
Vadakin has been a longtime critic of the railroad. She said despite promises at last year’s meeting to continue a dialogue with citizens over railroad issues, the residents have not seen much action.
Santer said it was his understanding all the outstanding issues had been addressed, and he said there have not been any comments to him from neighbors about any concerns, not even the issue of overloaded cars.
Councilman Tom Vukovic, who arranged the meeting one year ago, credited the railroad with making some improvements. He said there were changes to improve storm drainage to one property from the railroad line. He said two crossing gates were repaired. Also, emergency phone numbers were posted around the neighborhood for people to call if there is an accident.
“A lot was done, but the railroad is still an issue. There were still complaints about squealing and thumping of wheels. There were promises to deal with safety issues, too,” Vukovic said.
Vukovic said he had hoped to initiate a railroad crossing safety program, and he hopes to get gates at all the unguarded railroad crossings in the city. Vukovic said he was unaware of concerns about overweight cars.
Santer said he would welcome the chance to address any more of the neighbors’ concerns.
“We feel we have followed up on all the issues and resolved them,” Santer said.
“If there are new issues, we don’t know about them.”