FRA Certification Helpline: (216) 694-0240

(The following article by Chip Jones was posted on the Richmond Times-Dispatch’s website on June 15.)

RICHMOND — Karen Hartsock was driving her daughter home from school when she spotted the first sign of trouble with the railroad.

“I saw this orange sign posted at the railroad crossing,” said Hartsock, who lives on a farm in Scott County.

In bold black letters, the sign she saw in mid-May proclaimed, “This private crossing is subject to closure.”

There was an 800 number to call for CSXT, the operating arm of Jacksonville, Fla.-based CSX Corp.

Hartsock, a math and science teacher with three children, was baffled. Her family farm was purchased in 1889 by her great-grandfather in the Dungannon community above the Clinch River.

The original deed stipulated a predecessor railroad would provide “necessary crossings” to their property.

Why would anything change now?

She backed up her car and eyed the sign again. Still, she said, “I could not believe it.”

Hartsock is one of dozens of Scott County residents who have spent the past month trying to decipher various messages from CSX Corp., the nation’s third largest railroad, formerly based in Richmond.

The initial confusion over the signs at the crossings was only the start of the story. Shock turned to anger when CSX sent out letters declaring all private rail crossings could be closed. “This crossing has been under review by CSX Transportation Inc. and we can find no authorization for the crossing’s existence,” wrote Wendell E. Bowman, manager of property management.

His May 13 letter declared CSX “can find no deed language” to show the landowner was entitled to cross the railroad track.

Unlike public crossings, private crossings are subject to legal covenants between the railroad and landowners. State law pro- vides an exception for farmers or foresters who need to cross rails to get their work done. Otherwise, anyone who requires a rail crossing better have it in writing.

Virginia has 2,741 private crossings, according to the Federal Railroad Administration.

The CSX letter warned that “failure to respond within 10 days will be considered a negative response and handling for barricading and removal of the crossing will proceed.”

By the time Hartsock got the letter, the deadline had passed.

“We have five families that use that one crossing,” she said. “That’s five families that would have to move. The river’s behind us, the railroad’s in front. There’s no other way out.”

Hartsock dialed the 800 number on the sign, but could never get anyone at CSX’s Florida office.

She rushed to the courthouse to check the deed her great-grandfather had signed with a railroad that predated CSX. Many of her neighbors also were scouring property records.

“They put the burden on these individual landowners to go out and research their deeds back 100 years,” said Scott County Attorney Dean Foster. “The railroad has corporate counsel to do that,” or could have hired outside lawyers.

“Then they could have approached the landowners on an individual basis,” he said.

But the signs stayed up and the letters kept coming.

Hartsock, a widow who provides sole support for her family, started missing work to check deeds, attend meetings, and try to protect her property. She also joined more than a dozen other landowners to hire a lawyer.

“It’s kind of caused an uproar,” said Del. Terry G. Kilgore, R-Scott, and the brother of Attorney General Jerry W. Kilgore. “I got a lot of calls and heard along of concerns, all the way from Dungannon to Yuma.”

He estimated the crossings are on a stretch of 30 to 40 miles of railroad.

“Of course people panic. They worry about whether they’re going to be landlocked and not be able to get into the farm and the house.

“Yes, it has put CSX on the map,” Kilgore added.

CSX officials say they never meant to throw Scott County into a tizzy. They contend they simply were trying to improve track and safety conditions in Southwest Virginia.

“Nobody was sitting here trying to do something nasty,” said CSX spokesman Bob Sullivan.

So why all the signs and letters?

According to Sullivan, they stemmed from a concentrated effort – called a “safety jamboree” – to perform repairs and maintenance over long stretches of track.

The stretch of rail in Scott County will be part of work scheduled to start June 30 and end July 7.

The project involves massive amounts of manpower, equipment and track. A thousand workers will cover 318 miles from Kentucky to South Carolina, replacing 181,000 cross-ties and 170,000 feet of rail.

As part of that effort, CSX wants to upgrade or close unneeded crossings, Sullivan said.

Typically without safety signals or crossing arms, private crossings can be dangerous for motorists and train crews alike.

Sullivan said CSX wanted to improve safety by closing unneeded crossings, with “absolutely no intent of landlocking” people in their homes.

More than a week ago, CSX officials got wind of the public’s backlash in the nearby Kingsport (Tenn.) Times-News.

“The issue becomes, do you dig your heels in and go forward, or do you stop and do it differently?” Sullivan said.

CSX, under scrutiny by legislators in Richmond and Washington, decided to seek a truce in the growing feud.

Robert Shinn, a CSX vice president in Richmond, traveled to Scott County last week. He met with a group of landowners as well as lawmakers and officials, and visited some of the sites in question.

After the meeting, he said, “We’re not going to close the crossings that are sole access to people’s farms.”

The railroad will provide passage across the tracks during crossing work, he said.

After that, Shinn said, each site will be examined on a case-by-case basis to try to find what he called “a reasonable solution.”

Some landowners, like Hartsock, appear ready to prove their crossing rights.

Shinn said he hoped to contact them by certified mail by yesterday to let them know his company is revoking its earlier demands.

Other landowners might have to share the expenses associated with their crossings. Shinn said this could include an annual $150 fee and liability insurance.

Late last week, county attorney Foster said he’s glad CSX has backed off it demands. But the people of Scott County are waiting to see what else arrives in their mailboxes.

“We’ve got to have something in writing,” he said. “People need to know that when the crossing comes out, they know they’ll get it back.”