(The following story by Billy Wolfe appeared on the Daily Mail website on November 20, 2009.)
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Kanawha County parks officials are bristling at a plan by a short-line railroad company to reactivate two local rail lines, including one that runs right through part of Coonskin Park.
Both lines are owned by Norfolk Southern Railway and have sat unused for several decades.
The federal Surface Transportation Board recently gave its approval for Charleston, Blue Creek and Sanderson Railway Co. to lease portions of the line running through Coonskin from Norfolk Southern. As a short-line Class III noncarrier, Charleston, Blue Creek and Sanderson is exempt from a bevy of federal regulations regarding the railroad industry.
One of the lines runs from Charleston to Morris Fork, while the other runs from a point near Blue Creek to a point outside of Falling Rock. In total, the two segments comprise about 30.6 miles of rail line.
Jeff Hutchinson, executive director of the county parks department, said Wednesday he is not pleased with the news. The issue came up during a meeting of the parks board.
Hutchinson said the deal could have “serious ramifications” for the park and for property owners whose homes sit near the rail line.
A portion of the line runs right in front of the county Parks and Recreation Commission administration offices and the Coonskin Clubhouse, and it’s right next to the Alex Schoenbaum Soccer Stadium and Amphitheater located at the park.
Hutchinson said at Wednesday’s meeting he hopes that, if the line is reactivated, it will not disturb peace at the park. He said his preference would be that trains would only run during hours of low park patronage.
Calls to Washington, D.C. attorney Kelvin J. Dowd, who is representing Charleston, Blue Creek and Sanderson, were not immediately returned Wednesday. Calls to other company officials also were not returned.
Hutchinson said he believes the company will be transporting coal from a nearby mine, and he said at this point there might be little anyone can do to stop the line from being reactivated.
Norfolk Southern still owns the line, as well as the rights-of-way around it.
Although the Surface Transportation Board already has signed off on the exemption, there is still limited time to file a petition with the board.
According to the filing, “Petitions to revoke the exemption … may be filed at any time. The filing of a petition to revoke will not automatically stay the transaction. Petitions for stay must be filed no later than Nov. 20, 2009.”