(The following article by Denise Perry Donavin was posted on the Chicago Daily Herald website on February 3.)
CHICAGO — No sooner does Elburn get on board with Operation Lifesaver – a railroad safety and education program funded by an $18,056 grant obtained by Police Chief James Linane – than a real-life railroad disaster comes to town.
Linane told village board members at Monday night’s meeting there was a derailment Saturday morning at 6:30 a.m. Luckily, he said, only one car slid off the tracks and somehow realigned itself by the time it got to LaFox Road.
One car near the front of the train went off the tracks west of the Route 47 and First Street crossings, causing considerable damage to the concrete and wood ties, plates, and electrical connectors. The train knocked down seven signs along the tracks. The accelerating train was traveling about 15 mph hour through Elburn and reached 57 mph by the time it reached LaFox Road, Union Pacific representatives told Linane.
For three hours in freezing temperatures on Saturday morning, Elburn police directed traffic around the crossing gates at Route 47, which would not go up. Union Pacific crews came out and worked through Sunday to repair the damage.
“We had a real close call,” Linane said. “Smack dab in the middle of town. It was almost a miracle that the train righted it without derailing the rest. I talked to several train observers and workers who had never heard of such a thing.”
The Operation Lifesaver funding, which recently came from the Illinois Commerce Commission, is designated for public rail safety and enforcement. There is $13, 736 earmarked for education and materials for police and fire officials and the public. There is $4,320 allotted for enforcement, or additional policing of the crossings and rights of way.
“With the grant we are trying to be prepared for this kind of thing,” Linane said,
Village attorney Bob Britz said that “if citizens see any problems with the trains, they should call 911, so you can alert the railroad.”
Also at Monday night’s meeting, Village Administrator Dave Morrison said there will be a closure of the crossing at First Street from Feb 9 through Feb. 13 for scheduled storm main work. The construction is funded by Union Pacific as part of the upgrading of the tracks and the building of a new Metra station.
“Because the utility drawings are not very good in that older area of town,” Morrison said, “there will be open cuts running parallel to that tracks on the north and south sides to avoid any damage to gas mains or water mains. The contractors must satisfy public works that the water main is protected from freezing before they go home at night. A flier is being distributed to area businesses and residents about the closure.”