Blocked train crossings make St. Ansgar unsafe, supervisor says

Letter from Mitchell county supervisor Stan Walk to Iowa Department of Transportation, Railroad Division, in Ames, and other state officials:

This morning, 10 June, at 10:30 a.m. I had an appointment to pick someone up in St. Ansgar. There were train cars blocking all five railroad crossings in St. Ansgar. It was impossible to go from one side of St. Ansgar to the other side without going out of town at least four or more miles. The crossings remained totally blocked for 48 minutes until the train moved out of town at 11:18 a.m. (I was informed by a third party that a city employee, Conrad, said the crossing this morning was blocked for an hour and a half total without any relief.)

What I observed while waiting was: the train stopped to pick up 25 cars from the local elevator. These cars were in more than one location on the side tracks which would have taken time for the brakeman/conductor to connect the air hoses as the cars were reassembled to form a longer train. And once the cars from the elevator were reconnected to the train, the train needed to sit a spell to what I suppose was to test the brakes or other maintenance issues before proceeding.

Now here is the issue: the train could have stopped on the north side of St. Ansgar where the engines disconnected from the rest of the train, gone down the track a total of five or six blocks to the location of the switch for the siding, picked up the cars from the siding and reconnected to the train allowing at times at least three crossings to remain active and even while the train was in maintenance mode after picking up the cars from the siding and reconnecting, it would have allowed for the far south crossing in St. Ansgar to remain open for vehicular traffic. By blocking all crossing, the east side of St. Ansgar was disenfranchised from fire and first responder’s protection while the west side of St. Ansgar could have been deprived of ambulance access.

It is my understanding that for years St. Ansgar and the Canadian National Railway (CN) have been at odds about closing two railroad crossings. The CN wants to close two of the five and the city has said NO. The Fourth Street (main drag) crossing has been in disrepair for years. For many months, the materials to repair the crossings have sat in St. Ansgar with a standoff on when the bill for materials should be paid by the city to the CN. Finally early in January or February a standoff on repairs was supposedly resolved. Yet the materials to repair the dangerous crossings have not found their way to their final destination.

This blocking of all crossings in St. Ansgar has occurred many a time in the past, this is not an isolated case. The sad part is, crossings could have remained open if the brakeman/conductor chose to uncouple the engines on the north end of St. Ansgar and ride the cars down to the switch five or six blocks away.

It is in my humble opinion that this is pure orneriness. Over the years I have heard of this total crossing blocking issue and have been contacted about these antics more than once since I am a Mitchell County Supervisor. This was my first opportunity to observe this fiasco in operation.

Please inform me, verbally and in writing, what your good offices intend on doing about this dangerous and unnecessary situation. I will be patiently waiting for your reply.

Sincerely,

Stan Walk
Mitchell County Supervisor

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IOWA CODE:

Blocking highway crossing.

A railroad corporation or its employees shall not operate any train in such a manner as to prevent vehicular use of any highway, street or alley for a period to time in excess of ten minutes except:

When necessary to comply with signals affecting the safety of the movement of trains.

When necessary to avoid striking any object or person on the track.

When the train is disabled.

When necessary to comply with governmental safety regulations including, but not limited to, speed ordinances and speed regulations.

Any officer or employee of a railroad corporation violating any provision of this section shall, upon conviction by subject to the penalty provided in section 327G.14. An employee shall not be guilty of such violation if the employee’s action was necessary to comply with the director order or instructions of a railroad corporation or its supervisors. Such guilt shall then be with the railroad corporation.

This section notwithstanding, a political subdivision may pass a resolution or ordinance regulating the length of time a specific crossing may be blocked if the political subdivision demonstrates that a resolution or ordinance is necessary for public safety or convenience If a resolution or ordinance is passed the political subdivision shall within thirty days of the effective date of the resolution or ordinance notify the department and the railroad corporation using the crossing affected by the resolution or ordinance. The resolution or ordinance shall not become effective unless the department and the railroad corporation are notified within thirty days. The resolution or ordinance shall become effective thirty days after notification unless a person files an objection to the resolution or ordinance with the department. If an objection is filed the department of inspection and appeals shall hold a hearing. The department of inspections and appeals may disapprove the resolution or ordinance if public safety or convenience does not require a resolution or ordinance. The resolution or ordinance approved by the political subdivision is prima facie evidence that the resolution or ordinance is adopted to preserve public safety or convenience.

The department of inspections and appeal when considering rebuttal evidence shall wight the benefits accruing to the political subdivision as it bears to the general public use compared to the burden placed on the railroad operation. Public safety or convenience may include, but shall not be limited to high traffic density at a specific crossing of a in artery or interference with the follow of authorized emergency vehicles.

Political subdivision shall notify the authority with sixty days of July 1, 1976, of each exiting resolution or ordnance which does not conform with the provisions of this section. Political subdivisions not notifying the authority of an existing resolution or ordinance during the calendar year beginning January 1, 1976 shall have an additional sixty days after July 1, 1977 to notify the authority. Failure to do so shall render the resolution or ordinance void.

Such ordinances or resolutions may remain in effect until the department of inspections and appeals has acted upon each ordinance or resolution under the procedures specified in this section.

M. 321.358, Iowa Code (1993)