Coal trains rollin' down the Wellsville line

[zardoz]

This is from the Wellsville Daily Reporter. I thought it interesting considering the amount of anti train noise reports we see.

By KATHRYN ROSS/Daily Reporter


WELLSVILLE -- The lonesome sound of the train whistle echoing through the night is a melody welcomed by most.

At the end of 2003, residents of Wellsville began hearing a sound they hadn't heard in the area for years. Some wondered what was it when a chugging echo from a distance vibrated airwaves, floors and walls, or when the blast of a whistle cracked through the sound of cars going by, dogs barking and interupted the 11 o'clock news. Others, with older ears and longer memories knew instinctively that the train was coming.

"I still get about 80 percent of the people telling me that they love hearing the sound of the train whistles at night," said William D. Burt, president of the Western New York and Pennsylvania Railroad (WNY&PR) that runs along the old Erie-Lackawanna tracks through the heart of Wellsville and Allegany County.

After several years of working on the legal logistics, financing and support the railroad was reintroduced into the county in 2002. Trains began running regularly in the fall of 2003 after an inaugural trip from Hornell to Salamanca.

Today Homeland Security prevents Burt from revealing what is being transported on the trains as they chug through Wellsville, sometimes at a rate of a couple a day.

But he could say, "It's mostly coal from the Monongahela coal fields, south of Pittsburgh and its going to Central New York state where its used to supply most of the electric power for central and upstate New York."

One positive, Burt said, is the coal is rolling through Wellsville is not nostalgic. With the old route from Meadeville, Pa., to Hornell (the Erie tracks) open, the coal is getting to its destination a whole day sooner.

"That's cutting the cost of the production of electricity in New York state," Burt said. "People ask what are we going to do for the economy and all that talk doesn't change anything, but the real change is that by cutting a day out of the transportation of coal for the production of electricity, it cuts down on the cost of power and that stimulates economic growth."

Burt added that the repairs to the old Erie tracks, are still being made, but that with what has been accomplished so far, a loaded train makes it from Meadeville to Hornell in just eight hours, and an unloaded train makes the trip in just seven hours.

The usual schedule brings a train a day through Wellsville, "but sometimes that's up or down," Burt said.

As for the railroad helping the local economy, as was touted when proponents first envisioned the railroad's rebirth in the area, Burt said, that business is slowly developing along the line.

"I'm able to say that we pulled some cars out of Andover recently," he said.

The cars were full of timber, cut locally that was being exported.

Burt expects to be pulling more timber-laden freight cars out of the Belvidere area in the near future, and hinted that there will be a shipment coming into the county in the very near future.

Mentioning that he was looking out of his office window over the railroad yard and watching the switching of a locomotive, Burt commented, "I love to see this." Then turning to business, he said, "We're still climbing the hill toward being a healthy railroad ... but it's coming along."

Repair work and upgrading of the tracks is an ongoing process for the old rail line. More than a million dollars was initially pumped into the line in 2002 and 2003 to make the tracks usable, now after a couple of recent safety inspections Burt said some work is still needed.

"The line still needs work, more ties need to be replaced and the surface and rails need to be worked on. It's a step-by-step process," he said.

Yet despite the work on the rails, delays at crossings, whistles blaring and trains rumbling through the villages and towns in the middle of the night, Burt said the rebirth of the train is still getting a good reception.

"Most people are very happy seeing the train. They take it as a sign of life and vitality," Burt said. "I'm struck by the statement an old friend made to me recently when he said, " 'I'm happy to see the train coming back, because it was too quiet around here.' "

http://www.wellsvilledaily.com/articles/2004/08/18/local_news/news01.txt

[Allen Jenkins]

I was introduced to the Wellsville Addison & Galeton, from an atricle by Jim Boyd by Col. Hal Carstens, in the Dec. 1970 Railroad Model Crafstman, the railfan mag God wished for me to have. I remember Tony Koester was the editor. The WAG route at that time had their own boxcars travelin' the nation like they owned it! That particualr mag, has many features, which promote the hobby past, and future. So thanks, for the memories!ACJ

[Anonymous]

i like the ad at the bottom of that article...."victim of a railroad related accident? call us today!" damn ambulance chasin lawyers...