Railroad Fined for Blocking in Residents Near Riesel, Texas RIESEL, TX -- Some might consider it a small victory, but for R.D. and Laverna Pursche, it rang hollow. For the past 30 years, the Pursches have been battling against trains parked adjacent to State Highway 6. These often-abandoned trains cut them and the rest of the residents of Circle P Lane, just west of Riesel, off from the rest of the world. McLennan County Justice of the Peace Billy Martin found the Union Pacific Railroad guilty of obstructing a railroad crossing with a train Tuesday morning during a brief non-jury trial. The railroad will be fined $205. Union Pacific spokesman Mark Davis said Tuesday that the railroad is reviewing options for a possible appeal, declining additional comment. The victory would have pleased the Pursches more if a train had not blocked their access to Highway 6 for 45 minutes, just a few hours after they returned home from testifying at the trial. “I doubt seriously whether they will do anything to make the situation better,” Laverna Pursche said. “But from what I gathered from their attorney, they didn’t seem to care about saving a life or anything like that. It seemed we really didn’t matter. That was my impression.” Laverna Pursche and her husband are both in their mid-70s. He is diabetic, and she has leukemia. They worry about trains blocking their way in emergency situations. “We don’t call the sheriff every time we have been blocked,” she said. “We don’t want to be a problem or a burden. But there have been many, many times when we have to get across and we just can’t.” State law forbids trains from blocking a crossing for more than 10 minutes. Michael Wright, a Dallas attorney who represented the railroad at Tuesday’s trial, argued that federal law supersedes state law in the dispute because federal courts have ruled that railroads come under the purview of the federal government. Martin rejected that argument. Now the Pursches wonder if the situation will get worse when more coal trains come through on their way to a new power plant scheduled for construction near Riesel. “Our biggest fear is that plant in Riesel,” she said. - Tommy Witherspoon, The Waco Tribune-Herald
That is not the best way to win public sentiments for railroads!! Their PR department could really use this if they would figure a way to park the train so the crossing is not blocked or help the town figure out an alternate route. These days the railroads need public support, not disdain... John
Why don't these crews break up the train, set handbrakes, and then leave? Is it THAT hard to not block a crossing?
$205? Where's the wet noodle? Someone other than I could better answer the operational aspect of breaking up a train, but it seems to me that it would cost more than $205 in manpower to do so. Besides, a corporation paying $205 in fines is not going to change an executive's mind, if he's even aware of it. The town council or other governing bodies should put laws on the books that make repeat offenses by the same corporate entity go into the $1,000 - 5,000 range. Make it hurt a little to help railroads amend their practices in these areas.
Well since they assimilate everything else, why not just assimilate the town...then there will be no problems John
One would think they can find a solution that resolves this before someone does die by not having a way around the train went it is sitting idel for long periods of time. :angry: :angry: :angry: :angry:
Hmmmm. You may be on to something.... Just swallow the entire USA, and rename it Omahaland. mg: Boxcab E50
I fear that it would take multiple instances of such horror, before they'd relent. :sad: :sad: :sad: Boxcab E50
Breaking the train in two seems to be a common thing for a private crossing at Brock siding just north of Lincoln,CA. Course they do use the siding to park rolling stock for several days at a time on occasion.
