[RP TownTalk] Hyattsville council discusses RxR quiet zone for Decatur crossing

[Vernon Archer]

Thanks for the reminder about this. I'll check on this let you know

On Mon, Feb 9, 2015 at 11:04 PM, Dwight Holmes <dwightrholmes at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Not to hijack my own thread, but this reminded me of another CSX-related
> issue.  Those who were living here 3 years ago will remember when a train
> hit a car AND the tow truck that was called to pull the car off the tracks
> where it had gotten stuck.  With the force of the collision, the tow truck
> was launched like a missile and wiped out a lamp post, newspaper stands,
> and a park bench at our train station.  The more colorful description from
> the Riverdale Railfans email list at the time is quoted below!
>
> My recollection is that we were told at the time that CSX had promised to
> replace/restore the street lamp and park bench that were wiped out in that
> accident.  It will have been 3 years come March.  Fair to say they are
> overdue on that task? Any chance the town could nudge them into making our
> station whole again?
>
> Here's an account of the accident from 3/19/12:
> For those who haven't heard yet, about 8:30 last night, a train hit a car
> AND a towtruck at the Queensbury road crossing at the Riverdale MARC
> station.
>
> Yes, it finally happened. Another drunk driver turned onto the tracks and
> got stuck. A tow truck was called and,as it was trying to get the car off
> the tracks, an autorack train came along and made short work of both
> vehicles. Fortunately noone was hurt, but the towtruck was thrown and wiped
> out the newspaper boxes, bushes, and our beloved bench. The truck ended
> up as a crumpled mass at the base of one of the trees that shaded the
> bench.
>
> On Mon, Feb 9, 2015 at 10:44 PM, Dwight Holmes <dwightrholmes at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> The Hyattsville Life & Times's new issue reports on discussions at
>> Hyattsville's city council re the process of applying for a quiet zone for
>> the Decatur St CSX crossing.  You can access the article here:
>>
>>
>> http://hyattsvillelife.com/council-discusses-moving-forward-with-csx-quiet-zone/
>>
>> This short paragraph grabbed my attention:
>> "In Oct. 2010, Riverdale Park completed upgrades of the CSX crossing at
>> Queensbury Road after multiple motor vehicle accidents, according to a City
>> of Hyattsville memo. One of those accidents reportedly included a bus in
>> March 2009."
>>
>> I don't trust my memory for much of anything anymore, but I don't recall
>> that a rash of accidents was given as a reason for the upgrade.  (Anyone
>> knowing otherwise, please correct me!)  I thought that it was done - or at
>> least was originally initiated by then-council member Rob Oppenheim - as a
>> necessary step in the process of attaining quiet zone status.  And I do
>> remember that the process of upgrading the crossing gates, from start to
>> finish, took an amazingly long time, and certainly was begun well prior to
>> March, 2009.  In fact, looking back in my email just now, I see that I
>> posted to TownTalk in March, 2008 that CSX was unloading equipment as part
>> of the installation of the new gates!
>>
>> Anyway, I'd be interested to hear from Mayor Archer or one of our council
>> members what the status is of the quiet zone application process? Is it
>> something the town is still actively pursuing? If so, are there any signs
>> of progress?  What step of the process are on at this point?  (The HL&T
>> article links to the Federal Railroad Administration's "How To Create A
>> Quiet Zone" PDF, here <http://www.fra.dot.gov/eLib/details/L03055>.)
>>
>> Presumably none of us moved here not knowing there was a railroad in
>> town.  Personally, I've always been fond of train horns (and trains in
>> general).  But given the fortress nature of our new upgraded crossing
>> gates, the volume *and* duration of the horn blowing does seem excessive.
>> If it's within our powers to force CSX to turn down the noise, I would be
>> all for it!
>>
>> Dwight Holmes
>> Half-a-block from the tracks :)
>>
>>
>>
>
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>


-- 
Vernon Archer, Mayor
Town of Riverdale Park, Maryland
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