If a train is blocking the crossings at Lisbon, Union Pacific is asking that people call the number at the crossing.
Union Pacific was at the Monday, March 28 council meeting to address a number of recent railroad crossing blockages in the community.
Kelly O’Brien with Union Pacific Railroad said that mechanical failures can happen on trains along any stretch of the rail, and sometimes when a train is stopped at a crossing, it’s not known by Union Pacific if it isn’t called in.
The number to call if there’s a train stopped at a crossing is 1-888-877-7267.
“If you know the street name of the crossing that is impacted and the city the crossing is in, calling us will let our dispatch look into the matter,” O’Brien said.
O’Brien said that what happens along the rails in other portions of the state will have an impact on the entire railroad system.
“A train derailment in a spot like Denison is going to slow trains down further to the east and west of the line until that issue gets fixed,” O’Brien said. “It will back up trains ahead of us.”
When it comes to the Lisbon rail and why trains seem to stop at those intersections more often, it’s because Lisbon’s train crossing is at one of the highest hills on the route.
Marvin Stewart of Union Pacific explains that when a train has a mechanical failure and needs to stop at a crossing, the conductor has to apply hand brakes to multiple wheels and axles of the train and, that if the train were to stop at the bottom of a downhill slope, it can be hard to get the horsepower to move the train again in the future.
Lisbon city council members asked if it would be possible to split a train at a crossing in case of a mechanical failure, to keep one of the crossings into the community open.
Stewart explained that the railroad could, but it really depends on the severity of the mechanical issue, as it would take a lot more time to do that. The conductor would have to tie the brakes for the half of the train, split the train, tie down the brakes on the other portion of the train and then reconnect the train again after repairs are made.
“It’s a time-consuming ordeal, and especially since we’re at the top of the hill, it’s really kind of a rough spot to be in,” Stewart said. “It can take longer to split the train to clear the crossing than it would just to fix the issue and get the train moving again. We tend to split the crossing if the repairs are going to take significant amount of time and leave the crossing blocked.”
Lisbon is roughly an hour and a half from Clinton via rail for help for any repairs, and a few hours from Des Moines and Central Iowa stations.
Council member Sara Nost said the issue is there are still businesses and homes that are part of the town on the north side of the railroad that are cut off when the crossing is blocked.
“If we can’t get through all three of the crossings in Lisbon, it requires us to detour over to Mount Vernon to see if that crossing is open,” Nost said. “I’m just concerned with public safety, especially fires or health emergencies if the rail is blocked.”
Krause said that is always his biggest concern in his time of any blockage.
O’Brien said it is important for police and fire to contact the railroad about any blocked rails, as well as dispatch offices.
Discussion was held on which crossing to block in the case of a mechanical failure, with Adams Avenue or Washington Street.
While council members mentioned Gillette Lane crossing as most ideal, the railroad said that would be starting downhill, and harder to stop the train at that location.
O’Brien said the railroad will also be working with Lisbon public works director Travis Bagby on some road work to help make the crossings less jarring.
“If we know the issues that are happening, we’re willing to work in a collaborative nature to fix those items,” O’Brien said.