County agrees to expansion of Honey Creek Railroad

Frank Denzler
Staff Writer

April 16, 2008 10:30 am

— Following a public hearing Monday, permission was granted for Morristown Grain, North Gings Road, Rushville, to build what was described as a “tear drop” loop rail line for Honey Creek Railroad, Inc.
The private rail line is owned by Bill Smith and is used as a connector route to existing CSX lines that run through Rush County.
Currently, the rail line hooks up to 65 rail cars prior to transport to the East Coast.
Operations manager for the grain mill, Russ Hanshaw, gave a PowerPoint presentation and described the loop and the reason behind the costly decision for its construction.
It is Smith’s and Hanshaw’s contention that requirements designed by CSX call for the expansion from 65 to 90 rail cars and without the expansion rail traffic locally would be hampered.
According to the pair, improvements and bigger and more effective CSX engines in recent years make it as easy to pull the expanded trains as it is for the shorter trains while saving the cost of transportation at the same time.
Currently, Honey Creek Railroad stages empty and full rail cars in the city limits between Foster Heights Road and the CSX line that parallels the north 400 block of town. The staging process is lengthy and in the past has forced the closure of a number of local streets between 11th Street and the Fourth Street CSX junction.
According to Smith, the addition of track in a rural environment provides an added safety measure and was a contributing factor to the decision-making process which will allow the staging process to be completed in a rural environment.
“The tear drop loop will facilitate an engine to pull in and pull out rather than push the empty and then fully-loaded rail cars to be connected,” Hanshaw said.
It was learned during the presentation that CR 400N will be closed as a result to the loading process for an unspecified amount of time on what was described as a bi-monthly basis — or roughly 20 to 25 times annually. The county road closure will effect three residences, it was indicated.
Following explanation of the project the floor was opened to questions and concerns. A major concern is safety when CR 400N is closed. That concern will be addressed on an as-needed basis with flashing cross bars and saw horses placed 300 feet from the crossing when the road is blocked.
Nearby resident George Byrd was in attendance and his only concern regarded disrupted mail carrier traffic when the road was blocked. Chris Smith, Bill’s son, indicated that he would contact the postal service and make them aware of the closure.
Richard Barnes represented the Rush County Schools system and said a closure would require a little creativity when school is in session in regards to a student in the area, but indicated that the school system backed the decision. It was determined that a bus turn-around would be factored into the finalized plans.
A final concern regarded medical personnel from the Raleigh Volunteer Fire Department and Raleigh Ambulance Service.
Raleigh Fire Chief Verlin Custer indicated that the closure would not result in any major problems provided that the department was notified with ample time should their services be required.
At the conclusion of the hearing commissioners Tom Barnes, Marvin Cole and Ken Masters voted unanimously to approve the measure.
Although the exact schedule for the road closure has not been determined, according to the younger Smith, it is anticipated that CSX will designate a full 90 car train and engine to the Honey Creek Rail line.
With the vote the project was given the okay to move ahead.

Frank Denzler can be contacted at (765) 932-2222 ext. 106 or via e-mail at frank.denzler@rushvillerepublican.com. To add a comment to this story visit our Web site at www.rushvillerepublican.com.