Parked cars? Railroad responds

CORNWALL — Complaints about a large number of rail cars parked for an extended period on a siding south of the center of Cornwall Bridge prompted a letter to the Housatonic Railroad Company from the Board of Selectmen.The selectmen said they hoped not only to get answers to the immediate concern, but also open up better communications with the railroad. The letter to President John Hanlon was answered by Colin Pease, vice president of special projects.Part of the answer to the board’s concerns are plans led by Pease to make room for cars on sidings in more appropriate places, particularly away from the proximity of the river and the center of North Canaan.Pease is working on a grant application that could bring millions of dollars for rail line and crossing improvements (see story, Page A1). One goal is to find places to park cars now in use away from environmentally sensitive and congested areas.As for the dozen or more cars on the Cornwall Bridge siding, despite reports some contain construction debris Pease said they are empty. His reply to the board, dated July 25, stated that the cars are used for hauling limestone and are leased by a company that moves a large amount of product. That mill recently reopened after a temporary shutdown for a reconfiguration, and the cars will gradually be put back into service.“The storage of empties is not an unusual event on most railroads and we have to hold cars where we have the space to hold them,” Pease wrote. “We are fortunate in having several large customers who use a lot of rail cars, and on rare occasions surpluses arise. One long-term measure we are pursuing is the expansion of our siding capacity in [North] Canaan.”