« Ind. Law - New seat belt law may not cover occupants of truck bed | Main | Ind. Law - "New law 'decriminalizes' some teen sex: 'Romeo and Juliet defense' may apply to couples" »

Sunday, July 08, 2007

Ind. Law - Can we arrest the train conductor?

I heard that a lot when growing up in Chesterton. Chesterton has a park known as Railroad Park that is bordered on the south by the main street, and on the north by many sets of surface-grade railroad tracks -- seemingly all the trains that went east and west in NW Indiana in the 50s crossed through Chesterton at this point, constantly.

Sunday mornings were particularly bad, you could never count on getting to church before services began (which delighted many of us kids) or, if you did make it to church, getting home in time for Sunday dinner (served at noon). Long, long freight trains crossed endlessly. We would count the cars into the hundreds, and just as one ended another would come along from the other direction. Or the first one would slow to a crawl and then start backing up, switching cars onto a siding. The Chesterton Tribune always had letters to the editor demanding to know what could be done.

An opinion piece in Saturday's Terre Haute Tribune-Star proves that the train crossing problem still exists. Some quotes from the article, by Peter C. Ciancone, Communications director, City of Terre Haute, which reviews legal options:

Few objects in Terre Haute have the capacity to evoke road rage more readily than trains. As the Crossroads of America, we see more than our share. As the site of switchyards, we have more than our share of chances to stop at a level crossing as a train passes, or worse, blocks while it stops.

It’s not a new issue. Most of us have heard the urban legend that John Dillinger refused to rob a bank in Terre Haute because he feared being railroaded during his getaway. Relocation of railroads has been a discussion point since at least 1948.

City officials are constantly asked what can be done to remove this annoyance. Let me try to outline how complex this issue is.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on July 8, 2007 12:29 PM
Posted to Indiana Law