Railroad crossings getting upgrade
By Suzanne Werre
Editor
Folks are finding themselves taking some detours through Underwood this week as workers from Dakota Missouri Valley and Western Railroad dismantle and replace the old rail lines that travel the 11 miles starting south near Falkirk Mine and end just north of Coleharbor.
Early this week people were forced to detour around the section of rail going across McLean County 14, and the latter part of this week or early next week the section of rail that crosses North Summit Street will be shut down so the line can be replaced.
“This one will be back up and running in a couple days, then we’ll start the other one,” said job foreman Bill Reilly, who was working to remove old blacktop on the County 14 section Monday.
The rail is owned by Canadian Pacific Railway, noted DMVW’s Troy Fast, Manager of the Maintenance of Way Dept., and it’s a CP Rail capital project, but DMVW leases the section of rail going through Underwood, so DMVW is doing the repairs.
The current 80-lb. rail is being replaced by 115-lb rail, noted Fast.
“This is a lot heavier rail,” said Fast. “That other rail is just too small for the freight we’re hauling now, so we’ve got to get it out of there.”
