Have you ever been stuck at the railroad crossings at S.E. 11th or 12th just north of Powell Boulevard? THE BEE ran a story previously on citizens’ efforts to warn drivers to avoid those intersections when trains are stopped there, but we’ve haven’t yet explored exactly why it happens. So now, we’ve found out why.
But before we get to that, the point must be made about how railroads can legally allow a train to stop in a way that interminably blocks street traffic. Historically, it goes back to the fact that railroads own their rights-of-way, and railroads are protected and regulated mostly only by federal regulators.
Because of a one-of-a-kind Portland lawsuit, finally settled, which interfered for decades with how the Southern Pacific could manage their train traffic in overnight hours around the Brooklyn Railyard, railroads now appear to be playing their cards close to their chests. In preparing this article, THE BEE was informed by Union Pacific that “we can’t share detailed information about staffing, train movements, or other operational details”…