FOUR-WHEELED HAZARDS

All-terrain vehicles threaten railroad safety

The railroad fears that ATV joyrides may cause train derailments.

BY JORDAN COHEN

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

NILES — Four-wheeled all-terrain vehicles that ride alongside train tracks between Niles and Girard are destabilizing the tracks and could cause a catastrophic derailment, according to a railroad executive.

Terry Feichtenbiner, general manager of the Ohio Central Railroad System, said the ATVs are displacing stones, which serve as ballast for the rails. Feichtenbiner said the ballast supports the weight of the train on the track and stabilizes the rails from side to side.

“When the ballast is taken away, especially in hot weather, the rails can become unstable, and the track can buckle,” Feichtenbiner said. “The buckling creates a radical S-curve [in the rail], and there is no way a train can negotiate that without derailing.

“This is a safety issue, and these [ATV operators] don’t realize how they’re putting everyone, including themselves, in harm’s way.”

Feichtenbiner said that heavy rainfall is always a problem for maintaining ballast, and ATVs and summer heat make a difficult situation worse.

“It’s just incredible how much the steel expands in summer, and when you combine that with those joyriders and the rainfall, we’ve got a major safety concern,” the general manager said.

Last month, police in Niles, Weathersfield and Girard launched an ATV task force to crack down on the joyriders and arrested several people for a series of misdemeanor violations. Under state and local laws, ATVs cannot ride on public streets and are permitted only on private property with the owner’s consent.

The tracks and the adjacent land are the private property of the Ohio Central’s Youngstown Belt Railroad, which has posted signs prohibiting trespassing.

“They [ATVs] ignore them anyway,” Feichtenbiner said. “Packs of them enter our property off Summit Street in Niles, ride alongside the tracks to Girard and then ride back.

“It’s as if they view us as their giant ATV park.”

Niles Police Chief Bruce Simeone said the crackdown is having some effect in curbing a few of the excesses, but there are still problems.

“I live near a wooded area, and I’ve seen them show up at 2 a.m. or 3 a.m., and they don’t even have their lights on,” Simeone said.

Chris Harley, owner of Ride Powersports in Boardman, said sales of ATVs this year have been excellent, but he sides with landowners and railroad officials concerned about the growing property damage.

He said ATV laws in the state are not the problem.

“It’s more an issue of private property laws,” said Harley. “How does the state of Ohio deal with these issues?”

Harley said states such as West Virginia have created several thousands of miles of ATV trails, which riders can access for a small fee. In doing so, he said, the state has fewer incidents of riders destroying private land, while profiting from the sport.

“Rather than being so restrictive, like [requiring] driving on private property, they’re pursuing revenue while helping riders.”

Still, he does not excuse wrongful ATV riders: “The state needs to be aggressive with [ATV] drivers on private property — it’s a trespassing issue.”

Simeone said his officers are somewhat limited in their pursuit of the ATVs due to concern for public safety. He is asking for help from the general public.

“I hope someone who knows who these people are will call us and help us put a stop to this before something serious happens,” Simeone said.

Both Harley and Brian Bell, the manager of Johnny K’s Powersports in Niles, are doing their part to help by guiding riders to public ATV areas in Pennsylvania.

“We have a printout of where they can take their rides,” said Bell. “If they ask me, [I tell them] it has to be on private property and they have to have permission to be there.”

Until the illegal driving stops, railroad officials will pursue the crimes.

Feichtenbiner said that the railroad has brought in its own officers and “special agents” to see if they can bring a halt to the ATV incursions, even though he said he is appreciative of the police efforts to crack down on the ATVs.

The railroad must also replace the ballast, which the general manager described as an expensive and time-consuming process.

His biggest worry, he said, is the threat to train safety posed by the cumulative impact of too many ATV rides by the tracks.

“I’ve been a railroader for 34 years, and these are the most damaging things I’ve ever seen,” Feichtenbiner said.

XContributor: Staff writer Shelby Schroeder