Downed trees shut down Greenfield rail lines
Lead Summary
By
Brandy Chandler-brandychandler@gmail.com
The high winds and severe thunderstorms that rolled across Highland County Monday afternoon and night left damage in the area, including Greenfield, where trees fell across railroad lines, impeding shipments.
Greenfield City Manager Betty Bishop said railroad crews were confronted with the downed trees Tuesday morning.
"We had a total of three trees down on the tracks with two shipments due in (Tuesday) and trains waiting to get through," Bishop said. "One of the shipments (had) gravel for the work that is being done on the railroad and the other with materials for Candle-lite."
Bishop said crews from Fritze-Rumer-Cooke Co, Inc., which handles all the city's railroad maintenance, is clearing the trees from the tracks.
"They started clearing them off the track (Tuesday) and they are trying to get it open. The important thing is to get the product in to Candle-lite," Bishop said.
They hope to have the remaining tree cleared by Wednesday, so they can assess any damage the track main have sustained.
"They will not know if there was any damage until they get the trees cleared out," Bishop said. "If there is damage, they will have the people there to repair it. The railroad is one of the most important infrastructures of the city of Greenfield because of the jobs it brings into Highland County. If we don't keep up on it, those jobs are going to fade away."
In addition to winds and heavy rain, quart-inch-size hail was reported in Hillsboro and surrounding areas as the storm moved through. Highland County was under a severe storm warning and a heat advisory Monday into Tuesday morning.
The high winds and severe thunderstorms that rolled across Highland County Monday afternoon and night left damage in the area, including Greenfield, where trees fell across railroad lines, impeding shipments.
Greenfield City Manager Betty Bishop said railroad crews were confronted with the downed trees Tuesday morning.
"We had a total of three trees down on the tracks with two shipments due in (Tuesday) and trains waiting to get through," Bishop said. "One of the shipments (had) gravel for the work that is being done on the railroad and the other with materials for Candle-lite."
Bishop said crews from Fritze-Rumer-Cooke Co, Inc., which handles all the city's railroad maintenance, is clearing the trees from the tracks.
"They started clearing them off the track (Tuesday) and they are trying to get it open. The important thing is to get the product in to Candle-lite," Bishop said.
They hope to have the remaining tree cleared by Wednesday, so they can assess any damage the track main have sustained.
"They will not know if there was any damage until they get the trees cleared out," Bishop said. "If there is damage, they will have the people there to repair it. The railroad is one of the most important infrastructures of the city of Greenfield because of the jobs it brings into Highland County. If we don't keep up on it, those jobs are going to fade away."
In addition to winds and heavy rain, quart-inch-size hail was reported in Hillsboro and surrounding areas as the storm moved through. Highland County was under a severe storm warning and a heat advisory Monday into Tuesday morning.
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