Silent Crossings Slowly Chug Along

The noise from trains sometimes is so bad that Rainey Brothers Ceiling & Installation employees are forced to put calling customers on hold until the deafening sound ceases.

Since 1973, the east side of the Rainey Brothers’ parking lot has been connected to the downtown Brownsville Road railroad crossing.

The business is only about 75 feet away from the busy tracks, which are used by trains about every 15 to 20 minutes, employees estimated.

“When they come in the railroad yard down here, they lay on the horn and slow way down,” Rainey Brothers Secretary Shawna Leonard said. “They could be on their horn for a couple of minutes. Sometimes if you’re on the phone, you’ll have to have them hold.”

The noise that affects Rainey Brothers and other nearby businesses and homes may soon end. Cobb County has offered to assist Powder Springs in establishing silent or quiet zones at both the Brownsville Road and Oglesby Road crossings of the Norfolk Southern Railroad.

To prevent motorists from being able to cross as a noiseless train comes chugging down the tracks, track guards that span the entire roadway instead of just half would be installed.

The city issued a notice of intent to create a quiet zone for the Brownsville Road crossing on Feb. 8, Cobb County Department of Transportation Division Manager David Montanye told Patch via email.

“The next step will be for the city to request a preliminary engineering agreement from Norfolk Southern," he said. "The county has experienced delays in establishing the (quiet zone) at the Oglesby Road crossing as we have been working through the contractual language, which is now complete; and this may be beneficial as the city proceeds with the Brownsville Road crossing."

With the City Council issuing the notice in February, Montanye said similar delays were experienced when the county tried its first silent crossing with CSX. Now, he added, there are five CSX quiet zones in Cobb, with roughly two years being the the "typical timeframe" in establishing one.

"Although in process," Montanye said, "we have not established a (quiet zone) with Norfolk Southern to date.”

Cobb County is offering $474,000 to help with the project—money from a railroad account created from a $4 million lawsuit the county won against Norfolk Southern 10 years ago, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

Although Mayor Pat Vaughn the city has an option to pull out of its memorandum of understanding if it cannot afford the difference in the amount, Montanye believes that option may not be necessary because of the estimated cost.

Similar quiet zones with CSX cost far less that the $474,000 being offered by Cobb—Montanye said they ranged from $200,000 to $300,000.

Vaughn declined to comment on this story. But in February during a City Council meeting, she noted the improved quality of life that the quiet zone crossings would have on those who live and work around them.

“I’m sure all of the neighbors who live around (the crossing) will be very appreciative of the silent crossing once the train does not have to blow the whistle,” the mayor said.

Derrick Rainey said he’s looking forward to the day when a quiet railroad crossing at Brownsville Road becomes the norm.

“It would be pleasantly quiet during the conversation,” he said. “They’re thinking about doing a double track here, and that’s going to be twice as many trains, so it’d be even better with a quiet crossing.”