WEST CHESTER TWP., Ohio - Not much shields the noise of a passing train, but trees block the view fairly well, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.
Norfolk Southern Railway cleared trees and brush from its right of way near the crossing at Dimmick Road in West Chester during the week of Oct. 12, which upset some residents.
Rudy Husband, director of public relations, said the railroad cuts down trees to improve the visibility of crossings.
"It's a safety measure," he said.
The site still has debris from the trees and poles that were cut down last week, and much of the area cleared was graded down to bare dirt.
Daniel Lessing, who lives in the nearby neighborhood of Stonegate, noticed the debris left behind by Norfolk Southern, but said he does not know why they left it.
"If they're trying to make it look better, they didn't succeed," he said.
West Chester resident Dan Meehan said the railroad left trees lying on the ground when they cleared the area across the street a few years ago. In addition, an unsightly pile of railroad ties that has been near the tracks for years is now visible again.
"The whole thing was just like a forest," Meehan said. "They just keep hacking away."
Meehan said since they haven't cleaned up after themselves in the past, he doesn't expect them to clear the debris this time, either.
"They just seem to be able to do anything they want to do," he said.
Ronald Ostendorf, another Stonegate resident, also said Norfolk Southern left the cut-down trees after they cleared the south side of the crossing, but he said the decaying trees are no longer visible.
"In a matter of two years, that was grown up to the point where I don't think anybody remembered that they cut those trees down," Ostendorf said.
"It looks ugly right now, but next spring ... I don't think you'll really see it that much," he said.
Ostendorf is not bothered by the clearing because he thinks it was done to give people a better line of sight for oncoming trains. "I truly believe it was done with safety in mind," he said.
Lessing said the trees did not really decrease the noise from the railroad, but they did manage to block the view.
"One of the few things that are halfway protecting our homes from a little bit of the loud noises and the view of the train was those trees," he said.
Norfolk Southern also cleared trees from the crossing on Station Road, leaving a hill clear of trees.
"Trees are so important to the environment," Meehan said.
Husband said Norfolk Southern has been looking at crossings in the area for the last couple of years. When vegetation obstructs the sightlines for cars or trains, they cut back the vegetation on the railroad's property.
(This item appeared in the Enquirer Oct. 26, 2009.)
