By BILL MARDIS, Editor Emeritus
Commonwealth Journal
Somerset —
The local economy is due a sizable boost early in 2011 with the location and operation of a crew change station for Norfolk Southern railroad that will bring nearly 100 well-paying jobs into Pulaski County. The crew change station at Tateville in southern Pulaski County has been under construction for nearly a year. It will be the workplace headquarters for 80 to 90 engineers and conductors for the nearly 50 trains that daily pass through Pulaski County on the main line of Southern Railroad between Cincinnati and Chattanooga. The Commonwealth Journal from reliable sources earlier this year reported the planned relocation of the crew change station from Danville to Tateville but only last week was the move officially confirmed by a Norfolk Southern official. Robin Chapman, manager of public relations for Norfolk Southern, said the crew change station is definitely moving from Danville to southern Pulaski County. “That’s where they (engineers and conductors) will report to work,” said Chapman, referring to the facility under construction at Tateville. The trainmaster’s offices also will be located at the crew change station as well as an administrative staff, usually “contracted out,” Chapman said. John G. Prather Jr., whose family law firm for years has represented Southern Railroad in this area, pointed out that when trains were pulled by steam engines, crews changed at Danville and at Oakdale and Chattanooga in Tennessee. Now, with diesel engines and faster trains, crew switching is done at Danville Prather predicts the crew change station will have tremendous economic benefit. He believes many of the well-paid conductors and engineers will buy homes in this area to be close to their workplace. “Whether or not they (engineers and conductors) move to Pulaski County or commute from Danville is a matter of their own choosing,” said Chapman. An indication of the economic impact of the crew change station is the strong but unsuccessful effort local officials in Boyle County made to keep the station from leaving their area. John Nelson, managing editor of the Danville Advocate Messenger, described the crew change station as an economic impacting facility in Boyle County. In addition to a double spur for trains to pull off and switch crews, two separate buildings are under construction at the crew change site, Chapman noted. One structure is a small building where members of a train’s crew check in and board trains. This building, scheduled for completion in November, will have lockers and rest rooms as well as places for doing paper work, Chapman said. The other building is larger. Chapman initially compared it to a hotel, but in a later telephone conversation he backed away from that comparison. “It’s not really a hotel,” he told the Commonwealth Journal. It is a place where members of a train’s crew can stay overnight if they need to wait for the train they are scheduled to board, he noted. Chapman isn’t sure how many rooms the larger building has. “I’ll have to get back with you on that,” he said. The overnight accommodations facility is scheduled for completion in January. Several tracts of land were put together for the crew change station site. It is near Kingsford Corporation and Lake Cumberland Speedway. Reporters for the Commonwealth Journal up to this point have not been allowed on the crew change station site. However, Chapman said he sees no problem with a reporter-photographer visiting the site if accompanied by a Norfolk Southern official. Efforts are being made to arrange such a visit.