The North Judson Town Council has hired an appraiser for their railroad line. During a special-called Wednesday meeting members agreed to pay Alexandria, Va.-based G.W. Fauth & Associates an amount not to exceed $35,000 for the work. It will mark the first appraisal the town has had of the rail line since taking over ownership in 2004.
The town council last July selected Michigan-based Lake State Railway to operate it.
Meanwhile, the Chesapeake and Indiana Railroad (CKIN), which formerly leased the line from the town, has not voluntarily vacated it. Their lease expired last Aug. 15th.
In July of 2015 farmer-owed grain handling cooperative Co-Alliance sent a letter to the Surface Transportation Board stating the need for a rail line operator with knowledge of grain commodity shipping and expressing their support for a continued relationship with CKIN.
The town had a May 10th deadline to file an Application for Adverse Discontinuance of Service by Chesapeake and Indiana Railroad with the Surface Transportation Board. Such a filing would allow for the removal of CKIN as the operator by legal means.
Until that is done, the town cannot finalize the lease with Lake State Railway. The uncertainty is also keeping excursion trains operated by the Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum from traveling past English Lake due to the storage of freight cars on the tracks. The train rides through the countryside to English Lake and LaCrosse are popular tourism draws.
Chicago-based Railroad Regulatory Attorney Thomas McFarlad is handling the STB filings for the town. Attempts by WKVI to reach him via email were not successful.
